Ted "Carnival" CRUZ "calls" for abolishing IRS; I "call" for abolishing his pay, pension, benefits

[UTUSN]

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/03/ted-cruz-abolish-the-irs/

[font size=5]Ted Cruz: ‘Abolish the IRS’[/font]

.... “Mr. President, if your #1 priority is fixing the problem, let’s abolish the #IRS and ensure it NEVER happens again!” — Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) May 16, 2013

“I think we ought to abolish the IRS and instead move to a simple flat tax where the average American can fill out taxes on postcard,” he explained in a Fox News interview over the weekend. “Put down how much you earn, put down a deduction for charitable contributions, home mortgage and how much you owe. It ought to be a simple one-page postcard, and take the agents, the bureaucracy out of Washington and limit the power of government.”

Cruz proposed a flat tax during the 2012 election, but he said he would keep a standard deduction for lower-income earners, as well as deductions for mortgage interest and charitable donations.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) has frequently called for the abolition of the IRS. He would go further than Cruz by also eliminating the income tax.

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[ananda]

1. What an asshat!

Boy the Reeps are going after the IRS!

They must have something to hide and stash.

[spanone]

2. then the rich won't pay one penny of tax....brilliant ted. we could eliminate your salary.

[LuvNewcastle]

3. Great nickname

"Carnival" Cruz

[UTUSN]

4. Comes from this Nick ANDERSON cartoon:

[darkangel218]

5. What an idiot!

Grrrrrrrr!

[wandy]

6. Now why would an otherwise sane and level headed elected official like Ted Cruz want a flat tax,,,

Well FreedomWorks has one explanation....

We want to scrap our confusing, unfair tax code and replace it with a simple flat tax of one low rate with no deductions or special interest loopholes. We also want lower taxes at the federal, state, and local levels.

http://www.freedomworks.org/issues/flat-tax

Alas, although Wikipedia isn't always right, I seem to have more faith in their explanation.

Capped flat tax

A capped flat tax is one in which income is taxed at a flat rate until a specified cap is reached. For example, in 2010, the United States Social Security and Medicare payroll tax assessed a flat rate of 7.65% on all income under $106,800 and only 1.45% above that level. Thus, someone earning $100,000 paid $6,200 (a rate of 6.2%) while someone earning $1,000,000 paid $21,122 (a rate of 1.45% on all income and 6.2% on first $106,800). This cap has the effect of turning a nominally flat tax into a regressive tax.

Theirs much more to it than that so.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_tax

Or for a shorter explanation.....

Opponents say the flat tax would shift much of the revenue burden to middle- and lower-income Americans while lowering taxes on the wealthiest.

http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/is-a-flat-tax-a-good-idea
Do check the comments, or better still the commenters.