Ted Cruz says U.S. tax code has more words than the Bible

Politifact ^ | Tuesday, November 10th, 2015 | Louis Jacobson

[Isara]

Ted Cruz was one of the participants in the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Nov. 10, 2015.

During the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, Ted Cruz compared two volumes -- one beloved by many, the other loathed by almost everybody.

"There are more words in the IRS code than there are in the Bible -- and -- and not a one of them is as good," Cruz said.

Our New Jersey affiliate checked a similar claim on length in 2013, so we’ll apply their research to Cruz’s claim here.

How long is the tax code?

A 2010 report by the Internal Revenue Service’s Taxpayer’s Advocate Office found that the tax code contained 3.8 million words. That calculation was made by downloading a zipped file of the code, unzipping it and running it through Microsoft Word’s word count feature, according to a footnote in the report. A 2012 version of the report puts the number of words in the code at "about 4 million."

We also reached out to CCH, the Riverwoods, Ill.-based publisher of the two-volume 2013 Winter version of the tax code and was told the best estimate of word length was 4 million.

That was two years ago, but we think it’s a safe bet that the length of the tax code has only increased since then, not decreased.

How long is the Bible?

Dennis Olson, the Charles T. Haley professor of Old Testament Theology at the Princeton Theological Seminary, told PolitiFact New Jersey that a fair approximation of the Bible’s length is 800,000 words for the Old and New testaments combined.

"The King James Version would be 823,156 while the more recent New Revised Standard Version would be 774,746 words," Olson said.

Hellen Mardaga, an assistant professor of New Testament at Catholic University in Washington, agreed that estimates that put the Bible at 800,000 words were credible.

Put it all together and the tax code is roughly five times as long as the Bible. So Cruz is correct.

Our ruling

Cruz said, "There are more words in the IRS code than there are in the Bible."

It’s generally accepted that the tax code is about 4 million words long and that the Bible is about 800,000. That’s five times as long. So Cruz’s claim is True.

[Isara]

FYI

[LoneStar42]

Not a surprise. Ted Cruz is prepared.

[Vigilanteman]

Why not? It was written by the opposite side as those who wrote the Bible.

[EagleUSA]

The Tax Code has been a political weapon and tool for Washington for too long. Combine that with Obama’s IRS, and you have an excellent election tool for the Repub candidate. Just ANOTHER reason we need a fighter like Trump or Cruz. Time to clean house FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

[deport]

And down the road we go

Polling Data

Poll	Date	Trump	Carson	Rubio	Cruz	Bush	Paul	Kasich	Fiorina	Huckabee	Christie	Jindal	Santorum	Pataki	Graham	Spread
RCP Average	10/24 - 11/4	24.8	24.4	11.8	9.6	6.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	2.4	2.2	0.8	0.8	0.3	0.0	Trump +0.4

[Verginius Rufus]

The word count should be based on the original language--Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. And do the "deuterocanonical" books (such as Sirach, Tobit, I and II Maccabees, Judith, Wisdom, etc.) get included?

Some passages in the Bible are hard to understand, but it helps if you have studied the language that book was written in and can read the original text. The tax code was written in English, but no matter how many other languages you know, a lot of it is still unintelligible.

[Verginius Rufus]

The word count should be based on the original language--Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. And do the "deuterocanonical" books (such as Sirach, Tobit, I and II Maccabees, Judith, Wisdom, etc.) get included?

Some passages in the Bible are hard to understand, but it helps if you have studied the language that book was written in and can read the original text. The tax code was written in English, but no matter how many other languages you know, a lot of it is still unintelligible.

[DouglasKC]

Really? They really had to fact check this?

[skeeter]

They had to fact check this? Jeez.

What if it was hyperbole? Would that disqualify Cruz?

[loveliberty2]

A document of far fewer words, but of far more importance as a weapon against tyranny, is the United States Constitution.

To all Republican candidates for the Presidency:

"Ideas have consequences."- Weaver

The only path to making America "great again" begins and ends with understanding of, and adherence to, the ideas and principles underlying the Constitution of the United States of America, as they were explained in the 35 essays of THE FEDERALIST, newspaper essays addressed directly to "the People" prior to ratification of that Constitution by the people in the states.

-------------------------

"On every question of construction, let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

— Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823, The Complete Jefferson, p. 322.

"Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction." Thomas Jefferson to W, Nicholas, 1803.

In his own 1801 Inaugural Address, after listing what he called the "essential principles" to guide his Administration, Jefferson added:

"These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety." - Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural, 1801

We might contrast Jefferson's understanding with today's Democrat Party "progressive" policies which, in effect, undo all the monumental work accomplished by the Founders on behalf of liberty and leave the law afloat and without anchor, relying, as of old, on mere men and women.

[Chauncey Uppercrust]

btw the people at politifact have never read the Bible

[dp0622]

that IS their bible in Washington.

[lewislynn]

This proves Cruz's ignorance.

Even if Cruz's sCruz VAT tax was passed into law not one word of the former tax code would be eliminated. In fact the sCruz VAT tax would actually be adding words to the existing tax code. It works the same for all written laws...Too bad Cruz is so ignorant of how laws are written.

Most of the "words" in the existing tax code are references to the former code so those "words" in the former code still exist, always will and the same would be true of the sCruz VAT tax code.

[bigbob]

And, some people have actually read the Bible

[Isara]

[FourPeas]

Politifact is so cute. At least their helping the LIV who are unfamiliar with either the Bible or the disaster that is the IRS tax code.

[conservativejoy]

Your ignorance is showing. Cruz’s plan is to Replace the current tax code with his flat tax plan. The 16% business flat tax that is part of the plan replaces all other taxes including payroll and corporate taxes.

His plan also abolishes the need for the IRS.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

I like Cruz better all the time, and I started out liking him. He is doing great.

[dem bums]

And I believe Cruz was just referring to the tax code itself. Not the associated regulations, which may be as long (if not much longer) than the code.

[Scrambler Bob]

And I’ll bet that “Jesus” is nowhere to be found in the Tax Code.

But many taxpayers do utter His Name, in vain.