Sorry, either you've been drinking too much of Ted's Kool-aid or you don't understand his actual tax proposal.
Any self employed individual will pay both the Cruz 16% business tax and the 10% individual income tax. That's a 26% tax rate.
Your statement about "businesses large enough to pay the business tax" is not a part of the Cruz tax plan. His actual plan says:
"Instead, all companies will pay a simple, low rate Business Flat Tax of 16 percent. The tax will be based on revenues minus expenses such as equipment, computers, and other business investments."
Your statement "The 'plumber, carpenter, electrician, mechanic and other tradesman' that I know don't pay a "business" tax, they pay simple income taxes" is typical of what happens now, except in a few states that already have a gross receipts business tax. But Cruz's plan changes that, to require every business to play a 16% gross receipts tax. So you friends who are tradesmen will find themselves paying a new tax equal to 16% of their gross receipts (minus the parts they buy).
So even before they pay a 10% tax on their income, they'll pay 16% on their gross sales (minus the parts). That rate is higher than what the CEO of a Fortune 500 company will pay on his income by 6%.
You may not believe it, but Sen. Cruz is proposing a tax structure which puts a higher rate on small business owners and self employed tradesmen than hedge fund managers and employees of Goldman Sachs earning millions of dollars per year.
I'm sure that will work out just great in the general election. You may think giving rich corporate CEO's a tax break is a good idea, but most people don't think that way. We certainly don't want to pay a higher tax rate than they do.
Yeah, but he's not the frontrunner, so he gets a pass on his math skills.
No business actually pays ANY 'taxes'.
They just are another cost of doing business like raw materials, utilities and wages.
They ALL get rolled into what the final purchaser pays for the product.
And these 'hidden' taxes on to each taxpaying citizen and I'll bet we are WAY over %26!!!