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a small business owner could wind up owing as much as 26% on his or her compensation. Yeah, good luck getting this passed without mass resistance!

Small business owners already get double-taxation, which pretty much starts at around 16% (Payroll taxes on both sides), and a successful small business can go past 26% pretty quickly, especially sole proprietorships.

The elimination of the 39% or whatever it is bracket would tend to bring money home.

Remaining tax collection functions can be devolved to other agencies, or to the states. Cruz himself or Congress can work out those aspects. Reagan's Kemp-Roth tax cut was certainly tweaked before it went into effect.

Cruz is a big picture free enterprise guy, and he is looking to come up with a system that will encourage a growth economy. All candidates are hamstrung by a crippling national debt.

The effective tax rate on those making less than $100K is currently between -14% to 8% (minus 14 percent to 8 percent). For those making between $100K and $250K it's around 13%. And, the effective tax rate on those making $1M or more is around 23%. When you throw out deductions and apply a flat rate, you increase everyone's effective tax rate (i.e. total taxes paid as a percentage of gross income). There is a 39% tax bracket, but no one pays anything close to that as a percentage of gross income.

If you like tax increases, then have at it. I prefer lower taxes myself. Each of these crackpots would increase taxes on the middle class, and lower them on the top 1%, which should exclude them on its own. The one's that have raised money under the banner of abolishing the IRS, an impossibility, should be called out as what they are - crackpots.