How Ted Cruz Would Balance the Budget

American Spectator ^ | 11/12/2015 | Peter Ferrara

[conservativejoy]

As he made clear, he's not going to 'pay' for more big government business as usual.

At the CNBC debate on October 28, Ted Cruz 97%released his tax reform proposal, which I believe is the best of all the presidential candidates' plans. At Tuesday night's debate, Cruz released a spending reduction plan showing how he will pay for the tax cut involved in the tax reform plan.

For the individual income tax under his tax reform, Cruz's plan provides for one flat rate of 10% on everything – wages, capital gains, dividends, personal business income, rent, interest, and all other forms of individual income. The corporate income tax would be abolished, and replaced with a 16% Business Flat Tax, which applies to sales of goods and services, minus all purchases and expenses for inputs for production. It automatically provides for immediate 'expensing,' or an immediate deduction for all purchases of plant and equipment, and all other capital investment, which inherently involves purchases of inputs from other businesses. It is essentially a consumption tax for business.

That net business tax, which also automatically abolishes all special-interest, corporate-welfare loopholes, raises an enormous amount of revenue, $25.4 trillion over the first 10 years alone. This enables the plan to include abolishing the Social Security and Medicare payroll tax, which is the highest tax most working people pay, with Social Security and Medicare financed in full. It also enables the plan to include abolishing the death tax, the Alternative Minimum Tax, and all Obamacare taxes, as well as the corporate income tax. With a standard deduction of $10,000 per adult, and a $4,000 personal exemption, the first $36,000 of income for a family of four would be exempt from all significant federal taxes.

[11th Commandment]

From the Article...

John Kasich is trying to use the Tax Foundation score of the Trump tax reform plan, which shows a revenue loss of over $10 trillion, to dismiss all the tax reform plans of all the other candidates. But that does not apply to the Cruz tax reform plan in particular.

Funny or as the young say LOL!

[11th Commandment]

This is an outstanding article well worth reading in its entirety.

Funny, actually reading the article.... Good one...

[TBP]

But this can’t be. The media knows it’s impossible.

[Jim Robinson]

Go, Cruz, GO!! Cut, baby, cut!!

[Jim Robinson]

The balanced budget formula: Cut spending, cut regulations, cut taxes, cut government, grow the economy. Repeat.

Cut, baby, cut!

[Carry_Okie]

For the individual income tax under his tax reform, Cruz's plan provides for one flat rate of 10% on everything – wages, capital gains, dividends, personal business income, rent, interest, and all other forms of individual income.

How does Mr. Cruz plan to validate that data to keep people from cheating without an IRS?

[MeshugeMikey]

root: minimal gubement interference

[conservativejoy]

There will still be review I’m sure, but it will not be even close to the massive, abusive agency it is now.

[conservativejoy]

Just read that Cruz said there would be some employees in the Treasury Dept. who would handle reportable expenses reviews for businesses.

[trisham]

Thanks for the ping, Jim!

[Carry_Okie]

Just read that Cruz said there would be some employees in the Treasury Dept. who would handle reportable expenses reviews for businesses.

What about individuals? Isn't the existence of that enforcement function in another agency just as potentially abusive as the IRS? It is an opportunity to clean house, reorganize, downsize, and get rid of the Slave Party activists, but I don't want the idea oversold, as the letdown could backfire.

[Dr. Sivana]

How are you going to respond to the claim that Democratic presidents are better at creating jobs than Republicans?

I would start by comparing Clinton 1992-94 with the rest of Clinton to show it was the Republican Congress (Gramm-Rudman, Welfare Reform).

I would also compare Bush the Younger's 2000-2006 (on/off Republican Congress) with 2006-2008 (firm Democrat control).

Finally I would ask if Mrs. Clinton would explicitly restore welfare reform to the state it was when her husband signed it, or if she's sticking with the Obama version. Either answer loses her votes.

[semimojo]

Business income tax would raise $2.5 trillion per year? Current corp income tax only raises about $300 or so billion now. Are there numbers to support the $2.5T?

The current corporate tax is levied only on the corporations income, that is, profits.

Ted Cruz's VAT is levied on total revenue minus equipment and services purchased from other business, but not subtracting labor costs.

The 16% is lower than the current corporate income tax rate but is applied to a much larger revenue base.

[conservativejoy]

The abolishing of the IRS is a secondary thing to me. The tax reform and budget cuts he has laid out are what I find substantive.

[Carry_Okie]

The abolishing of the IRS is a secondary thing to me. The tax reform and budget cuts he has laid out are what I find substantive.

Agreed, but to me, grandstanding about it looks like more political posturing than substance.

[conservativejoy]

Voters have been asking for specificity and Cruz is giving it to them.

[Impy]

Eliminating the payroll tax could be a huge electoral winner.