Ted Cruz: 'Abolish the IRS'

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Ted Cruz: 'Abolish the IRS'
(Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

The annual Conservative Political Action Conference got underway Thursday, which means you can expect to hear a slew of vocal denouncements of the run-amok federal government over the next few days. To wit, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) got the party going by declaring, "We need to abolish the IRS."

In its place, Cruz advocated a flat tax system so everyone could file their taxes "on a postcard." It's an idea he and others have floated before; Steve Forbes literally wrote the book on it almost a decade ago. Yet the idea has never really gained traction with the American public, and even some on the right think it's a well-intentioned, though deeply flawed, plan.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.