Sen. Ted Cruz is joining Tea Party activists in calling on Congress to abolish the Internal Revenue Service as the freshman lawmaker made the case from tax reform.
The Texas Republican on Monday said news that the IRS targeted the nonprofit applications of conservative-leaning political groups was an "inspiration" because of how it has sparked "normal American citizens that are standing up for liberty." In the wake of the IRS scandal, Tea Party groups have repeatedly called for the agency to close its doors, and Cruz, a hero of the conservative movement, echoed their sentiments.
"It is a challenge that we all face to limit the power of Washington," Cruz said. "After these revelations of political targeting by the IRS, we need to padlock and shut down the building, abolish the IRS, and move to a flat tax or the FAIR Tax." ------ Leaders in Congress have publicly expressed a willingness to tackle tax reform, though it seems that Democrats and Republicans every year express similar sentiments without any action. Earlier in the day, a new government study showed profitable corporations paid an effective income tax rate lower than 13 percent in 2010, sparking calls from both sides of the aisle to take another look at the tax code.