Sen. Ted Cruz Monday called for replacement of the the Internal Revenue Service with a simple tax or flat tax.
The Texas Republican also accused the Obama administration of a "willingness to use the machinery of government to target political enemies."
"It was wrong when Richard Nixon did it and it was wrong when Barack Obama did it," Cruz said on Fox News, referring to the controversy surrounding the IRS targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.
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There's been no evidence to suggest President Barack Obama or anyone connected to the White House ordered the IRS scrutiny of tea party and other conservative groups, but Cruz called the controversy "a manifestation of too much power in the federal government."
"When the federal government has too much power in our individual lives, it's an invitation to being abused," he added.
The tea party favorite said the IRS mess proves there's a better way to ensure fairness in the tax process — a simple, or flat tax paid each year by filling out a postcard-size return.
"The average American can fill out our taxes on a postcard, put down how much you earn, put down a deduction for charitable contribution, for home mortgage, and how much you owe. It ought to be just a simple one-page postcard and take the agents, the bureaucracy, out of Washington and limit the part of government," he said.
"This administration has been willing to disregard the Constitution, disregard the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Fourth and Fifth amendments . . . to set aside the constraints of the law for partisan ends, and the result of it has been people's trust in the integrity of government has been undermined."
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