2016ers bash Tax Day burdens

Republican presidential hopefuls are taking Tax Day to tout proposals to lower taxes and bash what they see as a burdensome IRS code.

Here’s what a number of potential 2016 White House candidates said to mark the tax-filing deadline.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.): Fresh off his presidential campaign announcement Monday night, Rubio appeared at a Tax Day event at the Heritage Foundation with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), where the two talked about their joint tax plan.

“You can’t redistribute what already belongs to you,” Rubio said. 

While some presidential candidates are proposing a flat individual tax around 17 percent, Rubio’s plan calls for a top rate of 35 percent for the wealthiest individuals and a 15 percent bracket for everyone making under $150,000 a year. 

Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.):  The New Jersey governor touted his opposition to raising taxes during a town-hall speech Wednesday, noting he’s vetoed five tax increases sent to him by his state’s Democratic legislature. He blamed high taxes in the state and across the country for causing businesses and millionaires to flee.

“The president hasn’t been willing to lead on that, hasn’t been willing to compromise on that,” he said.

“I would be willing to lead on that.”

He said it’s “ridiculous” how thick an average American’s tax return is and called the tax code “riddled with loopholes and special preferences.”

Former Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas): Perry used his statement to tout his record as governor, referring to Texas as the “most economically free state in the country.”

“I believe Washington can learn a lot from what Texas has achieved and that we’re only a few good decisions and a change in leadership away from reviving the American economy and expanding opportunity.”

Perry has regularly plugged his history of balancing the Texas budget while in office, as well as his 2006 tax cut of $2.5 billion, which is considered the largest in the state’s history. 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): Cruz teased his Tax Day message with a tweet including a Simpsons clip mocking the IRS, the same agency he is pushing to abolish in his presidential campaign.

Anyone else feel like this today? Imagine instead, we #AbolishTheIRS & have a simple flat tax http://t.co/xYprRCIzjq https://t.co/UgQ2UiuISS

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 15, 2015

He later released a statement criticizing the tax burden on Americans and, once again, calling to abolish the IRS and to institute a flat tax that could allow people to file their taxes on an index card.

“On top of the frustrating reminder that Americans are giving too much of their income to fund too many wasteful government programs, families are now being forced to pay the ObamaCare tax for the first time,” he said.

Carly Fiorina: The former Hewlett Packard CEO lambasted what she sees as an unwieldy tax code in her statement, blaming “the complexity and lack of transparency” for creating a system that only big business can navigate.

“The result is crony capitalism — because only big businesses can handle big government,” she wrote.

Fiorina recalled her experience selling to the federal government and criticized the system for encouraging the government to spend its entire annual budget in order to call for an increase.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.): Bush called for tax reform in a Facebook post, lamenting the complexity of the code.

“Our broken tax code cost Americans over $3 trillion and has more words than all of the Harry Potter books … combined,” he wrote. 

“It must be simpler, fairer, better for working Americans.”

Bush’s spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell, told CNN in March that Bush’s “record on tax cuts is clear,” adding that he totaled more than $19 billion in “tax relief” during his tenure as governor.

But the former governor has received some criticism for his unwillingness to sign a petition from Americans for Tax Reform that pledges not to support tax increases. 

Ben Carson: Carson hasn’t declared his candidacy yet and used his official exploratory committee to fundraise off of his Tax Day message. He slammed the tax code as “a disaster,” adding that it’s “too burdensome, too complex, and it costs our families and businesses too much money and heartburn.”

“We need a simple, proportional tax code that eliminates the need for complex, power-hungry agencies like the IRS,” he said in a statement.

Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.): Walker took to social media as well to release a brief series of tweets marking Tax Day.

“As I’ve traveled the country, I remind people that there’s a reason we take off July 4th and not April 15th,” he tweeted, noting that he authored the message instead of a member of his staff.

“Reclaiming power from Washington begins with letting Americans keep more of the money they earn.”

As I’ve traveled the country, I remind people that there’s a reason we take off July 4th and not April 15th. – SKW pic.twitter.com/ab35Nvd0ao

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 15, 2015

Reclaiming power from Washington begins with letting Americans keep more of the money they earn. – SKW #TaxDay

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 15, 2015

Walker signed a bill to cut $541 million in taxes in 2014, and Bloomberg reported he’s helped to bring more than $2 billion in cuts to Wisconsin taxpayers.