Why Cruz's tax plan could expand government

A new version of the long-running conservative argument over whether to “starve the beast” of government is playing out in the Republican primary. This time, it pits Marco Rubio against Ted Cruz in an argument over whether Cruz’s tax plan would expand the federal government.

The clash began this month, when Rubio took aim at the business portion of Cruz’s tax plan. Cruz’s proposed “business flat tax,” Rubio said, is really a value-added tax, an “anti-free market idea” that would stealthily raise tax bills.