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Hoping that switching the conversation from his unconventional foreign policy to domestic affairs will revive his flagging presidential ambitions, SenatorRand Paul (R-KY) has taken to the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed page to introduce his plan to reform the United States federal tax system.

I am announcing an over $2 trillion tax cut that would repeal the entire IRS tax codemore than 70,000 pagesand replace it with a low, broad-based tax of 14.5% on individuals and businesses. I would eliminate nearly every special-interest loophole. The plan also eliminates the payroll tax on workers and several federal taxes outright, including gift and estate taxes, telephone taxes, and all duties and tariffs. I call this The Fair and Flat Tax.

While calling for a flat tax, Paul writes that he would retain the mortgage and charitable contribution deductionsnote that a pure flat tax tends to go by the wayside when a politician is confronted with the popularity of the mortgage and charitable deductionsand would levy no tax on the first $50,000 of income for a family of four. Low-income working families would additionally be permitted to retain the earned-income tax credit.

As I have noted on many occasions, I do not have an immediate, allergic response to the concept of a flat tax.

It is, after all, an enticing notion to imagine wiping out 70,000 plus pages of incomprehensible tax rules and regulations. This is particularly true when acknowledging that most of these pages are filled with tax breaks that benefit the wealthy special interests and others who can mold the tax code to their advantage through generous contributions to elected officials in Congress.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. speaks during the Road to Majority 2015 convention at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, Thursday, June 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

And who, with the exception of H&R Block, would not prefer simply dropping a postcard in the mail on April 15thavoiding much of the stress, strain and agony that tax day represents to so many Americans?

Still, there are lingering concerns that this approach will benefit the wealthy by making less of their incomesactive and passiveand estates fair game for the taxman while shifting the tax burden onto the shoulders of the middle class.

The reality is that our current progressive tax system in its purest formone unfettered by reams of special interest breaks and exemptionsis, in part, a system of wealth distribution. And while, for many, the words wealth distribution constitute the most offensive phrase in the English language, the concept may be far more important to our economy than those who harbor such feelings maycare to recognize.

By taxing the wealthy at a higher rate, thereby leaving extra money in the pockets of those who earn less, we fund government while creating the opportunity for the middle-class to spend more money in our consumer-driven economy without denying the wealthy the opportunity to do the same.

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Rand Paul Struggles To Keep Candidacy Alive By Introducing ...