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GOP presidential candidate Rand Paul proposes to replace the current tax code with a 14.5 percent flat tax. | Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wants to "blow up the tax code," and he's proposing a new, far-reaching flat tax to do it. The only problem is that his plan could blow up the size of the deficit, too.

The libertarian-leaning senator from Kentucky argued in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Thursday that legislators should scrap the current tax code, which he described as overly complicated with far too many handouts for corporate interests, in favor of a "fair and flat" system that would tax all income levels at 14.5 percent.

It's an idea that former White House wannabe Steve Forbes tried to popularize in the 1990s, although the Forbes Media chief called for a slightly higher tax rate of 17 percent. Current GOP presidential candidates like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have endorsed similar proposals, but Paul is the first in the 2016 race to offer specifics.

Paul's plan would reduce corporate and individual tax rates while eliminating gift and estate taxes, telephone taxes, duties and tariffs, and, perhaps most significantly, payroll taxes. He would eliminate most personal deductions, sparing only those for home mortgages and charitable giving, which are supported by both liberals and conservatives.

For a family of four, the first $50,000 of income would be tax-free. The plan would also maintain the earned-income tax credit for needy families.

Paul described his proposal as a massive tax cut that would reduce revenue to the U.S. Treasury by $2 trillion over 10 years. Citing an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, he claimed the plan would increase gross domestic product by approximately 10 percent and create "at least 1.4 million new jobs."

That sounds great on paper, and it will surely sound even better to skeptical Republican voters whom Paul needs to woo in early primary states.

But how much would it actually cost in lost revenue? The Tax Foundation said $2.97 trillion over 10 years, using a static basis, or $960 billion, based on "dynamic scoring" that accounts for economic growth. But another analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice, a nonprofit research and advocacy group, argues that it would cost as much as $15 trillion over a decade.

And how would Paul keep that much lost revenue from blowing "a massive hole in the budget deficit"? Unspecified spending cuts that would magically balance the budget.

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Rand Paul's Plan To 'Blow Up' The Tax Code Could Leave A ...