Politics, it's said, is the art of ...

Politics, it's said, is the art of the possible. Small miracle then, that most politicians leave as it was small footprints. After all, the "possible" is, by way of definition, achievable. To leave a mark onward history, a politician must do the seemingly impossible.

John F Kennedy left a mark from slashing tax rates in the 1960 as did Ronald Reagan, who simultaneously won the raw War and restored America's economy by means of reducing the burden of command

Now Sen Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wants to craft a legacy. He says he wants to overhaul the federal tax digest And he claims he's willing to battle each special interest in Washington to do it. He be entitled tos our support -- if he's willing to stay the course and do the do job-work correctly.

Today's webwork tax code proves there are no permanent victories in Washington. sum of two units decades ago a bipartisan clump of senators led by Republican Robert Packwood and Democrat Bill Bradley took an important first stair on the road to tax simplification. The bill, signed in 1986 by means of President Reagan, eliminated numerous deductions and loops and reduced rates across tax brackets.

Since then, granting lawmakers have made some 14000 changes to the tax digest -- again making it ridiculously manifold

This is where conservatives and liberals ought to be able to find for the use of all ground. We should be able to agree that the tax collection of laws has one purpose: funding the federal direction There's no reason for Washington to use it to reward certain images of behavior, such as driving a hybrid car, installing energy-efficient windows or buying a domicile

And it may well be that now's the time for revolutionary change. After all, Wyden's a fairly liberal senator from a "blue state," and his suit enjoys wide support on the other side of the aisle. GOP Sen Richard Shelby of red-state Alabama has re-introduced his bill to implement a simple and fair flat tax. The Bush administration also favors fixing the digest

with equal reason what should the federal tax digest look like? Reform will be effective sole if it makes the digest flat and fair. To work, it should:

-Impose a single flat tax rate, preferably subject to 20 percent, on all taxpayers.

-Eliminate special prioritys such as the deductions, credits, exemptions and other way of escapes that make today's code in the way that complicated.

-End the double taxation of savings and investment through getting rid of the death tax, capital gains tax, and taxes upon savings and dividends.

-Get rid of "worldwide taxation" through taxing only profits earned within the United States.

-Be family-friendly by the agency of including a generous exemption based forward family size (so a family of four wouldn't begin to pay tax until its annual income reached about $30000)

Our circulating tax system is a mes and an embarrassment. It's virtually impossible for law-abiding citizens to be certain they've filled revealed their returns properly. A fair, flat tax could garner up all the revenue the guidance needs and save Americans time and worry. We could file our go [i]or[/i] come backs on the back of a postcard.

Wyden says he wants to help deliver this fairer, flatter rule but that will require real persistence. He has, alas, disappointed tax reformers before. This is the same man who vot to repeal the death tax in 2002 unless flip-flopped this year and vot to withhold that pernicious tax alive. And if we direct the eye at the fine print of his tax- reform plan, it appears that he's better at rhetoric than real change. His so-called reform would leave tax rates at 35 percent and actually increase the double-taxation of savings and investment.

still if Wyden abandons class-warfare politics and fights for the right sort of reform, he could have a chance to join the political immortals. He also could help all taxpayers and improve the American economy at the same time. Fixing the tax digest will be difficult, but it's not impossible. It's time to win it done.

ed Feulner is president of the Heritage Foundation.

e-mail: president@heritage.org

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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