Last week, the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform presented their recommendations for simplifying the income tax code. The bi-partisan, nine-member panel presented their report to Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, who hopes to have a proposal to President Bush by the end of the year.

Now one might think that tax simplification / reform is something about which we can all agree. Yet, approximately three minutes after the report was released, it came under attack from both sides of the political aisle. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) called the commission a “Trojan horse.” Worse still, an anonymous citizen from Arizona likened the panel to a “Bruin defense – which looks good, but doesn’t do anything!”*

But seriously, we’ll spend the next couple of weeks explaining some of the recommendations produced by the panel so you can know how it may affect you should any of it ever become law. Just remember to keep things in perspective and don’t become too panicked or embittered by what you read. After all, global warming may someday torch the planet, but it’s a tad premature to stock up on sunblock.

*For those who missed the Debacle in the Desert last Saturday, that’d be a reference to the UCLA Bruin defense.