Death and taxes. Benjamin Franklin told us that those were the only two certainties in life. This week, some Americans will scramble to get an April 15th postmark on their tax forms. Taxes may be a certainty, but paying your taxes shouldn’t be this hard.

I believe that we need a tax code that is simple, fair and promotes economic growth. Right now, our tax code does none of those things. In fact, today is Tax Freedom day. That means that every dollar that Americans have earned before today was used to pay their federal, state and local taxes for the year.

With over 54,000 pages and 2.8 million words in our tax code, there is a lot of confusion. I believe that we need fewer rules, loopholes and alternative minimums. We shouldn’t have different rules for different groups.

The best way to reform the tax code is not to nibble around the edges. We should rip up the old code and start over with a blank piece of paper. There is no shortage of ideas on how to create a better code. Currently, there are bills in Congress for a Fair Tax and a Flat Tax. There are other ideas too that deserve a look.

What is clear is that almost no one thinks the code we have now makes sense. I believe we should start over and get a tax code that makes sense. Let’s create a tax code that is simple, fair and encourages economic growth.

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