Bush Panel Unanimously Backs Two Alternatives for Simplifying Tax Rules

(Update4)

Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's tax advisory panel unanimously backed two overhauls to the tax code that would scrap or curb many popular deductions and tax labor more heavily than investment.

The nine-member panel, wrapping up 10 months of work, said in a letter today to Treasury Secretary John Snow that the current code is rife with ``gimmicks'' and ``hidden traps,'' such as the alternative minimum tax, which it recommends repealing. The two proposals would raise about the same amount of money as the current system, the panelists said.

``Both satisfy the president's directive to recommend options that are simple, fair, and pro-growth,'' the panel said in its letter. Snow said in Washington today that the recommendations ``challenge orthodoxy'' and provide a ``starting point'' for altering the tax system.