TAX FREEDOM DAY

Another April 15 has come and gone, but that infamous day, when Americans render unto Caesar, may be approaching extinction. Republican presidential hopefuls are trying to outdo each other in coming up with ways to simplify and lower taxes and abolish the Internal Revenue Service at the same time.

First there was a simplified income tax with lower rates on capital gains, investment and savings and a higher deduction for married filers with children. Then it was a flat income tax rate. Then the moistened finger of presidential politics was thrust again into the air of public opinion to find a strong wind of anti-tax sentiment blowing from the west. We should abolish the IRS and eliminate the income tax altogether, replacing it with a national sales tax.

These ideas, once associated with the political fringe, now are part of this nation's mainstream political dialogue. It is about time. After all, Tax Freedom Day -- the date when average Americans begin to take home their pay instead of sending it to local, state and federal government -- now is May 6. And for the first time this year it has been reported that Americans pay more in taxes than for housing, clothing and food combined.

Wouldn't it be nice to push Tax Freedom Day back to sometime in, say, late January?