Politics: Conservative Tax Cut Healthcare Firebomb

I'm all for simplifying the tax code. I'm also much more interested in simplifying the code in ways that prevent Fortune 500 companies from paying zero taxes by employing armies of accountants and tax lawyers. That would make sense.

The Bush administration must disagree, according to the Washington Post:

Instead the administration plans to push major amendments that would shield interest, dividends and capitals gains from taxation, expand tax breaks for business investment and take other steps intended to simplify the system and encourage economic growth, according to several people who are advising the White House or are familiar with the deliberations.

The changes are meant to be revenue-neutral. To pay for them, the administration is considering eliminating the deduction of state and local taxes on federal income tax returns and scrapping the business tax deduction for employer-provided health insurance, the advisers said.

So let's see. We grow business, but we give even less incentive for employers to offer healthcare? What a great country we live in.