Our 10,000-page (and growing) Internal Revenue Code is a horrible mess that needs to be cleaned up. Here are five federal income tax changes that I believe would be huge steps in the right direction -- and the reasons why I doubt we will see them anytime soon.

Did you know you pay federal income tax on the 6.2% Social Security tax that's taken out of your paychecks? Well, you do. Even worse: When you start receiving Social Security benefits, up to 85% of that money can be taxed again. This is double taxation folks. Retirees who are at very low income levels won't have to pay this double tax, but those who are further up the retirement-age income scale get socked with it on anywhere from 50% to 85% of their benefits. Is it unfair? Of course. But your beloved Congress enjoys the revenue stream and isn t going to fix the problem until millions of you start demanding it.

Eliminate 'Refundable' Tax Credits

I have no objection to the fact that those who qualify for so-called refundable tax credits can use them to offset their entire federal income tax bill. What I do take issue with is that they can then collect any leftover refundable credits in cash. In other words, the government writes them a check. This is disguised welfare being laundered though the tax system. Plus, it encourages tax fraud. For example, an individual who owes no tax can collect an $8,000 refundable tax credit by fraudulently claiming he bought a home on Form 5405 (the form for the First-Time Homebuyer Credit) and including it with his Form 1040. He's not required to submit any proof that he actually bought the home (or even state that he has proof), and he won t get caught for stealing the $8,000 unless he gets audited -- which is highly unlikely. I know it's unbelievable, but it's true. I hate to be the one to publicize this low-risk fraud opportunity, but there you go. If Congress wants to create welfare programs without any monitoring, that s a political decision. But they should dole out the payments in transparent ways, not by sneaking them through the tax system.

Get Rid of Deceptive Phase-Outs

One of the favorite tricks of our beloved politicians is to create a tax break, bask in the glow of the favorable publicity, and then take away the break from those whose income is deemed to be too high. For example, personal exemption deductions, the most popular itemized deductions, the child tax credit, the two higher-education tax credits, and many other breaks are all phased out (reduced or completely eliminated) as a taxpayer's income rises. So, in effect, these phase-outs are disguised tax rate increases that Congress never has to admit to.

If higher tax rates are deemed necessary, then politicians should raise them in a straightforward and transparent way. Of course, many probably fear that such transparency would hurt their re-election chances. They might be right about that, but it s no excuse. Deception and lack of transparency make for horrible tax policy and, unfortunately, your elected representatives won t change their behavior until you make them.

Dump the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

The AMT was originally conceived as an alternative individual income tax system that forced super-high-income folks who took unfair advantage of multiple tax breaks to pay at least some tax -- just like the rest of us. I have no problem with that concept. But over the years, the AMT has evolved into a tax that mainly penalizes middle-income folks who have lots of kids and pay lots of state and local taxes. To avoid ruffling the feathers of a large number of voters, Congress tweaks the AMT rules every year to prevent millions more from getting hit with the tax. So why not simply repeal it and be done with it? Politicians want to keep the AMT around as a backup revenue source -- just in case. Once again, this is bad tax policy, because it s deceptive. But the AMT won t go away until you force the politicians to make it go away. If they want to squeeze more tax revenue out of the populace, make them be honest about it by raising rates so we can all understand exactly what s going on.

Let Employees Deduct Health-Insurance Premiums

Employees who pay for their own health insurance don t get any tax write-off unless their employer provides a cafeteria benefit plan. Many small and medium-sized companies don t offer this. So the employee has to pay the premiums with after-tax dollars. Meanwhile, employees with better benefit packages get tax-free health coverage, and self-employed folks are allowed to write off their health-insurance premiums. This is completely unfair. Once again, however, the politicians are happy to get the extra tax revenue, and they're not going to fix the problem until you make them.

The Bottom Line

Lest you think otherwise, this column was not written from any particular political perspective. All the things I m ranting about here have been around for years -- during periods when both Republicans and Democrats have been in control. Bad tax policy is bad tax policy regardless of one s political affiliation. We need to start demanding an Internal Revenue Code that collects taxes in an efficient and transparent manner. What we have right now is an abomination.