WASHINGTON, Nov 1: A high-level panel appointed by President George W. Bush on Tuesday recommended the first wholesale revisions to the US tax code in two decades to encourage savings and economic growth.

The panel’s report said that without comprehensive reform, the tax system would only grow more Byzantine and penalize millions of Americans who now fail to benefit from the complex array of benefits available to them.

The recommendations could give Bush the opportunity to refocus attention on his economic agenda after an unsuccessful drive to reform the Social Security pensions system, which he says is going broke.

Taking receipt of the final report of the nine-member tax panel, Treasury Secretary John Snow said: “You’ve given us the foundation for far-reaching changes in the code.”

He called for broad support across the country and in Congress for tax reform, pledging to turn the proposals into recommendations for Bush “that ultimately can serve the American taxpayers and the American people well”.—AFP