US Treasury Secretary John Snow on Wednesday bemoaned the "dreadfully murky" US tax code, which he said was acting as a drag on the American economy. Speaking at the first meeting of a bipartisan tax advisory panel - convened by the White House to discuss tax overhaul options - Snow said US individuals and businesses spend more than six billion hours every year on tax preparation. "The tax code is dreadfully murky in its complexity," he said. "We can take those billions of hours away from the tax code nightmare and give them back to the terrific productivity and creativity of the American people."

Snow said tax overhaul goals should include "fairness, simplicity, ease of understanding, and economic growth and job creation." Incentives to charitable giving and homeownership are also important, he said.

He said overhauling the Internal Revenue Code - now more than a million words long - was a "key priority" for President George W. Bush in his second term in office.

"I look forward to reviewing your proposals - which the president has asked to be budget-neutral - later this year," Snow said.

Copyright Reuters, 2005