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A quick look at a calendar shows that Tax Filing Day and Election Day are about as far apart from each other as possible. As a result, taxpayers often end up with candidates who give lip service to the idea of lower (or at least simpler) taxes during campaign season, but who rarely have to deal with the immediate consequences of failing to back up words with deeds when they are in office. The complicated and confusing 67,204-page Tax Code is a direct outgrowth of this separation.

In response, Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) has sponsored a bill (H.R. 77) that would move the deadline for federal income-tax returns from mid-April to the first Monday in November -- the day before Election Day. The reason is simple: to strengthen the link between the politicians we elect and the taxes we pay for the government they shape. Reinforcing this connection might have an impact on who is elected to serve in public office, which in turn influences what tax reforms are passed into law. This structural shift could be a great boon for the policy-centered changes taxpayers have long sought.

Given the size, scope, and complexity of tax filing and collection, putting a date-shift into practice would admittedly be a large undertaking. Yet it certainly would be less complicated than other governmental activities (like futile attempts to wipe out poverty through massive wealth transfers). Members of Congress have moved Tax Filing Day twice in the past -- please join us in asking them to move it again.

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