Thus it was beyond scandalous that what little was heard from Doug Macdonald, until last week the chief economist of the Utah State Tax Commission, as the Legislature was considering Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s so-called flatter tax plan drew not a respectful hearing from lawmakers but political flak and a pressured early retirement.

It is far too much like the history of the giant Medicare prescription drug plan, which passed Congress only because the budget-busting forecasts of the plan's costs by Medicare's own experts were withheld by the Bush administration.

Macdonald and his colleagues may, perhaps, be faulted for not better labeling the lines between objective numbers, expert analysis and personal advocacy. But legislators should be smart enough to distinguish among them, and brave enough not to kill the messenger when some of the facts prove politically inconvenient.

There are three problems with the Huntsman tax plan: 1) Middle-class and retired taxpayers will be unduly harmed. 2) Expectations of increased revenues for the state's bursting public schools are based on an outrageously optimistic view of economic trends. 3) Lawmakers actively resist information about 1) and 2).

So much better would be a truly progressive income tax structure, with the greatest responsibility falling on those with greatest wealth. That would spare their less-affluent neighbors an unfair burden and create a more stable source of funding for Utah's schools.

The cornerstone of the governor's plan is to lower the state's top income tax rate from the current 7 percent to 5 percent. That's supposed to make Utah more attractive to CEOs and other taxpaying members of their posse. In that view, the initial annual state revenue loss of $66 million will be more than made up in the future as businesses boom and tax receipts swell.

Macdonald should not be the only person to question that theory. The state's ability to attract businesses will be much more dependent on factors beyond our control - war, oil and interest rates - than on even the cleverest manipulation of our income tax code.

The governor's tax plan passed the Senate and came very close to passing the House. It will be the subject of a special session to be called for mid-May. That gives lawmakers time to seek out the very expert advice that Macdonald was rebuked for offering.