Opinion

Fire Rangel

Has he no shame?

Of course not.

He’s Charlie Rangel, head of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee — who can’t be bothered to tend to his own tax returns, but now intends to punish ordinary folks for making arguably minor mistakes on their forms.

The Post’s Charles Hurt reported yesterday that Rangel’s committee seeks to reduce legal defenses and increase fines and penalties on taxpayers undergoing IRS scrutiny for what they assert are innocent errors.

Among other things, Rangel’s bill would even prohibit the IRS from forgiving taxpayers who erred in good faith — though that would be a very generous interpretation of his own tax troubles.

In just the last year, Rangel has been forced to file late-disclosure reports involving millions in income from land transfers and unreported business deals.

Such transgressions should preclude Rangel from even voting on tax legislation, let alone writing any.

Indeed, we wouldn’t be all that surprised in the least if there were a Charlie Rangel exclusion clause written into the IRS-crackdown bill discovered by Hurt.

Just kidding.

But it’s no joke.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs to remove Rangel from his Ways & Means chairmanship.

He has long since lost the credibility necessary for a sensitive House position — and if Pelosi doesn’t move on Rangel soon, she’s going to be in the same boat.