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Depending on whom you ask, Biden’s mission to add billions of dollars in funding for the IRS is either absurd or brilliant. The White House says additional IRS funding is needed to “finally [crack] down on high-income individuals and corporations who too often avoided paying their lawfully owed taxes and improve service for the millions of Americans that do pay their taxes.” The other side of the aisle calls it an “absurd” way to create a “supercharged IRS.” Either way, it looks like the recent budget deal gives the naysayers their way, for the moment. It also leaves the question outstanding: Is there any way to solve the tax gap–hundreds of billions of dollars annually that are owed but not paid?
No matter your perspective on who should pay what in taxes, all American taxpayers should agree that we want the rules to be followed equally. Our system relies on voluntary compliance. Much ike the cashbox by a roadside farm stand, you take an apple, you leave the money.
The latest estimate from IRS puts the gross tax gap at nearly $500 billion. (A good sign of why IRS funding is needed? The most recent estimate covers only 2014-2016.) It’s a shocking number. Biden’s idea was that by infusing more cash into the IRS, he can hire more agents and recoup some of the money owed. Experience has shown resources put into tax compliance pay for themselves and then some by narrowing the tax gap. One of the authors was a trial attorney...
Patricia White, 70, of Old Greenwich, received a nine-month prison sentence for submitting false claims for unclaimed properties to around 30 state treasuries. HARRISBURG, Pa. — Months after her br...