September 10, 1985 Why Not Amnesty? TF Staff TF Staff Print this page Subscribe Support our work Download Why Not Amnesty? Working Paper Introduction An idea that keeps cropping up purports to turn tax evaders into taxpayers giving the Treasury an infusion of revenue at a fraction of the administrative cost of the regular audit process. What’s more, it may provide the base for increased future revenues as well by keeping a good portion of the forgiven on the tax rolls. The idea is tax amnesty. Recently it has been tried by a number of states generally with more success than anticipated. It is not, however, a popular subject with IRS Commissioner Egger, who is deadset against it. Why not a national tax amnesty if it would improve compliance and make even a small dent in the megabuck deficit? Topics Tags Compliance Costs and Tax Complexity
