September 10, 1985

Why Not Amnesty?

TF Staff

TF Staff

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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?

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TF Staff

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A tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities.

A tax audit is when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) conducts a formal investigation of financial information to verify an individual or corporation has accurately reported and paid their taxes. Selection can be at random, or due to unusual deductions or income reported on a tax return.