Back Taxes — No Big Deal (at least for some)

Woes of Not Collecting Taxes Due: So, who's watching the watchdogs???

Basic story from Talking Points Memo [click here].

More detailed information on this timely topic can be seen at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities [click here].

A main point:

"The IRS’s new estimate of the “tax gap,” its first in six years, shows that taxpayers failed to pay $450 billion in federal taxes on time in 2006, $385 billion of which they never paid. That’s real money (more than Medicare cost that year, as the graph shows), particularly for a country facing wrenching choices on how much to raise taxes on honest taxpayers and to cut Medicare, health and science research, education, and other vital priorities in order to rein in long-term deficits."

What can be done to settle this multi-billion dollar question?

"Eliminating the tax gap would be impossible. Nor can any single measure substantially reduce it. But Congress can — and should — take a number of steps that would boost collection of taxes that are already owed by many billions of dollars."

Stay tuned — this election may or may not address this — however, don't expect the GOP to address this with any clarity or compromise.