Rossotti Warns Over Sophisticated Tax Cheats

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

26 September 2002

In a report to the IRS Oversight Board released on Tuesday, IRS Commissioner, Charles Rossotti warned that the under-funded and under-staffed tax agency is losing the fight against increasingly sophisticated tax evaders in the United States.

He explained that there is: 'a huge gap between the number of taxpayers whom the IRS knows are not filing, not reporting or not paying what they owe, and our capacity to require them to comply,' adding that: 'We are winning the battle but losing the war.'

The Internal Revenue Service is currently waging an ongoing war on those wealthy US citizens and businesses who make use of 'abusive' or 'improper' tax shelters to hide income.

However, Mr Rossotti - who is set to step down as IRS Commissioner in November - warned this week that wide-spread knowledge of the tax agency's lack of resources have led more and more taxpayers to feel that it is worth taking the risk:

'If these problems and conditions are left unaddressed, we could face an enormous crisis in confidence in the tax system,' he cautioned.

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