Senior Senator Calls For 90% Tax Compliance By 2010

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

20 April 2004

Sen. Max Baucus, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, is calling for a dramatic improvement in tax compliance in the light of recent claims from the Internal Revenue Service that the gap between taxes owed and taxes collected exceeds $311 billion annually.

"The majority of American citizens do their patriotic duty each year and file and pay their taxes," Baucus commented in a recent statement. "But there are millions of people - approximately 15 percent of the population - who are failing to live up to their tax obligations.”

"This level of noncompliance is unacceptable," he stressed adding: “Beefing up IRS enforcement capability and funding is an essential first step," in order to combat the problem.

In recent Finance Committee testimony, Deputy Treasury Secretary Samuel Bodman acknowledged that 2.25 million cases totaling more than $16.5 billion in delinquent taxes have not been pursued by the IRS since 2000. In addition, a recent General Accounting Office report found that 60% of U.S. corporations did not pay any federal taxes from 1996 to 2000.

"Our nation's financial picture continues to fall deeper in the red as the deficit continues to rise,” continued Baucus. “Closing the tax gap and ensuring that every individual and corporation pays their fair share would go a long way toward balancing the budget and allowing us to more effectively plan for the future," he added.

"I will continue to do everything in my power to raise tax compliance by at least 5 percent by April 15, 2010 and am hopeful that the IRS will heed this call. We owe it to every American who is doing what's right and paying what's due," Baucus declared.

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