This brief survey is a comprehensive historical overview of the US federal tax system.

Experts discuss strategies for curtailing tax evasion

People pay taxes for two reasons. On the positive side, most people recognize, even if grudgingly, that payment of tax is a duty of citizenship. On the negative side, they know that the law requires payment, that evasion is a crime, and that willful failure to pay taxes is punishable by fines or imprisonment. The practical questions for tax administration are how to strengthen each of these motives to comply with the law. How much should be spent on enforcement and how should enforcement be organized to promote these objectives and achieve the best results per dollar spent? Over the last few years, the U.S. Congress has restricted spending on tax administration, forcing the Internal Revenue Service to curtail enforcement activities, at the same time, that the number of individual filers has increased, tax rules have become more complex, and more business have become multinational operations. But if too many cases of tax evasion go undetected and unpunished, those who may have grudgingly paid their taxes may soon find it easier to join the scofflaws. These events in combination have created a genuine crisis in tax administration. The chapters in this volume evaluate the capacity of authorities to enforce the tax laws in a modern, global economy and examine the implications of failing to do so. Specific aspects of tax law, including tax shelters, issues relating to small businesses, tax software, role of tax preparers, and the objectives of tax simplification are examined in detail. The volume also builds a conceptual basis for future scholarship, with regard not only to tax administration, but also to such fundamental questions as whether taxpayers respond mostly to economic incentives or are influenced by their experiences with the filing process and what is the proper framework for evaluating the allocation of resources within the IRS.

This study introduces the concept of “Tax Compliance by design”. It describes how revenue bodies can exploit developments in technology and the ways in which modern SMEs organise themselves to incorporate tax compliance into the systems businesses use to manage their financial affairs.

Buy a new version of this textbook and receive access to the Connected eBook with Study Center on CasebookConnect, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities; practice questions from your favorite study aids; an outline tool and other helpful resources. Connected eBooks provide what you need most to be successful in your law school classes. Learn more about Connected eBooks Integrating theory and policy in an accessible format, the sterling author team of Federal Income Taxation, Eighteenth Edition imbues its subject with historical, economic, policy, and international perspective. Problems integrated throughout the text bridge the gap between theory and practice. Each edition of this renowned text builds on and adds to the strengths of its predecessors. New to the Eighteenth Edition: Fully updated to reflect changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Professors and students will benefit from: Notes, problems, and graphs that make challenging material accessible The highest integration of economics and policy analysis Great pedigree and authorship: Original authors Boris Bittker and William A. Klein were eminent authorities (with beautiful writing styles). Bankman, Shaviro, Stark, and Kleinbard are among today's leading tax scholars. A manageable length: Even with the new material, Federal Income Taxation is still one of the shortest books around.