The Pre-Tax Day Media Blitz

Tax Day is two days later than usual this year, thanks to a public holiday in the District of Columbia (and, indirectly, Abraham Lincoln). But the nation's media are rolling out plenty of stories on taxes in advance of tomorrow's filing deadline. There are actually several really intriguing stories today:

• The Washington Post has a piece on the difficulties of closing the tax gap, an issue that goes to a fundamental question: how tough do we want the IRS to be on taxpayers?
• And speaking of policing taxpayers, The New York Times reports an increase in IRS audits for middle-income families, particularly those who own businesses, are landlords, or have investment income. Blended families might be more likely to be checked, too. Audit rates aren't what they used to be; we can't wait to hear what the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse makes of the statistics.
• The Times also reports a (mostly anecdotal) surge in illegal immigrants filing tax returns in hopes that it will pave the way to citizenship, eventually. This obviously has implications for the illegal immigration debate as well as the budget -- surveys show the public is much more supportive of immigrants who play by the rules.

One of the key things to remember about public attitudes here is that fewer people are complaining that their taxes are too high than in previous years. Gallup reports a slight increase this year in those who say they pay too much, but it's still fairly low compared to the 1990s -- or the 1950s, for that matter. Lately, the bigger concerns seem to be that the system is too complex and that some people get away with not paying their fair share.