Tax Day is two days later than usual this year [1], thanks to a public holiday in the District of Columbia [2] (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 [3], 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, [4] 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 [5] 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 [6], 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. [7]
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 [8]. Gallup reports a slight increase this year [9] 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 [10].