Offering thorough understanding of the crisis facing federal tax administration and suggesting practical approach to solving issues that have arisen.

A significant and pernicious problem facing the nation is the tax gap, the difference between what is owed in taxes and what is paid. Estimated to be over $300 billion annually, the tax gap represents an enormous revenue loss for the government. This lack of revenue often causes unnecessary increases in annual deficits and the national debt, increasing national interest payments and adding pressure to cut vital government services. Unfortunately, much of the gap must be made up eventually by honest taxpayers through higher taxes and by beneficiaries of federal investments through service cuts. Bridging the Tax Gap: The Case for Increasing the IRS Budget illustrates some of the factors that perpetuate the tax gap and offers practical solutions to the problem.

Bridging the tax gap : hearing before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, second session, July 21, 2004.