This morning I read an article in the Wall Street Journal titled, White House Leans Toward Tighter Enforcement of Taxes . It said…
White House officials disclosed the tax initiative on Tuesday, saying they intend to explore ways to better enforce the current code as well as improve it by eliminating corporate subsidies and untangling its many complexities.
Everybody is in favor of a simpler tax code and a more fair tax code. But toward the end of the article was this paragraph…
Back home, one of the biggest remaining problems is underreporting by small businesses that deal in cash -- as many contractors do. Among the possible further steps: requiring small businesses to use bank accounts, and using the tax code to encourage homeowners to report to the IRS the money they have paid to contractors.
Having grown up in the cold war era, this type of enforcement seems more appropriate for a communist country. A communist government would force you to conduct your business a certain way. A communist country would tell you it was your duty to tell on your neighbor. It just doesn’t feel right. Why is it that all these rules and regulations are imposed on honest people? Dishonest people won’t comply anyway.
