Ross: One solution for the $400 billion American tax gap
Oct 4, 2018, 7:54 AM
Despite the New York Times tax expose on the Trump Family, its unlikely they’ll be getting a bill from the IRS.
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Because a lot of people avoid paying what they owe. It’s called the tax gap. When you add it up, it represents quite a tidy sum.
“It’s $400 billion a year,” says Frank Clemente, who runs Americans for Tax Fairness.
He thinks President Trump’s tax cuts gave way too much to the rich, but what he considers really unfair is how many wealthy people still wont pay what they owe.
All because Congress keeps cutting funding for tax audits.
“It is s shame, for every dollar the IRS spends on enforcement, it raises $7,” Clemente said.
Imagine what you could do with all that money.
“We agree that our roads and bridges are falling apart across this country,” he said. “Would putting $400 billion into rebuilding our roads and bridges, would you call that wasting money?”
Heck no. Except, who in Congress is going to stand up say “What America needs is more tax audits!”
Nobody! Which is why the time has finally come for my Tax Lottery idea. Every April 15, the IRS draws the names of 100 taxpayers, and awards each of them $10 million on the spot – provided that their tax returns are 100 percent accurate.
Tax gap solved.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
