grab_grab_the_haddock
February 22nd, 2009, 09:43 AM
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2006/04/our-indefensible-tax-system
David Cay Johnston has showed in his book, Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich—And Cheat Everybody Else, few people have really closely examined the intricate loopholes, devices, dodges, and shelters that allow corporations and superrich individuals to pay shockingly little in taxes. Sometimes even the IRS can't decipher the most complex tax-dodging schemes, and few journalists have the knowledge needed to cover the tax beat adequately.
As a result, most Americans remain unaware of the ways in which the wealthy cheat the system. And often, even when the public—and Congress—does become aware, nothing happens. Corporations and the superrich can continue to use tax dodges long after they're made illegal because tax law enforcement is so badly underfunded. Congress routinely cuts funding for tax auditors to save money, although as Johnston explains, the result is that the government often loses more revenue in uncollected taxes than it saves by firing IRS employees.
David Cay Johnston has showed in his book, Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich—And Cheat Everybody Else, few people have really closely examined the intricate loopholes, devices, dodges, and shelters that allow corporations and superrich individuals to pay shockingly little in taxes. Sometimes even the IRS can't decipher the most complex tax-dodging schemes, and few journalists have the knowledge needed to cover the tax beat adequately.
As a result, most Americans remain unaware of the ways in which the wealthy cheat the system. And often, even when the public—and Congress—does become aware, nothing happens. Corporations and the superrich can continue to use tax dodges long after they're made illegal because tax law enforcement is so badly underfunded. Congress routinely cuts funding for tax auditors to save money, although as Johnston explains, the result is that the government often loses more revenue in uncollected taxes than it saves by firing IRS employees.