Stopping Tax Evasion Would Add $4 Trillion to Federal Coffers

David Dayen in FireDogLake wrote Stopping Tax Evasion Would Add $4 Trillion to Federal Coffers.

"The CBO and other analysts estimate that allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire would add $4 trillion to revenue over the next 10 years. That’s roughly in line with the amount of money you could gain simply by ending all tax evasion. But of these two solutions, only one is actually credible. Because you’re not likely to stop all tax evasion. That’s especially true when you take into account the fact that the budget deal this month cut funding for the IRS, and added no new agents whose job it is to root out tax evasion. It doesn’t matter that every dollar spent on IRS enforcement brings back up to $10 in revenue, we’re in austerity mode, and the last thing the party in control of the House of Representatives want is for people to actually pay their taxes. "