Fritz Schranck lists a few of the usual taxpayer "dodges" when tax time rolls around every year. Included on the list is this one: Compliance with the internal revenue laws is voluntary or optional. I used to regularly listen to Philadelphia libertarian Irv Homer on the old WWDB radio station and he was (is) a staunch enemy of the IRS. He regularly asked why the IRS calls people paying their taxes "voluntary compliance." And, indeed, the IRS does refer to tax payment as "voluntary compliance!"
Well, it's not precisely what you'd like to think:
"A system of compliance that relies on individual citizens to report their income freely and voluntarily, calculate their tax liability correctly, and file a tax return on time."
Why the heck is the word "voluntarily" (not to mention "freely") even in there, then? 'Cause you know damn well what will happen if one "freely" and "voluntarily" opts NOT to pay his/her taxes!
It does have an Orwellian ring to it.
Posted by: The Unabrewer at April 4, 2007 04:10 AMI can't find a reference, but didn't Clinton call for increased tax "contributions" in his 1993tax hike? I think that's how he phrased it.
Posted by: Paul Smith at April 4, 2007 03:28 PMI miss WWDB. Used to listen to them a lot while I worked the midnight shift at DCC
Posted by: Mark at April 5, 2007 06:00 AMPaul, I think the Clintonian phrase was "investing in the future," which was somehow appropriate since he was targeting what we would consider the investor class. That was also when they decided that anyone making $200 thou a year could be defined as a millionaire.
Posted by: G Rex at April 5, 2007 09:51 AM