Untaxed: The Rich, the IRS, and a New Approach to Tax Compliance

One of the most common complaints about the tax system in the United States is that rich taxpayers are able to lower their tax liabilities through abusive tax practices, often outmaneuvering the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Untaxed offers a fresh perspective on the long-standing dilemma of tax avoidance and evasion by the rich by proposing a new legal response: means-based adjustments to the tax compliance rules. These compliance rules govern interactions between taxpayers and the IRS, from filing tax returns to responding to audit letters to paying tax penalties. Untaxed shows how tax compliance rules can be adjusted based on taxpayers' means to level the playing field between the rich and everyone else. Timely and innovative, this book is a must-read for legal scholars, policymakers, tax students, and anyone interested in tax policy and administration.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; 1. Tax noncompliance at the top; 2. How the tax system addresses noncompliance; 3. Means-adjusted tax compliance: a new approach; 4. When are means adjustments fair and efficient?; 5. From theory to legal design; 6. Tax penalties; 7. Tax advice; 8. The statute of limitations; 9. Tax information reporting; 10. Closing the tax Information gap; Conclusion.

About the Author :
Joshua D. Blank is Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. His scholarship focuses on tax administration, tax transparency, and agency communications. Ari Glogower is Professor of Law at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. He is a scholar of progressive tax theory and design.

Review :
'Blank and Glogower lay out a striking new approach to reining in rampant tax evasion by high-end taxpayers, including subjecting them to higher tax penalty rates, setting higher standards for claiming defenses against penalties, and requiring an annual wealth reporting form. Their carefully argued case commands close attention.' Joel Slemrod, University of Michigan, and co-author of Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes 'A fascinating and engrossing study of one of the most pressing policy issue of our time: how to improve tax enforcement on the very rich. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of inequality and the future of democracy.' Gabriel Zucman, Paris School of Economics and University of California, Berkeley, and co-author of The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay 'Experts agree that the United States today fails to require tax compliance from its richest citizens. The result is two tax systems, one for the very rich and one for everybody else. In this important book, Blank and Glogower propose to reform the law to encourage tax compliance by the rich – and to punish noncompliance. The authors work out in detail how their approach would transform IRS enforcement tools, including audits, penalties, and information reporting.' Anne L. Alstott, Yale Law School, and co-author of The Public Option: How to Expand Freedom, Increase Opportunity, and Promote Equality 'This excellent book is a must-read for anyone interested in the problem of reducing inequality. By focusing on limiting tax avoidance by the rich through reforming tax compliance, Blank and Glogower have made an original and important contribution to addressing the most important tax policy challenge of our time.' Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, University of Michigan Law School, and co-author of Comparative Fiscal Federalism 'A bracing tour through high-end tax noncompliance, a provocation to take a fresh perspective in the hunt for solutions, and a source of plenty of concrete proposals for reform. A must-read for those seeking to improve the tax system.' Chye-Ching Huang, Executive Director, Tax Law Center at NYU Law