While the IRS says that
$300 billion of taxes owed were not collected, more and more people believe that cheating on your taxes is not acceptable behavior according to the 2004 Tax Compliance Survey by the IRS Oversight Board. In addition, close to 300,000 people tried to
turn in tax cheats last year.
In the IRS Tax Compliance Survey, people were asked, "How much, if any, do you think is an acceptable amount to cheat on your income taxes?" Five percent more (86%) responded "Not at all" than did to the same question in 2003 (81%). Those who said cheating on your taxes "a little here and there" was all right decreased 4% this year (8%) compared to last year (12%).
The growing intolerance to tax cheats didn't seem to phase 4% of the respondents. They answered the question by saying that "as much as possible" was an acceptable amount to cheat on their taxes.
Some other results from the survey:
- 73% believe it's every citizens duty to pay their fair share of taxes
- 62% believe anyone who cheats on their taxes should be held accountable
- 53% believe it's a personal responsibility to report anyone who cheats
- 85% believe it's important for the IRS to make sure corporations report and pay their taxes honestly.