On Voluntary Compliance, Voluntary Taxes, and Social Capital

In the past year, the IRS has succeeded in attracting the attention of another group of folks interested in taxation-politicians-and out of that attention is likely to come a bill to restructure its operations. Although I like some of the directions the legislation takes, such as institutionalizing a concern for the enforceability and compliance costs of new legislation before it becomes law, other directions-such as shifting the burden of proof- trouble me, and what follows is my attempt to articulate these concerns: some ruminations about voluntary compliance, voluntary taxes, and social capital.