Economic Crime: Tax Offenses

Theory and evidence mark tax evasion as a serious and persistent federal problem. Yet the government has responded with only a modest level of criminal prosecution. It is possible for a low level of criminal tax prosecution to be both just and efficient: this policy might appropriately reserve the criminal sanction for cases of exceptional culpability while promoting tax compliance through use of civil sanctions that are effective but more economical than the criminal process. The jury is out on whether current U.S. tax enforcement policy achieves these desirable goals. It is clear that federal criminal tax enforcers in recent years have broadened their criminal tax investigations to narcotics cases and financial crimes, so that "criminal tax enforcement" today may signify more a style of investigation than an effort to suppress a particular type of criminal conduct.