Max Baucus: “in the next week, millions of Americans will do their duty, obey the law, and complete their income tax returns.…”

“in the next week, millions of Americans will do their duty, obey the law, and complete their income tax returns. Although this is clearly one of our citizens' least favorite annual rituals, most taxpayers will do what's right and provide their share of funding to keep our national government running. But while these honest Americans are doing their part, a number of others are trying to get by without doing theirs. And that's what I would like to talk about this afternoon. Some call it the ``tax gap''--the difference between the amount of taxes that taxpayers actually owe to the Federal Government and the amount of taxes that taxpayers actually pay to the Federal Government. This is not about raising taxes. This is about enforcing the tax laws on the books. This is about collecting the taxes that are owed to the Treasury under the existing Tax Code. While most Americans, with quiet patriotism, file their tax returns and pay their taxes on time, too many do not.”