Unpaid Taxes Tough to Recover
Congress Struggles For Way to Fill Gap
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 16, 2007; Page A01
Judging from his tax returns, Dinh Kim Huynh wasn't getting rich in the manicure business. In 2000, Huynh and his wife claimed taxable income of just $7,578 from their two nail salons in Southern Maryland -- so little that they qualified for a tax credit for the working poor. Their tax bill was $195.
But like millions of American business owners who trade primarily in cash, Huynh was not altogether honest with the Internal Revenue Service. When IRS agents poked around, they discovered four cars in Huynh's name, including a $77,000 Mercedes; receipts for diamonds and Rolexes in a closet at his Waldorf home; and a videotape of Huynh flashing a five-carat ring during the purchase of yet another vehicle at a local Honda dealership, court records show.
Huynh, 57, appears to be an especially bold contributor to the tax gap, the difference between what Americans owe the federal government and what they actually pay.
By the most recent estimate, the tax gap is $345 billion. Unreported business income accounts for nearly a third of that amount. According to IRS data, U.S. shopkeepers, mechanics, farmers and landlords will pay less than half the taxes they owe on the returns that must be filed by midnight Tuesday.
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Judging from this it seems that the business of business is to screw the rest if us. Businesses need to pay in all the taxes they owe just like the rest of us and I say if that means a few more forms or MORE audits then go to it. It is not fair that the individual (average not the rich elites of course!) is required to pay in all his or her taxes but businesses do not...in fact, it seems that for the republicans payment of taxes by businesses is not only somehting they do not support but something they have taken an active roll to stop through their active and tacit support of offshoring and legal tax havens while still allowing big business to get fat off of corporate welfare.....enough is enough.