Our tax system is, at its core, a voluntary system. Since World War II we have had mandatory payroll withholding and quarterly estimated tax payments for the self-employed but it must be remembered this is not the payment of taxes. It is only a down payment on what we voluntarily self-assess ourselves when we file a tax return. We all know that some people voluntarily self-assess themselves large credits at the expense of other taxpayers.

A voluntary tax system is dependent on the credibility of the agency that is collecting the self-assessed taxes and making sure that the self-assessments are correct. In the 1960s the Internal Revenue Service was held up as a model government agency, a place you wanted to work. The credibility of the IRS has sunk to new lows due to the latest scandal to rock the Obama administration.

Today morale in the IRS is very low. Some of the reasons are that the IRS is under-staffed, under-funded and watching the revolving door as senior, experienced, people retire. The agency is grossly underfunded to handle its current workload, let alone the addition of the astounding amount of additional requirements imposed on it by Obamacare. Read More