ABSTRACT
The old adage that the only certainties in life are death and taxes points up the centrality of the issue of paying the government “its due” and the government establishing policies that determine what citizens and corporate entities will be required to transfer to the Treasury of the United States. Although setting tax rates and collecting taxes is a fundamental requirement of any government and paying taxes is one of the primary responsibilities of citizens, the relationship between the American people and their government becomes strained and contentious when taxes are the subject: there is an inevitable certainty that debates, differences and divisions will follow over who should pay and how much should be paid to the Treasury. The difficult relationship that exists between the government and the American people over
taxes and tax policy is best shown in public opinion polls when respondents are asked to name their least favorite government agency. Their response is usually the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which has as its primary function collecting corporate, personal income and other excise taxes. As in the Bible, tax collector remains even today one of the least respected occupations in our society.
