ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the National Research Program (NRP), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) latest initiative for measuring noncompliance with the Federal income tax. Most of the gross tax gap is not detected by IRS, and is therefore never assessed or paid. The chapter explains the historical Taxpayer Compliance Measurement Program (TCMP) data on individual compliance trends. Like the former TCMP studies, NRP will provide strategic measures of payment compliance, filing compliance, and reporting compliance. Commissioner Mark W. Everson has indicated one of his main goals is to 're-center' the IRS to ensure a more balanced approach to carrying out the agency's dual missions of taxpayer service and enforcement. Abusive offshore financial transactions include various arrangements designed to circumvent tax laws or evade taxes. Noncompliance rates for United States individual taxpayers exhibited little apparent improvement or deterioration based on TCMP surveys conducted between 1973 and 1988.
