ABSTRACT
The goals of tax administration differ widely from country to country. At one extreme the goal is simple: maximize tax revenue with the given administrative resources. Erroneous tax payments are either underpayments or overpayments. Underpayments may arise from evasion, overpayments from extortion, and either may result from non-observance or administrative ineptness. Administrative ineptness here implies failure by the tax assessor to state correctly the value of the tax base or the amount of tax, owing to ignorance or carelessness. If a fixed amount is available for administering given tax system it can be allocated to maximize revenue, to maximize accuracy of payment, or to equalize the degree of accuracy among taxpayers, or some weighted approach toward all of these goals may be taken. Assessors, auditors, and tax collectors being expensive, a search continues for a tax system that is self-enforcing, one that reduces the role of the tax official to that of storing records and receiving freely tendered tax payments.
