Silver Winner, ForeWord Book of the Year in the Political Science CategoryFinalist for the 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Awards presented by Hopewell PublicationsFrom unreported gambling winnings and inflated claims of the value of clothing donated to charity to money hidden in Swiss bank accounts and high-profile tax schemes plotted by celebrities and business leaders, the range of tax cheating opportunities is wide and the boundaries and moral status can be hazy. Considering the behavior of individuals and small businesses as well as the involvement of congress and the IRS, Donald Morris combines insights from law, psychology, sociology, criminology, accounting, economics, and philosophy to examine the ethical issues surrounding tax cheating and implications for tax policy.

Acknowledgments Preface 1. Tax Cheating-The Problem Introduction Tax Cheating Tax Fairness The Meaning of Cheating in Tax Tax Fraud Penalties and Deterrence Cheating-Specific Characteristics 2. The Tax Gap, Tax Protestors, and Small Business The Voluntary Tax System The World of Tax Protestors The Gaping Tax Gap Small Business and the Tax Gap The Broken Window of Opportunity 3. Tax Complexity The Complexity Problem Is Complexity to Blame? The Moral Dilemma Nonvoluntary Taxation Complexity and Morals Is There Ever a Time for Draconian Measures? 4. The Moral Duty to Obey the Law Morality and Legality Ethical Relativism and Absolutism The Role of Morality in the Law Moral Obedience to the Law The Ethics of Tax Evasion Justifying a Moral Duty 5. Cheating, Competition, and Fairness Cheating and Competition Hand-to-Hand Combat Fairness and Equality Getting What You Pay For What If Everyone Cheated? The Uneven Playing Field 6. Unintentional Cheating A Fork in the Road Fair Share Argument Unintended Cheating The Meaning of Cheating in Football Blaming the Messenger 7. The Courts, Equity, and Taxes Due Taxes and Equity Rules and Principles The Innocent Spouse Rules The Courts and Equity Equity, Subjectivity, and Negligence The Bankrupt Taxpayer Interpreting the Law-Transparency 8. Compliance, Complexity, Conscience, and Fairness The Moral Dimension of Tax Compliance The Matthew Effect Our Vision of a Fair Share The Moral Quality of Actions Enlisting Conscience in Reducing Tax Cheating Conscientious Objectors Civil Disobedience Notes Selected Bibliography Excluding Public Documents