A new month, more progress on The Disappearing Audit. I can see cresting on the horizon in front of me the prospect of having to sort out placement of the piece and that, frankly, sends me retreating back into writing and revising. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Great paper! Really appreciate the emphasis on audit and enforcement as key element of political role of tax (social contract, not just 'efficiency'), setting up the analysis of intersectional injustice in the system - which is politically harmful at least as much as it is economically regressive
The accountable audit regime you set out (which would be valuable in all countries) could include structured annual reporting by IRS on ETRs, proportions of audit, revealed compliance and audit RoI across (income and other) groups, with a stated policy goal to reach some 'fair+efficient' point?
Absolutely, that’s exactly the kind of structural accountability I’m hoping to move the conversation toward. Granted, I'm fully aware that I'll be little more than a parakeet chattering away in a cage in the corner for at least the next 3+ years. But all the same.
And thank you for reading! Huge supporter of TJN and the invaluable work you're doing.
Thanks Andrew! For all that it's a bad time, it's a good time to be on the right side - and there may be international opportunities to build support for measures that are unrealistic in the US at the moment.
All the same, statements like that made by Commissioner Long vis a vis preferring "direct audit" to Direct File makes me think time is of the essence here. www.cnbc.com/2025/07/30/i...