House Committee on Judiciary (JUD) - chair: Waters, vice chair: Oshiro

Tuesday, January 30, 2007, Conference Room 325

Testifier: Jean Aoki, Legislative Liason, LWV

Click here to view HB629

The League of Women Voters supports HB 733 which would require disclosure and internet posting of certain tax information to the public by the Department of Taxation. The kinds of information which would be subject to disclosure seems reasonable, and the administrative rules to be written and adopted should give interested parties the opportunity to react to concerns regarding what they may feel is excessive invasion of privacy. The disclosure of certain information like disputes settled by the attorney general in tax cases and the settled amount, penalties and interests imposed would be a deterrent to those who attempt to not pay their full share of taxes. When we read about tax cheating such as the article in the Advertiser on January 28, 2007 about the IRS battling a $290 billion cheating gap, what does it do to the honest taxpayer who has been making full payment on taxes due the government? Paul Jones, chairman of the IRS Oversight Board is quoted in the article as saying, “The tax gap is an injustice to honest taxpayers who ultimately bear the burden of tax cheating.” While the problem is huge on the federal level, we know it exists at the state level. When citizens realize that the government is doing something to encourage compliance with our tax laws and taking serious steps to enforce these laws, everyone will feel better about paying their own fair shares. We urge the passage of HB 733. Thank you for this opportunity to comment on HB 733.