How many US citizens cheat on their taxes?

Answer 1

An estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of taxpayers cheat on their returns.

A recent report by the Commerce Department found ... a 37 percent increase in unreported income from 2000. In a separate report, the Internal Revenue Service looked at both unreported income and improper deductions and concluded that Americans shortchanged the government by $345 billion in 2001 - an amount almost equal to the projected federal budget deficit for 2007.

The I.R.S. report concluded that proprietors of small businesses, investors and farmers cheated the most. Workers who had 99 percent of their wages reported to the government and taxes withheld from their paychecks were the least likely to cheat. Mr. Everson acknowledged that the estimate is probably low ... The biggest single revenue loss came from proprietors of unincorporated businesses ... who shorted the government an estimated $68 billion in 2001.