Knights of the Tax Table

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Many protest leaders, including Greene, describe the IRS as omnipotent. Says the California tax rebel: "These bastards have so much power they can take innocent citizens and screw them to the wall." The truth is, though, that the IRS's enforcement power has deteriorated. Like the Wizard of Oz, who hid his timidity behind a screen, the IRS tries to disguise its own limited enforcement capabilities by playing up a reputation for toughness.

Actually, the IRS is virtually choked with paperwork; last year alone its overburdened staff and computers received 93,143,000 individual tax returns and 547 million documents. The agency was able to audit only 2.02% of the returns. The 2,267 cases it recommended for criminal prosecution in 1980 represented fewer than three out of every 100,000 individual returns and was well below the number of potential cases that could be brought against tax cheaters. Says former IRS Agent Philip Storrer: "The agency is falling further and further behind in their audits. They don't have a large force, and they are in serious trouble."

Still, when IRS investigators decide to press criminal charges against a tax evader, the action cannot be taken lightly. Says a Justice Department official who works with the IRS: "We do try to reserve the criminal cases for those who deserve to go to jail." The agency boasts an 85% conviction rate.