George Reisman's Blog on Economics, Politics, Society, and Culture

This blog is a commentary on contemporary business, politics, economics, society, and culture, based on the values of Reason, Rational Self-Interest, and Laissez-Faire Capitalism. Its intellectual foundations are Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and the theory of the Austrian and British Classical schools of economics as expressed in the writings of Mises, Böhm-Bawerk, Menger, Ricardo, Smith, James and John Stuart Mill, Bastiat, and Hazlitt, and in my own writings.

Sunday, November 07, 2021

Some Questions About Income Tax Audits

An income tax audit is essentially a search. Why, consistent with the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, doesn’t it require a search warrant signed by a judge?

Since income-tax audits sometimes lead to criminal prosecutions and jail sentences, why is it not a requirement that anyone whom the IRS wishes to audit, first be given a “Miranda Warning,” with its notification of the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present?

Why isn’t the 5^th Amendment to the US Constitution and its protection against self-incrimination a routine basis for the refusal to submit to an audit, thus requiring the IRS to make its cases without the cooperation of citizens forced to help in their own incrimination?