When Justice Takes Too Long: Should There Be a Statute of Limitations on Back Taxes?

2 min read

Just now

If citizens are bound by deadlines, why isn’t the government?

The Clock Ticks for Everyone — Except the Government

Every citizen lives under deadlines.

File your taxes late, and the penalties arrive without mercy. Miss a court date, and a warrant follows.

But when it comes to the government collecting back taxes or uncovering financial crimes, the clock seems optional — elastic, even eternal.

This imbalance raises a critical question: should the government also face a statute of limitations when pursuing back taxes or alleged financial misconduct?

For taxpayers, the law is clear: if you underreport income or make a filing error, the IRS can generally audit you for up to three years — or six years if the underreporting exceeds 25%.

But if the IRS claims “fraud” or “intent to evade,” the statute of limitations disappears altogether.

In other words, they can come for you forever.

That unlimited reach sounds reasonable — until you realize it gives extraordinary power to bureaucracies that often move slowly, lose records, or misinterpret old evidence.

Memories fade, files get archived, and the context of decades-old transactions disappears.

Meanwhile, taxpayers are expected to explain events, intentions, or bookkeeping…