Democrats Urge Increased Tax Collection Before Social Security Changes

WASHINGTON (AP) - Several Senate Democrats said Wednesday the government should crack down on businesses that evade taxes before Congress considers Social Security or tax changes.

"We should not cut the benefits of any law-abiding retiree by one dime or raise the taxes of any law-abiding worker by one dime until we have done our best to ensure that all taxpayers are complying with the current tax laws," said Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.

J. Russell George, the Treasury Department's inspector general for taxation, told lawmakers that the government loses billions of dollars annual because businesses avoid paying the employment taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare.

The committee chairman, Sen. Charles Grassley, said some proposals to collect unpaid taxes or expand the reach of employment taxation might be too difficult to pass. Democrats Urge Increased Tax Collection Before Social Security Changes