Can we see proof of income?

Many people in the Gulf of Mexico have seen their income drop like a rock and have been or will be asking for money from the special escrow fund set aside by BP. Problem is there is a need for some kind of substantiation to be eligible for receiving compensation and in the absence of pay stubs, proper paper trail or hefty tax-returns to show for what used to be purported earned income, it becomes very difficult to collect. This is an age-old problem linked to tax-evasion and that tricky game cuts both ways.

The American small business owner is one of the world's best positioned to cheat on their income taxes and with a collection system that has no teeth, huge amounts of money go untaxed. Now, this “cash” economy is getting harshly sanctioned, and a crisis like the oil spill proves to be as harsh a “taxman” as the government...