10. Forced Self-Incrimination. The requirement to file tax returns sworn to under penalty of perjury operates to invalidate the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Citizens face a legal dilemma. On the one hand, refusing to file a return would expose a citizen to prosecution for failure to file. On the other hand, disclosing information sought in tax returns constitutes a waiver of Fifth Amendment protections.
The IRS can and does release that information to federal, state, and local agencies for both tax and non-tax law enforcement purposes. We can pretend that enforcement agencies will not use tax info, but in effect: -- disclosing information sought in tax returns constitutes self incrimination.