At the state Tax Commission, "voluntary compliance" means people pay their taxes as required by law, without the commission having to go after them through audits, collections and enforcement to get them to pay up. In 2010, the state collected $2.78 billion through that "voluntary compliance," and $173.4 million through audit and collections. The commission processed 2.2 million items, an 18 percent increase from the 2002 level, with 4.5 percent less staff.

State Tax Commissioner David Langhorst said investing in audit and collections can collect more revenue without raising taxes, by collecting more of what's already owed; that's why Idaho is embarked on a multi-year "compliance initiative" to phase in additional auditing and collections staff. However, he said budget cuts in that area have the reverse effect, reducing revenue to the state. "One furlough day, for instance, may save $70,000 from our budget, but it costs other parts of the state $700,000 in revenue," Langhorst told legislative budget writers.