If the purpose of audits is to find and punish cheating, then auditing in proportion to number of exemptions/deductions would make the most sense. Sure, audit p

If the purpose of audits is to find and punish cheating, then auditing in proportion to number of exemptions/deductions would make the most sense. Sure, audit people claiming EITC more, but also audit people claiming lots of exemptions for money transferred to/from trusts or Caymans corporations, deductions for depreciation and business expenses, and every other special provision in the bookshelf-long tax code. Sure, a lot of these provisions have legitimate reasons for existing and are genuinely necessary for some people (like EITC), but each one also has some potential for abuse and when the tax code has thousands of them it becomes like a recipe book for those looking to evade.