A number of news sources are reporting that while BP has been trying to work with fishermen regarding their losses, lack of business records is a complication. And the most glaring complication is the lack of tax returns. There is a price for not complying with the law and one of them is getting caught short when you have a claim for loss of income. The easiest form to use would be a tax return. But when you don’t prepare one or file one, guess what, then you have to try and reconstruct your income after the fact from trip tickets and other pieces. Also, workers who might have claims but got paid under the table don’t have tax returns to justify their income. This points out a real problem in this Country. Compliance. People who are off the grid. This also complicates issues such as health care and social security, when these folks are not contributing to the system, but when they get old and sick, they will be funded by taxpayer dollars. While I feel for these folks and their families, I hope this points out the need to come in out of the cold. The other sad fact is that when they apply for benefits from the government fund, there is no doubt that information will be passed along to IRS who will probably be flocking with agents to the Gulf Coast. If its not, the Treasury Department which is handing out all these checks will find itself with a mild internal issue to say the least.