Each year, Californians pay an estimated $2 billion less in taxes than they owe legally, leaving a large and substantial "tax gap" created by these unpaid revenues, according to Steven M. Sheffrin, professor of economics at UC Davis and director of the UC Davis Center for State and Local Taxation. The single largest source of state government revenue is self-reported income and deductions of individuals and businesses, notes Sheffrin, who is hosting a "Symposium on the Tax Gap: Partnerships for Change" on Tuesday, April 18, at the UC Davis Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center. "Leaders in government, business and education will address the issue of trying to close the tax gap while preserving individual privacy rights," says Sheffrin. State Controller Kathleen Connell has convened the symposium that will examine those groups of taxpayers who are hurt by the tax gap and address potential strategies to close it. For example, businesses that pay legally owed taxes may be unable to compete with businesses that do not. The daylong program is co-sponsored by the California Franchise Tax Board and the Institute of Governmental Affairs at UC Davis.