This is the time of year when people can get a little testy about taxes -- especially when it comes to others getting away with paying less than their fair share.

So when Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced a plan March 7 to crack down on out-of-state corporations and individuals that fail to pay the Montana taxes they owe, the reaction was largely positive. The administration believes the plan will produce an additional $20 million in tax collections over the first two years. How can this be anything but good?

Well, it turns out Montana business interests aren't exactly on the band wagon. The Montana Chamber of Commerce, the Montana Taxpayers Association and the Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants all say they need more time to study the proposed legislation. With just about a month left in the 2005 legislative session, it would be better to wait until the next session, two years from now.

So much for that $20 million the new law would have collected during that time.

The bill, being carried by Sen. Jim Elliott, D-Trout Creek, may be complex. But major corporations doing business in Montana aren't what you might call babes in the woods when it comes to taxation imposed by the various states they operate in. The governor's proposal would have to be complicated indeed to confuse their accounting departments.

And, after all, this measure wouldn't raise a penny in new taxes. Part of the bill would require out-of-state companies to provide more information and would give them a time frame in which they can voluntarily report abusive tax transactions, pay back taxes and interest, and avoid further penalties. This section is based on California's abusive tax shelter amnesty program, which regained $1.4 billion between December 2003 and March 2004.

Another section would crack down on real estate deals by requiring withholding taxes from nonresidents. Still another section would tighten rules regarding a number of types of businesses such as investment companies and trusts.

For most of us, filling out our income tax forms is a rather simple process. We don't deal with all those complex rules where loopholes of questionable legality apparently abound. Indeed, most of us probably wouldn't recognize such loopholes if they sat up and waved at us. But we'd sure like them closed.