In general, Congress set out to strike a balance in the bankruptcy code between the need for government entities to collect taxes, the need to promote a fresh start for debtors and the desire to create a relatively balanced playing field for competing creditors. This chapter explains how tax creditors will do well when they quickly collect the debts due to them. They will do much less well if the debts have gotten old. Exceptions to this general rule exist for tax debts secured by a tax lien or debts arising from the debtor's collection of funds on behalf of the government -- trust funds.