It's not. But an otherwise law abiding citizen who doesn't realize they are supposed to file will suddenly get a tax bill that could be hundreds of dollars.

The law is very complicated and filing the payment is not straight forward. And while many people I know understand it fully, I don't expect everyone to.

Edit: I see the confusion. When I said "new tax" I meant, taxes on orders that happen after they started aggressively enforcing the rules. I.e. no back dating.

I'm not sure how it works in the US, but here in a situation like this, and assuming it's a significant amount relative your income, you'd ask for a payment plan.