As the prison escapees in “Raising Arizona” explained to their unwitting hosts, “We released ourselves on our own recognizance.”

That sounds a little like the attitude of tens of thousands of American taxpayers -- or rather, non-payers -- who, let us say, designed their own tax exemptions and shelters without … well, troubling the government about it.

No trouble at all, says Uncle Sam. In fact, he’d like to know more, and he’s here to help. Specifically, he’s willing to help some of these “creative” tax manipulators stay out of prison, and all he demands in return is that they come forward voluntarily.

Call it a different kind of “troubled assets” program, but in this case one that brings money in instead of paying it out.

The Internal Revenue Service is reviving -- temporarily, at least -- a deal from previous years under which Americans who have hidden earnings in other countries can ’fess up, disclose their assets and pay penalties of as much as 27.5 percent of their assets plus up to eight years of penalties and interest. If one’s offshore stash is $75,000 or less, the penalties would be about half the higher rate, maybe less.

For the scofflaws who for years have been stuffing big overseas mattresses with big wads of American ticking, so to speak, compliance could end up costing a sizable chunk of cash. That’s the downside. The upside is that they can avoid the choice of either fleeing the country to join their expatriate assets or spending a few years in the kind of American public housing that never requires rent.

This version of tax amnesty has paid off handsomely before. The IRS estimates that similar programs in 2009 and 2011 have brought in more than $4.4 billion to date. Commissioner Douglas Shulman said the latest effort could bring in even more -- by persuading violators to pay up, and by convincing others that they shouldn’t try hiding assets to begin with.

Uncle Sam is holding out a carrot, but he’s also brandishing a stick. Shulman warned that “if we catch people before they come in voluntarily, it’s going to be a much worse outcome for the taxpayer,” and he added that the IRS could end the program -- or raise the stakes -- at any time. In other words, as the prosecutors say in the TV crime dramas, the offer expires when you walk out the door.

In a tough economy, with working Americans struggling to make ends meet, there’s precious little public sympathy for, or official patience with, people who hoard money abroad to avoid paying their share at home.

Those people need to come forward and make good, or they need to be sent where they can’t release themselves on their own recognizance.