Q:

From: Kungfurez@aol.com

Subject: question from your website about a "voluntary income tax"

Hello,
    Thank you for your website's attempt to help clarify some questions regarding the income tax. I was looking into and researching a lot of these "voluntary income tax" claims, including statements made by ex-IRS agents, CPA's and lawyers.
     My conclusion is that I am certain that there are many scam artists around. I have not come to a conclusion if the income tax is voluntary or not. You say how if someone fails to file tax returns the IRS "is willing to use force." This doesn't answer anything regarding the issue of whether the filing and paying of income taxes are voluntary and only raises the question of whether or not the IRS is correctly applying the law or, in Irwin Schiff's words, are behaving like a "federal mafia."
       I have researched the constitutionality of the income tax as well. What I don't understand, and I hope you can clarify for me, is this: if the Constitution allows for direct apportioned taxes and indirect unapportioned taxes, and if the 16th Amendment, according to a Supreme Court Case, offers "no new powers of taxation," where does the income tax fall? It is clearly a direct, unapportioned tax, isn't it?
       You said that mentioning these arguments in front of an IRS employee will result in an automatic $10,000 fine and that constitutional protections are "null & void when it comes to taxes for the federal government." Can you show me where it says that a Citizen's constitutional protections regarding taxes for the federal government are null and void? I personally am not proud of a system that will result in a $10,000 fine for just posing a question, much like the questions I've posed for you in these emails. In the mission statement of the IRS it states that one of their goals and duties is to make the code clear to the Citizens. If asking questions results in large monetary fines then this is clearly a bogus statement.
       I remember seeing a report where a New York Times reporter asked the IRS Commissioner to respond to the claims that the income tax is voluntary and if he could directly answer where in the IRS code it says that one is liable and he answered with, "Ever since I was a young man and started working I felt the desire to contribute my share to the country..." While this can tug on a few heartstrings, any investigator like myself can see that that didn't answer the question.
       I don't want you to think I am being difficult or a "tax protester." Like Commissioner Rossini, I too have paid income tax since I started working. But I am not satisfied with simple name-calling and would like it if you could provide me with some answers--if you are capable--starting with:

-The question of the constitutionality of the income tax with respect to the 16th Amendment providing "no new powers of taxation," and
-Where it says that all constitutional protections are null and void when it comes to the issue of federal government taxation.
-why does the IRS constantly use the term "voluntary compliance" when the word "compliance" would imply that it is done voluntarily anyway?

  Thank you so much for your help.

Sincerely,
Adam

A:

 Adam:

I am very familiar with the tax protestor movement's long running attempts to muddy the waters by trying to force us tax practitioners to answer a slew of ridiculous questions, such as those you posed here.  I did go through those motions several years ago and do not have the time to do any more of that.  It is not my place in the big picture, or that of any tax practitioner, to defend the IRS or the tax code against every crazy argument that can be conceived by nut jobs who seem to be more interested in selling their books, tapes and seminars than in actually affecting real change in this country's tax system.

If you are serious about researching the tax protestor arguments, you should start with the info on the Quatloos website.

You claim to not be a tax protestor yourself, yet your letter resembles exactly hundreds of others I have received from tax protestors over the past decades, each claiming to be doing independent research on the legality of the tax system.  You need to come up with a new angle because this one is worn out.

Kerry Kerstetter

 

- posted by Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA @ 2/25/2005 03:58:00 PM Send this post: