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Do We HAVE to File Our Income Taxes?
“In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.”
Benjamin Franklin
No one likes filing their taxes (or paying them, for that matter), but most of us do it as a matter of principle-and because we know we’re going to be spending some quality time in a federal prison if we don’t! There are a number of groups out there, selling hype, who are using their time and resources to attempt to fight the tax laws in the United States and prove that paying taxes to the government is unconstitutional!
Okay, take a second to catch your breath. You’re probably laughing as hard as I was when I read that. I mean, think about it. If there were a way out of paying taxes, don’t you think the multi-millionaires out there, with their high priced lawyers, would have figured it out by now?
The arguments out there against the requisite payment of income tax range from fact to fiction to blatantly false, and unfortunately reel in some individuals and their money. These tax protesters claim that:
a) The 16th amendment to the Constitution, which states, “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration,” was never properly ratified by the requisite number of states, and therefore had never had any legal standing. This contention was taken up by William J. Benson and first seen in United States vs. House. Their argument? That the spelling, capitalization and punctuation of the amendments read and ratified by the states was different than that formally added to the Constitution, and therefore it conveyed a different meaning. Specific examples cited were the capitalization (or lack thereof) of the word “State” and the substitution of a semi-colon for a comma. As you can imagine, the argument was dismissed by the court on the grounds that the minute differences revealed upon closer examination were not serious enough to cause misunderstanding and provide grounds for repeal. b) There is no statute or regulation requiring citizens of the U.S. to file or pay their taxes, and therefore filing income taxes is completely voluntary. This is a case of these protesters not doing their homework. The Internal Revenue Code contains the laws mandated by the Federal Government concerning the payment of taxes. If these protesters had read Title 26 of the US Code they would see, in specific detail, the list of individuals who are required to pay taxes and the incomes upon which these taxes can be enforced. Now, bear in mind that there is a difference between Federal Income Tax and State Income Tax. Many tax protesters get hung up on this difference, citing the fact that seven states in the US do not require their citizens to pay a State income tax. Guess what guys? The people living in these states file a Federal Return every year, just like the rest of us. c) Filing an Income Tax Return violates the 5th Amendment right to not incriminate yourself. For the record, that amendment wasn’t intended to allow citizens to violate the law. Rather, it was intended to help anyone arrested for an offense keep from digging themselves in deeper through a thoughtless slip of the tongue. (For example, did you know if you’re in a car with someone and you are in possession of marijuana, and you happen to mention that you saw a gun in the glove box when you got in, a weapons charge will be added on to the charge of simple possession or intent to deal on the assumption that the weapon was involved or intended to be involved in the crime? A weapons charge makes the crime much more severe in a judge’s eyes.) d) Wages aren’t income. If wages aren’t income, then what is? Income is defined by the Random House Unabridged Dictionary as “The monetary payment received for goods or services, or from other sources, as rents or investments.” What are wages but a monetary payment for services? By definition wages are income, and therefore included as taxable income in Title 26. e) Income tax is a direct tax, and therefore prohibited by the Constitution. I admit, I had to do a little bit of research on this one. A direct tax is a tax on an individual that cannot be shifted onto others, such as an income tax or personal property tax. What does the Constitution say about direct tax? It states that, “Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct.” In other words, direct taxes are acceptable and will be apportioned (divided according to plan) among citizens of the states following a census. The Constitution supports direct tax. Apparently someone needs to buy these tax protesters a dictionary!
To answer the question, yes, you have to file and pay your income taxes. The arguments against the legal requirement to pay income taxes are laughable, and yet to date hundreds of cases of tax evasion based upon these arguments by tax protesters have found their way into the federal courts. The best thing to do when these zealots approach you on the street or on the internet, is to avoid them like the plague. Remember, if you listen to them and don’t file your taxes, you are the one that is going to get burned. Sooner or later these nuts are going to get caught, and you can be sure the judge isn’t going to be impressed by what they have to say. After he stops laughing at their ridiculous assertions, you’ll literally see the “book” thrown at them.
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This intel was contributed by taxman
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