We are the Fed’s Suckers

            Today, the United States is the world’s largest debtor.  We owe more money than any country in history.  In the last 20 years, the politicians in Washington have spent three trillion dollars that they do not have.  Now “a trillion” may not seem like that much to you, but just imagine:  A trillion seconds ago was back in the Stone Age, in the year 29,697 BC.

            Anyway, it seems like congress is spending a lot of bucks on themselves and while they tax us to death, they have unleashed the most powerful Gestapo in the history of civilization to destroy our substance: the IRS. 

            The politicians don’t seem to care a whit about us and our standard of living.  They easily take 50% of our substance and offer very little in return.  In the meantime, the IRS treats us worse than the kings of the Middle Ages treated their peasants.  Actually when it comes to politics there isn’t any difference between wasted money and money well spent.  The politicians actually do better when they pour money down the toilet.  They make a few rich guys happy and get the votes.  Believe it or not, politicians get paid for wasting money.  Yes, that is right!  Let’s take defense, for example, the Grace Commission estimated that $100 billion a year could be saved just by instituting sound management practices in the Pentagon.  Today, we are spending a hundred billion a year to defend Europe from the Soviet Union, a nation that doesn’t even exist.  We are dumping billions into Iraq and we spend fifty billion a year to defend Japan.  Just who are we defending Japan from?

            Yes, the politicians have bankrupted America by running large deficits.  You and your descendents are going to pay big time in the future for their wastefulness

A TIME FOR CHANGE

     Through the years, Congress, in a desperate attempt to satisfy their addiction to money has made the IRS a stronger and stronger agency. The mention of the IRS or an encounter with the IRS puts a terrible fear into the minds of most Americans.  The fear level is a definite situation that has been created by our government to assure that Americans continue to volunteer information and money to the government every April Fool’s Day.

           It is very difficult to get justice against the IRS because so many special exemptions and situations have been written into the law relative to the IRS and its employees.  For one thing it is very difficult to take action in court against the IRS because of the Anti-Injunction Act.

           Federal Judges can all find themselves under the gun of the IRS if they rule in a manner that is unfavorable to the agency.  The IRS could easily classify a judge as an illegal tax protestor simply for deciding against the IRS.  Elected representatives are also subject to the harassment of the IRS.  As many readers know, Senator Long of Missouri, Senator Montoya of New Mexico and Representative George Hansen, have been harassed by the IRS.  Supreme Court Justice William Douglas was harassed by the IRS' leaking of his tax return information because he ruled against the IRS. Judge Abe Fortas's career was destroyed after his nomination as Chief Justice in 1968 by the leaking of IRS information.

           In Denver, Colorado, several years ago, A Federal Judge, told Bill Conklin that if he ruled in Conklin's favor, it would destroy the Federal Tax System and he was not in a position to do that. Of course, the judge sat on Conklin’s Motion for summary Judgment for several years and then sanctioned him for arguing the frivolous argument of law that we are required to file fax returns. (See Conklin’s book:  Why No One is Required to File Tax Returns. ) What is the good judge afraid of? Certainly if he agrees with Bill Conklin, he could be audited, classified as an Illegal Tax Protestor and otherwise harassed by our good Gestapo.

           The IRS has so much incredible power with their dozens and dozens of civil penalties that the Congress should get rid of the criminal tax laws. It is absolute overkill.

           Fortunately the American Public is not waiting and hoping that things will change from within the government.  Around the Country, brave patriots have put their challenges to the IRS and slowly but surely, they are making an impact.

           There is one issue that will cause tremendous havoc with our voluntary tax system and that is when the average guy on the street finally figures out that he has been fooled by the IRS all these years.  He has been voluntarily filing returns and voluntarily waiving his Fifth Amendment Rights.  Once it becomes clear that we are involved in such a situation, the voluntary filing system will crumble and the laws will drastically change.

          The IRS’ big problem is created by the alleged requirement to file a return and the use of previously filed returns in criminal tax cases.  The government cannot have its cake and eat it too.  They cannot require individuals to file Federal Tax Returns and then turn around and enter evidence of the act of filing in criminal tax cases to show willfulness. But, unfortunately, the courts are currently letting the IRS get away with this incredible travesty of justice.

           Tax Attorney, Charles Adams, who has authored a book titled: For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of History makes several good suggestions to resolve these problems.

           First of all, the IRS has too much power.  It doesn't need all that power.  IRS Districts should be the same as congressional districts; then the Congressman would have a reason to get real upset about IRS behavior.  Federal Officials and Judges should have their tax returns handled by the G.A.O. and not by the IRS.  Taxpayers should be able to sue the IRS.  He also thinks that we should get rid of the criminal tax laws, as they are simply a form of overkill.

           As you can see, many people around the country are doing important things to make sure that the situation changes soon.  Hang in there, and keep supporting your favorite Freedom fighters.  Don't get on the front lines unless you really know what you are doing.

That Nasty IRS

            The IRS very well may be the nastiest organization in the world.  It is certainly the nastiest group of bureaucrats in the United States and it is the most powerful bureaucracy in the most powerful country in the world.  That is why my phone keeps ringing.  The IRS has no interest in doing a good job and treating people right.  All they care about is collecting money and they don't care who they step on to get it.  Congress has made the situation very bad by giving the IRS unbridled power.  The average collection officer has the power to garnish wages, take assets and ruin a person's life without a court order.  The IRS can proceed based on a phony assessment under Section 6020(b) and the burden of proof is on the individual to prove that the IRS is wrong.  Recently the IRS grabbed vehicles owned by other people to pay taxes of an Anti-IRS Subscriber.   Incredibly enough, the IRS found out that the individual who owed the taxes did not own the vehicles and they proceeded to the sale anyway.  Such an attitude shows how dangerous it is to give individuals such incredible power over the lives of the populace.

            Yes, the IRS is the largest bunch of goons in the United States and they have unlimited power.  IRS agents abuse their access to information.  For example one IRS report stated that 360 employees of its southeast regional branch in Atlanta had been investigated for browsing taxpayer accounts just for fun. In the Agency's internal computer system, less than one half of the agents were disciplined.

            Most people in this country think that the burden of proof lies with the government against the citizen.  Unfortunately however, in civil tax cases, the burden is on the citizen and the IRS takes full advantage of this fact.  The agency has independent authority to impose civil penalties and they don't have any legal obligation to wait for any court order before they start seizing paychecks, cars and other property.  Remember the old adage:"power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  Well, when it comes to the IRS, that old adage is really true.  Volumes could be written about IRS abuse.  It is more common in the United States than motherhood and apple pie.

            The IRS depends on the fear factor.  However, because of the incredibly complex tax code and the high tax rates, citizen cooperation is breaking down.  The tax laws are so complicated that virtually everyone can be branded as an illegal tax protestor at the whim of an IRS agent.  An IRS memorandum quoted in the March 1980 Saturday Review explained: "Agents should be able to discover errors in 99.9 percent of all returns if they want."

            The IRS has declared war on the self-employed.  The IRS is attempting to get most of the nation's five million independent contractors reclassified as employees.  If an individual is an independent contractor, a business is not required to withhold taxes and the contractor pays directly to the IRS.  However the IRS doesn't trust the self-employed so they are trying to force as many people as possible to subject their earnings to tax withholding.  The IRS has assessed millions in penalties and back taxes since 1988; and they have forced businesses to reclassify hundreds of thousands of independent contractors as employees. 

            The problem is that the IRS has a bottomless war chest to attack businesses and individuals.  The only way that we will ever defeat the IRS is if each one of us can fight back without the cost of hiring attorneys.  If you have to hire an attorney to fight the IRS for you, you can never have enough funds to fight back.  That is why individuals must learn to fight back and they must use their knowledge to help others.  We will have a bottomless war chest to fight back if we can empower ourselves to fight back.

            Currently, the number of persons working at home is growing nearly five times as fast as the overall U.S. work force.  The IRS is trying to make it harder for people to work at home by making the criteria for deducting home-office expenses more stringent than ever.  The Los Angeles Times reported in 1993 that the IRS violated its own rules on deductibility of home-office expenses by issuing erroneous instructions in Publication 587 and then penalizing taxpayers who take deductions based on those instructions.  The system is so complicated that people cannot be expected to understand it.  The Internal Revenue Code now totals over 2,000 pages plus more than 10,000 pages of regulations that have the force of law.  That does not even include the 200,000 pages of IRS and court interpretations.  A study by the Arthur D. Little Company revealed that, during 1985, businesses and individuals spent over 5.4 billion hours on federal tax compliance activities.  This is the equivalent of three million people working all year long on federal tax compliance activities at a cost of about a quarter of all federal tax collected.

            During 1992, for example, the IRS issued over three million levies affecting almost two million individuals.  The IRS also issues liens on property and each year the IRS prosecutes about 6,000 people for violations of the tax code.  The American public now spends about $13 billion a year fighting IRS enforcement actions.  It currently costs about 65 cents to collect a dollar in taxes.  Collection of taxes is the single most expensive government expense.

            Isn't it about time that we got rid of the Nasty IRS?

Dear Willie:

I have recently been denied a student loan due to a negative credit report.  I know that one of the main reasons I was denied was because of tax liens that are still on my credit reports.  Can you give me some help with the removal of these liens, as you know, I have declared bankruptcy and my taxes were discharged. How can the IRS still keep a lien on my credit?

Sincerely,

Sad Student

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Dear Sad Student:

Well, your problem does have a solution.  You were able to get a letter from the IRS after your bankruptcy admitting that the tax was discharged. However, the lien does not automatically go away.  You need to write a letter to the IRS requesting the removal of the lien.  Your letter must explain the fact that the IRS has admitted that the taxes were discharged in bankruptcy. If the IRS does not remove the lien, then you can sue for a removal of the lien in Federal District Court. You have an excellent chance of winning and then their tax lien will be removed from your credit rating.

            If the IRS fails to remove a lien that is improperly filed, the individual involved has a right to appeal within the IRS' system.  You may request a release of lien by submitting a written request to the Lien Section of the Special Procedures Branch (IRC Section 6326).  If the IRS does not release the lien, then you can sue for damages under IRC Section 7432.

            If you do sue the government under Section 7432, you must exhaust all your administrative remedies first.  Under Section 7432(d)(1) and (2) you have a duty to give the IRS a formal notice of failure to release the lien (See Section 7432(e). The lawsuit must be filed within two years of the time that the IRS fails to release a lien upon notice of failure to release (IRC Section 74322(d)(3).  As you can see, you must notify the IRS adequately and then you can sue after the IRS refuses relief.

  So, let's get to work soon. Sincerely, Willie