As
quoted in a previous
article from Benjamin
Franklin’s Poor Richard’s
Almanack , “There are
two things to expect
in life: Death, and taxes.”
Well, this is sad, but
true. However, even sadder
to say, there are a great
many people in this country
who have been led to
believe (by individuals
whose intentions are
both good and bad) that
there are legal ways
to avoid the paying of
taxes.
You have to pay taxes. There is no way to avoid doing so. If you want to pay
less taxes, you can
do so through the various
so-called “loopholes”
in the Tax Code (which
have been explained
from time to time in
this newsletter). But,
just to make sure the
reader is aware, this
article is going to
illustrate some of
the “arguments” tax
protestors have cited
that people can use
to avoid paying taxes.
Again, to reiterate,
these arguments are
FALSE, they WILL NOT
stand up in court and,
worse, anyone trying
to use the following
arguments could wind
up not only losing
in court, having to
pay fines, court costs
and fees, they could
also wind up serving
time in a Federal prison.
Federal
Income tax system:
- Filing of income taxes is voluntary.
-
Paying income taxes
is voluntary
-
If you don’t prepare
your tax returns, the
IRS will do it for
you
Taxable
Income and Gross Income:
-
Anything not declared
on your W-2 form (i.e.,
tips or other gratuities)
isn’t considered personal
income and, therefore,
isn’t taxable.
-
Only income from a
Foreign source is taxable.
-
You are only supposed
to be taxed for DOLLARS
earned. Since Federal
Reserve Notes aren’t
dollars, you can’t
be taxed.
Tax
Code:
-
The taxpayer is a citizen
of the state he/she
resides in and, thereby,
can’t be considered
a citizen of the U.S.
-
The term “United States”
means only federal
territories, the District
of Columbia and any
other property in fact
owned by the government.
-
The Federal Tax Code
refers to taxpayers
as “persons”. Since
a taxpayer may not
consider himself a
“person” as defined
by the tax code, he
is not subject to pay
taxes.
-
Individuals in the
employ of the federal
government are the
only ones subject to
paying federal income
tax.
Constitutional
Claims:
-
Taxes violate the 5th
Amendment to the Constitution
of the U.S. (This amendment
deals with taking of
private property without
recompense.)
-
A taxpayer doesn’t
have to fill out and
file tax forms because,
in doing so, he/she
would be self-incriminating
themselves which is
in direct violation
of the 5th Amendment
(“No man may bear witness
against himself”).
-
Complying with paying
taxes is in violation
of the 13th amendment
(Involuntary Servitude,
i.e., slavery).
-
The 16th amendment
(which established
income taxes), was
not ratified by the
required majority of
states. Ergo, it is
unconstitutional.
-
The Internal Revenue
Service is a private
company that is chartered
in the state of Maryland.
Since it is not an
agency of the federal
government, it has
no authority to tax.
Trusts:
- Establishing a trust (offshore or otherwise) is a legal way to become exempt
from paying federal taxes. (Sound familiar?)
Again,
the reader should take
note: Everything mentioned
in the previous paragraphs
were arguments presented
in federal courts.
Each argument was debunked,
and the plaintiffs
in these cases wound
up losing - big time!
I've
stated in prevous articles
in this newsletter
that there are scammers
out there trying to
sell asset protection
on the basis of “once
it’s offshore, you
don’t have to pay any
taxes.” I’ve also said
that when a planner
tells you this, run!
This is also true for
those who may try to
convince you,based
on the arguments above,
that you needn't pay
taxes. These people
are flat out wrong!
The best example in
which to compare these
arguments is with the
numerous Urban Legends
you've heard at one
time or another: A
lot of these legends
sound very believable,
but they aren't. They
are just what they're
referred to as: Legends.
If
you would like more
information regarding
asset protection, trusts,
family limited partnerships
or the subject of this
article please call
or email our office.
