LEGALITY OF INCOME TAX DISCUSSION GROUP
OVERVIEW OF THE GROUP'S POSITION
August 12, 1999

Regarding the "legality of the income tax" issue: As of today, 171 people have joined the electronic discussion group on the question of the legality of the income tax; most have become participants by discovering the eGroup after visiting www.givemeliberty.org; thus far 186 messages have been posted on the subject, with 167 posts since 7/21/99,and with approximately 38 people actively involved; no one has argued against the conclusions of Bill Benson, Joe Banister, Bill Conklin, or Larry Becraft ( the 16th Amendment was not ratified and there is no law that requires most people to file and pay income taxes); many participants believe that a massive tax protest is necessary; many believe that a super class action lawsuit with a "dream team" of attorneys is the way to go, and that we should spend the next few months raising the money to pay for it; others say both approaches are necessary; no one believes that we should rely on Congress; most of the participants have agreed that they are not against government or taxes, but are against government gone wrong or bad, and that they are against unconstitutional or illegal behavior by government -- including the fraudulent proclamation in 1913 that the Constitution’s prohibition against taxing the people directly without apportionment (as with an income tax), had been repealed through the ratification of the 16th Amendment; many participants consider that this is uncivil disobedience on the part of the government; many participants say that they know that there is no legal basis for the income and social security taxes, but they ask, " what can be done?"; they recognize that fear of the government and the IRS runs deep and paralyzes, and that, therefore, it is difficult for individuals to fight the government; many agree that what is needed is a pro-active, non-violent mass-movement; many agree that if millions of people stopped filing and paying income and social security taxes all at once, that would put an end to that tax and Congress would be forced to convene a special session to adopt an indirect (constitutional) tax -- a tax which would not be unconstitutional because people would have the option of avoiding it, as in the case of excise taxes or tariffs -- or to adopt a resolution to repeal the Constitution's apportionment requirement and start the ratification process all over again; many recognize the enormous amount of effort that would be involved in educating enough people about the facts to achieve a successful, pro-active, non-violent mass-movement; still, many believe that "duty calls" and the attempt should be made, especially if a workable plan could be developed that would enable millions of people, in the name of the Rule of Law, to put a collective foot down against this example of unconstitutional governmental behavior.

As a consequence of the above, two approaches are being considered.

(1) First, a super class-action lawsuit could be organized to test judicial attitude on the subject of the legality of the income tax.  The lawsuit could be conducted by a "dream-team" of attorneys and would be paid for by contributions to a special legal fund. The We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education qualifies as an organization that could collect the funding (tax deductible). The Foundation's board of directors is now  being asked if they approve such an idea. If so, fundraising could begin right away and be ongoing for a period of months.

(2) Second, a pro-active, peaceful mass movement of civil disobedience can be undertaken concurrently with the legal action. This would seek relief through the political process by forcing Congress to take action to resolve the problems with the current income tax system. It might also persuade the courts to face up to their responsibilities, although we cannot depend on it. We should keep in mind the words of Thomas Jefferson:

"To permit judges to be the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a dangerous doctrine. I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform (them)."

The process of "informing them" is a very large educational endeavor that will require the involvement of all of us and more, including those who have previously volunteered, those who are part of the eGroup, and those who are leaders and members of many other liberty-oriented organizations, along with their web sites and newsletters. The goal would be to educate and rally as many as 5 million people to participate in one form or other.

We The People Foundation, oriented towards information and education, would help lead the educational effort and spread the information about the legal problems with the income tax. A sister group, We The People Congress, can take a lead role in organizing the actual (legal) civil disobedience movement. The board of directors of the We The People Congress is being asked to consider this matter and to prepare a tentative operational plan if it decides to act.

What forms could a large-scale movement take? Here are some of the ideas that people have suggested: a march on the Capitol by 1,000,000 taxpayers and the burning of 1040’s; Benson’s idea of widespread jury nullification in criminal tax cases (it only takes one juror to thwart a conviction); non-filing of tax returns; claiming "exempt" on W-4 forms; Conklin’s idea of filing unsigned returns or filing for extensions until the IRS can tell you how to file without losing your 5th amendment rights, then the filing of Claims for Refunds; or challenging the legal authority of W-2s and 1099s and demanding from the IRS all due process rights in administrative proceedings. Those people that have been liened could submit freedom-of-information (FOIL) requests to gather the documentation upon which the lien was based, then sue for fraud when they discover they were classified as "manufacturing or selling alcohol or tobacco." The statute of limitation for fraud begins after one learns of the fraud. All of these methods, if used on a massive scale, can be used to force the government to obey the will of the people as expressed in the Constitution and abide by the Rule of Law, and, thereby, effect the change that the people are entitled to. How massive? Perhaps only a few hundred thousand, perhaps as many as 5 million, depending on whose estimates you use.

Borrowing another Jefferson phrase, "A decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them..." So it will be necessary to have a clear statement of purposes, including the reasons the movement is being undertaken (the "why") and the outcome(s) we want to see happen (the goals and objectives). The very next sentence in the Declaration of Independence from which the above Jefferson quote was taken states  that whenever government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter it.  That principle is the basis and the justification for the people to take the matter into their own hands.

Some reasons for the mass-movement would include:

  • That Congress and the courts have defaulted and abdicated their responsibilities to honor and defend the Constitution;
  • That the 16th Amendment was not legally ratified;
  • That there's no law requiring most of us to file and pay income taxes;
  • That we have a right to clear and unambiguous laws that are not vague;
  • That the IRS behaves in ways that violate our constitutional rights;
  • That many outrageous IRS practices were revealed to the public during congressional hearings in recent years, but little done about it;
  • That income taxes are inequitably targeted and socially destructive;
  • That the income tax system is an integral part of the Federal Reserve System, which, itself, is felt by many to be unconstitutional and illegal, and that it has the effect of violating our 13th Amendment right to freedom from "involuntary servitude."

Some desired outcomes to be considered:

  • To eliminate the income tax;
  • To alter the income tax to make it legal and better-targeted;
  • To eliminate the income tax and replace it with other excise taxes;
  • To devise a method of dealing with the Social Security question;
  • To make more sweeping changes, such as abolishing the Federal Reserve

Methods of informing and educating a larger number of people could include reaching people through the more than 209 "American liberty" web sites, distributing video tapes of the recent income tax symposium, donating copies to public libraries, showing them on public-access TV channels, and writing letters to the editors of newspapers or calling talk-radio shows to advise people to check out the information on this and other web sites about the legality of the income tax. A number of anti-irs advocates also travel all around the country to speak at meetings and conferences; people wanting to help could arrange for more of these forums in their local areas.

The internet allows us to reach millions of people and conduct a people's crusade as never before possible. Encryption techniques can enable us to gather e-mail addresses of people committed to a massive civil disobedience movement without risking exposure of their identities. In this way, we can know at what point we have enough participants to pull it off successfully, and the signal to put the plan into operation can be given with confidence.