OPENING REMARKS BY ROBERT SCHULZ

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the "Is the Income Tax Legal?" Symposium, sponsored by the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, a NY not-for-profit corporation under section 501(c)(3) of the IRC. My name is Bob Schulz, and I'm the chairman of the Foundation, which is located in Queensbury NY. As the title of the symposium suggests, we are here today to examine the question of whether the federal income tax and social security tax are legal, and, if not, what then?

The way this came about was that the Foundation last winter began to become aware of, and get acquainted with, the work and ideas of a number of people from various parts of the country who have for years been researching, writing, and speaking out about their beliefs that the federal income tax as we know it is not legal and is not being administered legally. Several of these individuals were guests on my talk-radio show broadcast out of Albany, NY, and their claims really generated a response in the listening

audience. The switchboard lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree. It soon seemed like there needed to be an organized meeting of some sort in order to get some of these people together to talk about their work, present it to a concerned audience, compare and contrast their ideas, and challenge the government to debate with them the key and crucial questions on their merits without evasion, while at the same time trying to get as much publicity for the event as possible. That's been a tall order for a fledgling organization such as the We The People Foundation, but here we are, and let's hope we have some measure of success.

We The People Foundation is an educational not-for-profit corporation whose purpose is oriented towards information, research, and education, and, in fact, we are restricted to that realm by our charter. We certainly don't want to lose our tax-exempt status the IRS granted us a few months ago. The Foundation has not taken a position on the question of the legality of the income tax, except the position that it's a very interesting and important question, and that there's been some impressive work done on it. We decided that the proper format for the meeting would be in the general style of an academic symposium combined with opportunity for debate in sort of a point-counterpoint concept. A scholarly format is a good way to assure that the best ideas will float to the top. Since the IRS has chosen not to show up, we are providing in your packets, as a substitute, a collection of written arguments that have been used by the government in defense of the income tax. These will be discussed later on, and I'm sure the speakers will be addressing most of them during their presentations.

The overall question of the legality of the income tax is approached at this symposium in terms of two propositions: (1) that the 16th amendment was not legally ratified - indeed, was fraudulently declared to be ratified - in 1913, and (2) regardless of the 16th amendment, that there is neither law nor regulation that requires most citizens to file returns and pay income taxes.

We recognize there are a variety of views represented by the participants here, and they don't all see eye-to-eye on all points. However, the most important common ground is that it appears they all agree with the conclusion that most citizens are not legally required to file returns and pay income taxes, and that laws are being applied illegally. We want the speakers to present their ideas and findings in a positive fashion, propounding their own views, and not focusing on their differences - that's the government's job. As I say, we think the best ideas will rise to the top on their own merits. There will probably be occasion for debates between individuals later on or after dinner, if they so desire.

One of my colleagues in the Foundation, observing the different approaches and views of the various writers, compares it to the story of the several blind men who all bump into the elephant, and then get into a debate describing to each other what must be the nature and appearance of the beast. The one who bumped into the trunk had a much different impression from the one who bumped into the side or the ones who described the ear or the tail. Yet each one was right. In the income tax issue, some researchers have focused on the 16th amendment, some on the statutory aspects, some on the 5th amendment, and some on administrative procedures. Yet each can be contributing to our knowledge and understanding.

So we're here to discuss whether the income tax and social security tax are legitimate; or are they a hoax? If a hoax, it's ironic that the first income tax was during the War Between the States - ironic, because it was Lincoln who said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." If today's income tax is a hoax, then we don't want to be fooled any more of the time, and we don't want the rest of the people to be fooled, either.

We've asked our participants to be as specific as they can in order that the IRS's arguments will have as little wiggle room as possible, and to respond to the government's arguments that way, too. In looking over the government's written positions, it seems like the pea is always under some other shell. We want to eliminate or exhaust all the shells. That's one of the advantages of having researchers here who have come at this from different angles and backgrounds.