Aren't You Really, Really Glad YOU'VE Taken Control Of How Much Of YOUR Money Washington Gets To Spend, Just As The Founders Intended?
Did You Know That We Have A Special Tax For The "1%"?
I'LL BET YOU
DIDN'T KNOW WE HAVE A SPECIAL TAX IN AMERICA
DESIGNED TO FALL just on privilege-beneficiaries like the Federal Reserve and
other politically-connected corporations; on those exploiting publicly-owned resources
and opportunities; and on those benefitting from
positions in public office. Carefully structured to suit its special purpose,
this tax rarely applies to anything done, or earned by, "the 99%".
As strange as it
will sound to you, this special tax
just for the "1%" is the one known as "the income tax".
Click here
for a look at some hard evidence that I know what I'm talking about, and then
read on...
The income tax was
born back in the mid-19th-century in order to help finance the Union side in the War Between
the States. Allowed to go dormant in 1872 after that need had passed,
the tax
was revived in 1894 in order to begin returning to the public treasury some of the
enormous financial benefits being realized by federally-subsidized
railroads, national banks, and other
personal-profit-generating federal instrumentalities and activities.
Briefly interrupted in that revival by a
loophole-creating Supreme Court decision that prompted a Constitutional
amendment designed solely to overturn that one ruling, the tax went back
into effect in 1913. Its objects remain the same: the profits from the exercise
of public privileges by direct exploitation of federal resources or as
administrators or beneficiaries of federal authority, prerogatives or subsidies,
however realized.
The targets of the
tax include (among other things), the profitable federally-connected activities
of hundreds of corporations like the Federal Reserve,
Citibank and Union Pacific, and of millions of patronage-position beneficiaries,
elected office-holders and career bureaucrats. (Due to the currently-bloated
size of the federal government, the total of those engaging in some activity
subject to the tax-- either directly or through investments-- is a good deal more than 1% of the American population.
In fact, the fraction probably runs closer to 10% at the moment. But I trust you'll forgive
my use of the meme...)
Most importantly,
the tax DOESN'T fall on the rest of us who don't exercise any profitable federal
privilege. At least, not as written.
The fact that the
rest of us have nonetheless been PAYING the tax for most of our lives is a
result of what might very well rank as the greatest (or at least, most
expensive) misunderstanding in history. It's a misunderstanding that began
innocently enough, but quickly generated an intensely-interested constituency.
Those actually subject to the tax quickly recognized that its broad
misapplication to others allowed the burden on themselves to stay low while
simultaneously drawing huge amounts of revenue into the federal treasury that
was theirs to spend (on themselves and on the expansion of their power, among
other things).
Happily, clearing
up the misunderstanding is easy. Most people can learn everything they need to
know about how the tax actually operates (it's not what your accountant or tax
attorney told you...), how it comes to be misapplied (you have a lot more to do
with this than you can imagine...) and how any given misapplication can be
corrected (it's easy, despite the deep-seated desire of the beneficiaries of
your ignorance to keep you from doing that) in just a few hours of reading-- a
modest exercise that will prove to be worth somewhere between 35-45% of annual
earnings to most Americans.
Start by reading
this to learn
about the true nature of the tax. Next, read
this for a
simple lesson about how the tax comes to be misapplied.
Then share this message as widely as you can.
"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be
their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge
gives.”
(Deceitful efforts to discourage Americans from learning the truth
about the "income tax")
FOR
ALL THE YEARS SINCE 2003 when
CtC was first
published, the government has engaged in a concerted effort to
frighten people away from its truths, which the government,
unsurprisingly, finds highly inconvenient. This effort involves
official government websites and press releases touting an
occasional court ruling that appears to be at odds with some
CtC-revelation
(but without details sufficient to expose the real substance of the
ruling)--
and
sometimes even more mendacious behavior.
The
effort also involves online
activity by purportedly disinterested folks who we are supposed to imagine spend huge amounts of time posting "Stay away from this crazy stuff!" out of the goodness of their hearts and
a selfless concern for
the well-being of others. In other words, this is online activity by
obvious government-connected or supervised "agents-provocateur" and
the occasional "useful idiot" shill, who imagines him- or herself to
be a beneficiary of the status quo, or who wants to be on someone's
cocktail-party A-list. Some of this latter group are also doubtless
just shameless hacks attempting to defend a professional career of
thoughtlessly buying into the "income tax" scam as commonly
misunderstood, and see their best bet at avoiding embarrassment in
helping the government bury the truth.
These
"non-official"
posts (which can be found in newsgroups, blogs, and occupying entire
websites) are generally of a consistent character. All either make
fallacious "resort to authority" arguments based on a careful
selection of misleading, irrelevant or demonstrably flawed material
from certain judicial rulings, present outright lies about events
such as tax-agency reactions to educated filings, present lies about
the content or arguments in
CtC, or do all
of these. All rely on the targets of their mendacities not
investigating matters for themselves, knowing that such investigations are often
time-consuming and sometimes outright difficult.
Here's
the simple, impossible-to-misunderstand short answer to these efforts: The
IRS has admitted under oath that tens of thousands of
CtC-educated filings have been
made since 2003. Now consider how many allegedly adverse
court rulings are claimed in these official and non-official
scare-you-away-from-CtC efforts...
Furthermore, pretty-much everything alleged in these official
and non-official scare-you-away-from-CtC
efforts is grossly misrepresented. Let's examine
a few of these falsehoods.
Misrepresentation: CtC-educated Americans
have been prosecuted for their filings
As Long As Myths About The Income Tax Persist,
The Misapplication Of The Tax Will Continue
FEBRUARY 3, 2013 MARKED THE 100th ANNIVERSARY of the adoption of the
16th Amendment. As was to be expected, a lot of punditry on the
subject could be found throughout cyberspace and in the mainstream
media harmfully mis-stating the facts concerning the amendment, and
thereby helping perpetuate the mis-application of the "income" tax.
The
chief error made in these articles is the characterization of the
amendment as the origin of the income tax. The
chief ill effect of this error is that imagining the 16th
Amendment to be the origin of the tax makes it very easy to
misunderstand the real nature of the tax as an excise of limited
scope on only distinguished, specialized receipts.
On the
other hand, understanding that the 16th is NOT the origin of the
tax makes recognition of the true nature of the tax virtually
inescapable. Understanding the true origin of the tax means
recognizing that the tax predates the amendment by many years
during which it was applied to the very same things to which it
applies now-- and was so applied without apportionment, while being properly
upheld by the courts as completely Constitutional. This, in turn,
reveals that the objects of the tax were, and are, of a limited,
distinguishable character that have always been suited to a
non-apportioned tax.
Because getting these things wrong conceals the true nature
of the tax, and getting them right reveals that true nature, this is
not only just a matter of academic and professional integrity.
Instead, it is a matter of enormous public interest concerning the
truth about a tax by which control of 35-45% of productive America's
earnings has annually been being transferred from its rightful
owners to a hungry horde of sociopaths intent on living by the
"political means".
CLEARLY, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT that punditry erroneously perpetuating
myths about the 16th Amendment and the tax be corrected, and this
will only happen if each of your reading these words help to educate
those responsible. You will all have seen articles this past week
about the amendment and/or the tax. Please send
the document you'll find here (preferably with a nice, polite
cover letter) to every writer responsible for such an article, and
to that writer's editor as well, where appropriate.
If
each of you takes part in this endeavor, we will soon see a welcome
transformation in the minds of everyone with whom those of us
standing up for the rule of law and the proper application of the
tax must deal. I don't need to explain what a difference that will
make.
P.S. That
document is a great tool for introducing the truth about the tax
to others, as well...
We each have our reasons, and our story. It's time, and it's needed, for
you to share yours with the world.
Everyone's failure to step up and fulfill
this simple request is really getting to me, now...
"The day we see truth and do not speak is the
day we begin to die."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
What does it
for you?
Is it simply
because no moral and upstanding person has any choice when it comes to
telling the truth over his or her signature, whether on tax forms or
anywhere else?
Is it recognition of the critical importance of the rule of law,
and the knowledge that if everybody leaves its caretaking to someone else,
it will soon be lost to us completely?
Is it the money?
Maybe it's
just simple respect for your own rights as a human being, who is not and
cannot be not involuntarily subordinated to others?
Maybe it's just
simple respect for your general civic responsibility to be the grown-up and
enforce frugality and restraint on a big, powerful creature of our own devising
which otherwise is like a badly-raised teenage boy given whiskey and car keys
and let loose on the road to wreak havoc?
Or is it, perhaps,
a more acute anxiety that if our bonfire of a state isn't damped, and quickly,
it'll soon burn down the house around us all?
What IS it that
firms up your jaw and stiffens your resolve?
It's time to
take off the bushel and share your light!
I would like
you to think about what it is that motivates you for a few moments (or all
day, if you like), and then send me your thoughts. I want to put YOUR reasons to work inspiring folks who
don't yet understand what this is all about.
In this day
and age, the most effective way
for you to share your thinking
for the benefit of others is to video-record yourself talking about how you
feel, and explaining what inspires and motivates YOU.
All you need is a
webcam or cell-phone equipped with a camera. If you don't have, or know how to
use, one of these, have a friend help.
If needed, write a little script for yourself. Better, though, to just speak
extemporaneously, after spending a little time sorting out your thoughts and
getting down into your heart.
Keep yourself to
no more than 2 or 3 minutes,
and keep in mind that the purpose is not to educate, but to
INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE and ENERGIZE. Your video will be one of many to be shared.
You needn't
feel any obligation to be profound, and you shouldn't try to explain
anything about the law, other than to say that you have read it and you know
it's on your side. You just need to be sincere, and uplifting. Your object
is to make your audience want to have what you have, and to be where you are
in your heart.
Keep in mind that you're speaking to an
audience that doesn't yet know ANYTHING about the subject, and whose first
reaction is, "This must be illegal; this must be dangerous; this is too good to
be true." You want to pull that audience right past such things, and
straight to a focus on truth, morality, and our American heritage of liberty
and the rule of law.
Remember:
INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE, ENERGIZE.
Speak about rights. Speak about morality, and the obligation of a grown-up
and responsible person to speak the truth and to enforce the Constitution. Speak
about everyone's duty
to give to God what is God's, always, and to Caesar only
what is really Caesar's. Speak of your obligation to respect yourself, and to
look out for the current and future well-being of your children and your fellow
citizens.
If you have had victories, describe them.
Better still, show them, if possible.
Be clear about
just what you accomplished: EVERYTHING
back-- Social Security, Medicare and all; a "notice of deficiency" closing
notice; an on-paper agreement or acknowledgment that your earnings weren't
subject to the tax and everything withheld or paid-in was an "overpayment";
a transcript showing all $0s; or whatever happened.
When you speak of state victories, name the state. If you had to
overcome balkiness from a tax agency before winning any victory, describe that,
too!
Remember, your
purpose is to INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE and
ENERGIZE.
If you're dealing with ongoing balkiness, describe that,
too, if you wish-- but be sure to explain why you're not discouraged, and why you are not
standing down, not slinking back into the barn, and not choosing to endorse the lies.
Mention what you do for a living, whether you're a doctor, homemaker, lawyer,
trucker, IT guy or gal, or a retiree or student. Help people understand that the
company of grown-up activist Americans they are being invited to join cuts
across all demographics and all interests-- with the common denominator being
respect for the law and love of the principles on which this great country was
founded.
This is
your chance to get a LOT accomplished.
We've all had
frustrating occasions of trying to explain all this to a friend, neighbor,
family member or co-worker, only to pile up against the wall of a mind not
yet ready to listen and learn. Here is your chance to address a
self-selected audience of folks who have themselves decided that it's time
for them to begin paying attention, and have clicked on your testimonial for
exactly that reason.
So, please
make and send those videos right away! The restoration of institutional
respect for individual rights and the rule of law depends on enough
individuals insisting upon it. Do your part to let those starting to rub the
sleep from their eyes know that there is a community already waiting for their
fellowship with open arms and open hearts and shining spirits.
Judges Can Certainly Be Corrupt, But They Don't Get Federal
Bonuses For It
There's a new version of an old ghost-story circulating within the "tax honesty"
community asserting that federal judges receive cash awards as incentives for
corrupt partisan behavior in tax-related judicial contests. According to the
story, these incentives are paid out under the "superior
accomplishment, or other meritorious effort" bonus provisions of 5 USC
§ 4502.
Any reader of this newsletter or my books knows that I take
a backseat to no one in my recognition and condemnation of judicial misconduct.
But those same readers will also know that I set a very high bar for evidence
and accuracy regarding any assertion, and have a very low tolerance for the
circulation of distracting and discouraging inaccuracies among folks who should
be focusing on spreading the truth and encouraging themselves and others to act
on behalf of the rule of law without worry or concern about anyone else's
behavior.
Consequently, a few words correcting this errant and distracting notion are in
order.
5 USC § 4502 does indeed provide for incentives for superior accomplishment, or
other meritorious effort, which incentives can reach as high as $25,000:
5 USC § 4502 - General provisions
(a) Except as provided by
subsection (b) of this section, a cash award under this subchapter may not
exceed $10,000.
(b) When the head of an
agency certifies to the Office of Personnel Management that the suggestion,
invention, superior accomplishment, or other meritorious effort for which
the award is proposed is highly exceptional and unusually outstanding, a
cash award in excess of $10,000 but not in excess of $25,000 may be granted
with the approval of the Office.
(c) A cash award under
this subchapter is in addition to the regular pay of the recipient.
Acceptance of a cash award under this subchapter constitutes an agreement
that the use by the Government of an idea, method, or device for which the
award is made does not form the basis of a further claim of any nature
against the Government by the employee, his heirs, or assigns.
(d) A cash award to, and
expense for the honorary recognition of, an employee may be paid from the
fund or appropriation available to the activity primarily benefiting or the
various activities benefiting. The head of the agency concerned determines
the amount to be paid by each activity for an agency award under section
4503 of this title. The President determines the amount to be paid by
each activity for a Presidential award under section
4504 of this title.
(e) The Office of
Personnel Management may by regulation permit agencies to grant employees
time off from duty, without loss of pay or charge to leave, as an award in
recognition of superior accomplishment or other personal effort that
contributes to the quality, efficiency, or economy of Government operations.
(f) The Secretary of
Defense may grant a cash award under subsection (b) of this section without
regard to the requirements for certification and approval provided in that
subsection.
However...
Directly preceding
5 USC § 4502 is the "definitions" section controlling the meaning of terms in §
4502, and there we quickly discover that the judiciary are not within the scope
of any agency qualifying for these awards.
5 USC § 4501 - Definitions
For the purpose of this subchapter—
(1) “agency” means—
(A) an Executive
agency;
(B) the Library of
Congress;
(C) the Office of the
Architect of the Capitol;
(D) the Botanic
Garden;
(E) the Government
Printing Office;
(F) the government of
the District of Columbia; and
(G) the United States
Sentencing Commission;
but does not include—
(i) the Tennessee
Valley Authority; or
(ii) the Central
Bank for Cooperatives;
(2) “employee” means—
(A) an employee as
defined by section
2105; and
(B) an individual
employed by the government of the District of Columbia; and
(3) “Government” means
the Government of the United States and the government of the District of
Columbia.
For the truth about
more myths and misunderstandings about the income tax, the law
generally and various other matters of concern and interest to the
activist community, click
here.
A CtC Study-Guide
"There are two distinct classes of men...those who pay taxes and those who receive and live upon taxes." - Thomas Paine
CtC Warrior Ike Hall has been engaged in a very virtuous project-- creating a study guide for new students of CtC. This remains a work in progress at this point, but I think what Ike's done so far is already worth sharing with the rest of the community. Click here to download the guide-- now complete through chapter twelve!
For more clarifying resources click here; and click here for more tools for spreading the truth.
HAVING RECENTLY BEEN REMINDED of this truly shiny nugget-- and
it being that certain season-- I am pleased to be able to remind
some, and inform some, of a great little object lesson
concerning the IRS and Tax Court, as well:
Back in 2004, litigants Robert and Valerie McKee were going
through a dispute in Tax Court over an alleged deficiency. The
McKees are not CtC-educated (at least not to my knowledge), and
so the dispute itself offers nothing of particular interest, but
the denouement does.
It turns out that the IRS had "over-assessed" the McKees for
about three and a half times what was eventually agreed to be
the proper amount ($164,765 versus $44,535). Having
"substantially prevailed" on this aspect of the affair, the
McKees then sued in Tax Court for their costs of litigation.
The IRS opposed the McKees suit. The grounds for the
opposition?
Wait for it...
The IRS argued that its "error" was excusable (and the McKees
should be denied relief) because the "service" finds the tax
law and regs too complex to understand!
No kidding. That's really what they argued. And what's more,
the Tax Court upheld the IRS on this argument and ruled against
the McKees!! Is this a great "legal" system, or what!!
Happily, when the McKees refused to accept this outrageous
argument and ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals didn't,
either. In 2006, the appellate court held squarely for the
McKees, awarding them $31,078.28 in costs (although also
striking one sour note by making it a "Not for Publication"
decision).
See the Tax Court ruling
here; and the Ninth Circuit decision
here; and if YOU find yourself on the receiving end of some
IRS "assertion", you might want to remember the admission made
by the agency in this case...
Getting Free Of The "Income" Tax Scheme Is As Easy As Falling
Off A Bike
To get an
idea of how today's "income" tax scheme works, try this little
exercise:
Think
of the federal government as a guy named Bob, who lives down the
street from you in a town that is really big on bicycles. Bikes
get used for commuting, deliveries, shopping, etc.. In fact,
other than walking, bicycles are the exclusive form of
transportation in your town.
Your neighbor
Bob has a by-the-mile bicycle-renting business-- "Bob's
Bicycles". Bob's Bicycles is far and away the biggest business
in town.
Part of Bob’s
success is because he does a lot of contract business. However,
Bob doesn't just get paid by riders who have signed an agreement
with him, or even just those using Bob's bikes. Bob gets
something every time anybody in town does any riding at all,
through an odd combination of circumstances that took many years
to come together.
Here's how it
happened...
Bob's
Bicycles was launched long ago by the great grandfather of the
present Bob (Bob IV). Great Grandpa Bob started out not only
with a main location for his contract business-- he also had the
bright idea of setting up spots around town where he parked some
of his bikes for use by the more occasional rider, on an "honor
system". Anyone could take and use one of these bikes, but they
were expected to keep track of their mileage, and send Bob a
"1040 Mileage Ridden/Rent Due Form" (and the appropriate rent),
periodically. The initial design of the form was like this:
I, ___________, rode a
Bob's Bicycle a total of _____ miles this year.
At Bob's rental rate of
$.15 per mile, I owe Bob $_____
I said that
Great Grandpa Bob planned to deal with these occasional riders
on the "honor system", and that's true. But he liked his money,
too, and didn't want to miss anything that was due him. So,
after setting up the "self-serve" locations, Great Grandpa Bob
went around handing out "W-2, 1099 or K-1 Rider Reporting Forms"
to every other business in town. The forms-- accompanied by
notices that if Bob didn't get his rent from someone riding a
bicycle in connection with any business, he would sue the
company involved-- said:
You Can’t Fight Well When You Don’t Know What You’re Fighting About.
If you are having an argument with the IRS or any other tax agency,
You are NOT being presumed to have made “corporate profit”.
You are NOT being alleged to have received “foreign income”.
You are NOT entangled in an invisible “adhesion contract”.
You are NOT being obligated by a law whose subject is never identified.
You are being targeted because REAL EVIDENCE exists that YOU PERSONALLY HAD “INCOME” to which the revenue laws apply-- even though that evidence is almost certainly incorrect, and CAN be corrected.
Seriously. Do you want to win? SPREAD THIS FILE AROUND!
Doing so will accomplish more than anything that happens in a courtroom, more than any argument you make with any bureaucrat, more than ANYTHING else that you can do.
Are You Not Bothering?
Then You're Just Talking The Talk.
You've GOT To Walk The Walk If You Want To Win.
"Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated."
CtC Warrior SanDiegoScott has put together a great little 20-question quiz to test your knowledge of the law regarding the United States "income" tax. Test yourself, test your friends and family! Test your accountant and tax attorney, and help them learn the liberating truth!!
A "Pragmatic" Perspective On The Tax And The Rule Of Law
Hey, don't bother me with that "morality" argument, and all that stuff about "upholding the rule of law". I'm a pragmatist. I'm just interested in looking out for "numero uno", and living my life without any hassles from the IRS!
So I'm okay with submissively letting the government:
take 45% of my earnings;
habituate itself to the conveniences of "creativity" in the writing of laws and the behavior of its officers in courtrooms in order to take that wealth from me with an appearance of legitimacy;
use my money to mess with foreigners on behalf of special interests, engendering hatred and contempt of all Americans-- including me;
use my money to finance an army of bureaucrats who rule my life for the benefit of themselves and their special-interest clients;
use my money to pay for an army of lawyers who will sue me or prosecute me if I try to make my own choices about who works for me and on what terms; about what I say-- and when, and how; about what I do with my own property; about whether I'm equipped to defend myself and those I love; and about how I raise and educate my children;
-- just as long as I'm left alone, dude!
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it."
If each person receiving this newsletter each week distributed as few as 100 of any of the great outreach tools featured here to co-workers, friends, neighbors and family members (or just strangers on the street, in the mall, etc...), we could have SEVERAL MILLION new Americans suddenly introduced to the liberating truth about the tax!
When directed to a page by topic or link, read everything.
I know that this can mean the investment of a lot of time, attention and effort, but although some may imagine otherwise, I don't write as much as I do because I can't think of any other way to spend my time...
Furthermore, when you encounter a hyperlink within, or associated with, the text you are reading, follow it!
It is pretty common these days for web-based material to be littered with hyperlinks. Sometimes the purpose is to provide definitions or examples, in order to ensure that folks reading the original material aren't presented with a word or reference which they don't understand. Sometimes the links lead to illustrations pertinent to the original text.
It is common-- and perfectly understandable-- for folks who are confident that they are familiar with language or references within the main text they are reading to get in the habit of skipping over included links. I do it all the time, myself!
However, I very rarely include links for definitional or explanatory purposes; and when I DO make a link out of text in one page it is generally to another self-contained page, rather than merely illustrative material. These other pages contain material the clear understanding of which I deem highly important for the proper and complete understanding of the original page. (Links to CtC, the Victories pages, CtC Warriors and so on are obvious exceptions to this general rule. On the other hand, a link to the victory Highlights or 'Every Which Way But Loose' pages, which might seem like such exceptions, are not. The special selection of victories on those pages, and the filed docs and tax-agency correspondences included therewith, themselves constitute highly instructive material which merits careful attention. Thus care needs to be taken in all cases.)
Please make a habit of clicking on all provided links and at least looking briefly to ensure that the linked page is one with which you are completely familiar from another study session.
Finally, please keep in mind that, annoying though it may seem at first blush (but not, I trust, upon reflection), I constantly tweak material already posted. Obviously this doesn't mean that every page is in flux at all times, but it does mean that if you are directed to a page that IS familiar, it's worthwhile to read it through again if it's been a month or two since your last having done so.
