The most important legal provision regarding income tax is the very first: Section One of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. Section 1 collects income tax. If you are not married, the relevant provision is § 1(c), which states: Some claim that the United States includes only the District of Columbia, federal territories such as Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and various other islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. In addition, federal enclaves such as military bases and Indian reserves are included. According to them, a person outside that territory is not a resident of the United States; Instead, they are residents of the state in which they live, which they claim to be sovereign. Why it`s frivolous: It`s true that both Florida v. The United States and the IRS instruction manual use the word “voluntary.” However, this is used based on the taxpayer`s ability to calculate and file the appropriate returns, rather than letting the federal government prepare the returns from the outset. There is no mention of filing a tax return itself as voluntary anywhere in the IRS tax bill. Opponents of the new income tax claimed it was a socialist confiscation of assets by the federal government. Barely a year after its enactment, the Supreme Court declared the tax unconstitutional. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that income tax was prohibited under Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution. This prohibits direct taxes on individuals unless they are divided according to the population of each state. The majority of justices ruled against the 1894 tax law, although the Supreme Court had previously upheld the similar income tax of the Civil War.
[Pollock v. Farmer`s Loan and Trust Co. (158 U.S. 601 (1895).] Last month, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a 2010 update of its discussion/rebuttal of various arguments from “tax protesters” (PDF). The IRS recommends that “anyone considering arguing against [paying taxes] for legal reasons should first read the 80-page document.” Wikipedia also has a reference page, as does Professor Jonathan Siegel of George Washington University School of Law. Sections 1, 61 and 63 collect tax, section 6012 requires you to file an income tax return if you have income above the allowance plus the property deduction, and section 6151 requires you to pay tax at the time and place specified to file your return. Despite periodic disputes, the legality of the income tax code has been repeatedly upheld by the courts. Yet many people are still trying to avoid taxes based on what the IRS calls “frivolous tax arguments.” Many of these arguments are misinterpretations of the existing law or the constitution itself. There is a law that requires the payment of income tax in the United States. You can see the law here: www.jsiegel.net/taxes/NoLaw.htm. The “allowance” is defined in 26 U.S.C.
§ 151(d) as $2,000, adjusted for inflation since 1989. The “basic standard deduction” is available in 26 U.S.C. § 63(c) defined as $3,000, also adjusted for inflation. You can see the adjusted amounts for the current tax year in the IRS instructions on Form 1040. If you have more income than the sum of the two, you must file a Section 6012 tax return. Although each is subject to federal income tax, the Supreme Court has eliminated possible exceptions. A notable example is from Cheek v. United States, 498 U.S. 192, (1991). In Cheek, the petitioner was charged with failing to file a tax return, violating Section 7203 of the Internal Revenue Code, and intentionally attempting to evade his income tax and violating Section 7201. Cheek admitted that he did not file his tax returns, but testified that he did not act intentionally because he sincerely believed, based on his indoctrination by a group that believed the federal tax system was unconstitutional and from his own study, that tax laws were being applied unconstitutionally and that his actions were lawful.
The Supreme Court ruled that if a jury had accepted Cheek`s contention that he truly believed the code did not treat wages as income, the government would not have proven that Cheek intentionally violated tax law, no matter how unreasonable that belief may seem to a court. Why it`s frivolous: Article I Section 10 grants Congress and the federal government exclusive power to create and regulate money (including gold and silver). However, there is no express or implied limitation on the declaration of any other form of legal tender. Therefore, Federal Reserve notes are considered income because they are legal tender. Numerous court cases have confirmed this view, including in United States v. Riffen. Since taxes aren`t going anywhere anytime soon, prepare your tax return for the current year and file it on the eFile.com! We do all the complicated tax forms and calculations for you while you declare your tax information. Learn how the UFile electronic tax app works before signing up for a free eFile.com account. In 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. It states: “Congress has the power to levy and levy taxes on income, regardless of the source, without apportionment by state and without regard to a census or census.” Why it`s frivolous: While the 5th Amendment to the Constitution protects individual citizens from unlawful seizure of property, the Constitution itself grants the federal government the power to tax (read more about the history of taxes, including taxation in the United States).
A constitutional amendment prohibiting taxation would create a contradiction; Therefore, income taxation is not considered a violation of the 5th Amendment. Prior to 1913, federal government revenues came primarily from taxes on goods, namely customs duties on imported goods and excise taxes on products such as whisky. The burden of these taxes fell heavily on American workers, who spent a much higher percentage of their income on goods than the wealthy. When a tax levies a higher percentage of a poor person`s income than a rich person`s income, economists call it “regressive.” But when Congress passed an income tax bill in 1913 after ratifying the 16th Amendment, the tax burden shifted to the wealthy — at least for a while. When assessing the three taxes, consider the following criteria: “progressivity” versus “regressivity”, simplicity versus complexity, impact on consumer prices, and overall equity. In 1909, Progressives in Congress again added an income tax provision to a tariff bill. The Conservatives, hoping to kill the idea forever, proposed a constitutional amendment that would introduce such a tax; They believed that a change would never be ratified by three-quarters of the states. To their surprise, the amendment was ratified by legislature after legislature, and on February 25, 1913, with the confirmation of Secretary of State Philander C. Knox, the 16th Amendment went into effect. But in 1913, due to generous exemptions and deductions, less than 1% of the population paid income taxes equivalent to only 1% of net income.
Below are three different ways to tax Americans to fund the federal government.