Beware of tax protest conspiracy theories

David Thornton/IRS

As we approach April 15, the deadline for filing federal income tax returns for most individual taxpayers, many people question whether Americans are really required to pay an income tax. Scores of Youtube videos featuring people such as former IRS agentJoseph Bannister claim that the federal income tax is illegal and that Americans cannot be forced to pay taxes to the IRS. In celebration of the Ides of April, let us once again don our tin foil hats and delve into the world of income tax protesters.

One claim made by tax protesters is that there is no law on the books that permits a federal income tax. It is true that the original incometax signed into law by Abraham Lincoln in 1861 was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895. This problem was fixed with the ratification of the 16th Amendment in 1913. Some tax protesters argue that the 16th Amendment was never properly ratified. Professor Jonathan Siegel of the George Washington University Law School explains that the 16th Amendment had the same ratification process as other amendments and really is part of the Constitution.

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http://www.examiner.com/article/tax-protester-conspiracy-theories-can-lead-to-jail-fines

Tags: 16th amendment, conspiracy, debunk, income, income tax, Internal Revenue Service, myth, protest, resisters, tax, unconstitutional