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

Fair Tax flaws

Recently an Alert Reader commented on the article “Fair Tax basics” on this site. The reader noted in part that the “Fairtax sounds great but check out the fine print http://fairtaxfineprint.blogspot.com/.” The link is to a blog critical of the notion that the Fair Tax will also tax governments.

The text of the Fair Tax bill does confirm that the definition of the word “person” does include governments, which means that local, state, and even the federal government will be taxed if the Fair Tax becomes law. This is counter-intuitive. It seems nonsensical that the government will be forced to pay a consumption tax to itself.

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http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/fair-tax-flaws

Obama “soak the rich” plan misses mark

(Center for American Progress Action Fund)

When President Obama gave his long-awaited speech on deficit reduction today, it was predictable that his prescription for curing the government’s spending problem would be to raise taxes. There are several problems with this strategy that the president does not address.

First and most important is that taxing the wealthy cannot solve our spending problem. The Wall St. Journal has noted that even if the IRS confiscated 100 percent of the taxable income of all Americans who earn more than $500,000, it would only provide $1.3 trillion in new revenue. They further noted that confiscating all taxable income over $75,000 would barely cover the $4 trillion that Obama and Congress spent in 2010. Obviously, a 100 percent tax rate is not possible. The US needs economic growth to boost tax revenues; raising taxes on “the wealthiest Americans” cannot and will not solve the problem.

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http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/obama-budget-speech-misses-mark

Obama’s approval equals Americans who pay no taxes

(Elizabeth Cromwell)

As April 15, the traditional tax deadline for most Americans to file their income tax returns, approaches this week, President Obama’s approval rating is at the same level as the percentage of Americans who don’t pay income taxes. A Real Clear Politics average of polls shows that President Obama’s approval rating and the percentage of Americans with no income tax liability are both at 47%. This is obviously a coincidence but it underscores both President Obama’s poor approval rating and the increasing rate at which Americans pay no income tax.

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http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/obama-s-approval-equals-americans-who-don-t-pay-taxes

Fair Tax basics

The 2008 presidential campaign brought the Fair Tax proposal to national prominence. The radical tax reform proposal was endorsed by candidate Mike Huckabee in the Republican presidential primaries that year and was subsequently granted even more publicity by the advent of the grass roots Tea Party movement. Huckabee’s support of the Fair Tax was one of the factors that helped him to win Georgia’s Republican primary.

Many conservatives believe that the current tax system is broken. The income tax takes away the incentive to produce because, as a person makes more money, they are taxed at higher and higher rates. Filing tax returns costs Americans millions of dollars and untold hours of work. The system is so complex that many taxpayers pay more than they have to, while many others, like Obama supporter General Electric, pay nothing at all. Fraud is rampant and enforcement is expensive. The IRS has a budget of more than $13 billion.

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http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/fair-tax-basics