Is the income tax a fraud?

Question

Give me your opinion and post some videos

Answer 1

It's not a "fraud", and we can't post videos here at Yahoo Answers.

If you're talking about those Youtube videos that purport to show you that U.S. citizens are not legally obligated to file income tax returns or to pay taxes -- it is the videos themselves that are the fraud, not the IRS.

Answer 2

Here you will find rebuttal of every arguement you have.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/friv_tax....

Like it or not the income tax is the law of the land.

Answer 3

THINGS I DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL I SAW THEM ON THE INTERNET:

Nobody ever really landed on the moon - it was a giant hoax. What you saw on TV was filmed in Utah.

Elvis is still alive, and performing marriage ceremonies in Las Vegas.

It is unconstitutional for the government to tax your wages (income tax), the 16th amendment was never ratified, and most of what we think of as income isn't really income anyway.

Excuse me now....I just won 2 million pounds in the online UK lottery when my email was randomly selected, and I have to go answer the email.....

;-}

Answer 4

The only "videos" out there are bogus "documentaries" on why the income tax is illegal.  Of course, they are wrong.

While a court did rule once that "Income" was Corporate Profit, it did not say the income could only be corporate profit.  It only applied to that case which was a coporate tax case.  For example, the statement 4 + 4 = 8 is true but does that mean the 8 can only be derived from adding 4 and 4?  No, of course not but that is basically what you are stating that the court said above.

Tax Protesters have been around as long as the income tax itself and, while their bizarre theories vary, they all have one thing in common; not one of them has ever been victorious in court and gotten out of paying their income taxes.

File your returns and pay your taxes.  You will be much happier in the long run.

Answer 5

Email Wesley Snipes (actor) your question.  He probably thought the same thing and now has started his 3 year prison sentence plus paid 5 million dollars in fines.

Answer 6

Oh, God, here we go again.... This has been posted about 5 million times already and it is just as rediculous this time.

Answer 7

Please, this is a serious tax board.  Do not waste our time by putting up frivolous posts, arguments or videos.

The US income tax system IS LEGAL.

The US income tax system WAS ratified.

The US income tax system does apply to anyone who is a US citizen or resident or has US-source income.  It applies to all income that is non specifically exempt.

Advocating otherwise puts you and your fellow protestors at risk for jail time.

Answer 8

No, it is not a fraud.

I will not post a link to a video because many Internet videos on this matter are conspiracy theory nonsense.

Here is a court case that debunks your claim.

"Plaintiff argues ‘income’ should be interpreted as limited to corporate activities, and not include wages. He relies on a series of Supreme Court cases rendered shortly after ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment, and which define the scope of corporate income. NONE of those cases, however, stands for the proposition that only corporate income is taxable. To the contrary, like Richards, supra, many of these cases state: “income may be defined as gain derived from capital, FROM LABOR, OR FROM BOTH COMBINED”. See, e.g., Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co., 271 U.S. 170, 174 (1926); Merchant’s Loan & Trust Co. v. Smietanka, 255 U.S. 509, 518 (1921); Eisner v. Macomber, 252 U.S. 189, 207 (1919); Doyle v. Mitchell Bros. Co., 247 U.S. 179, 185 (1918); Stratton’s Independence. Ltd. v. Howbert, 231 U.S. 399, 415 (1913) (emphasis added). In particular, in Southern Pacific Co. v,. Lowe, 247 U.S. 330, 333-34 (1918), the Supreme Court quoted the income statute at the time as imposing a tax on “every person residing in the United States . . . upon the entire net income arising and accruing from all sources”. Thus, the plain language of the authorities upon which Plaintiff relies belies his position."

Tornichio v. United States, 81 AFTR2d ¶98-582, KTC 1998-71 (N.D.Ohio 1998), (suit for refund of frivolous return penalties dismissed and sanctions imposed for filing a frivolous refund suit), aff’d 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 5248, 99-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶50,394, 83 AFTR2d ¶99-579, KTC 1999-147 (6th Cir. 1999). In affirming, the 6th Circuit stated that, “Tornichio’s legal assertions are patently spurious, as it cannot be seriously argued that an individual’s taxable income is based solely on income derived from corporate activities,” and imposed additional sanctions for filing a frivolous appeal.

Now, to correct some misconceptions you have.  The income tax is NOT a direct tax.  It is an indirect tax in a Constitutional sense and is therefore valid under Article 1 Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution.  The 16th amendment simply CLARIFIED the power that Congress already had.  The Supreme Court NEVER said that an income tax on wages was unconstitutional.  The Pollock decision in 1895 declared the income tax law at the time unconstitutional only because they determined a tax on the income from personal property (i.e. rental income) was the same as taxing the property itself and was a direct tax. They explicitly said that a tax on income from wages was indirect and ok.  However, they had to strike the entire law due to severability issues.

BTW, the wage you receive for work is a GAIN to you.  A gain is calculated as the difference between what a person pays for something and the price for which he or she sells it.  It is not the difference between what something is worth and the price it is sold for.  For example, if you found a diamond ring in your backyard worth $4,000 and you sold it to your neighbor for $3,000, do you have a $1,000 loss?  No, you do not.  You have a $3,000 gain or the difference between the price you sold the ring ($3,000) and what you paid for it ($0).  If your neighbor then sells it to a pawn shop for $3,500, then your neighbor has a $500 gain ($3,500 - $3,000).  It is the same with your labor.  You paid $0 for your labor.  If you sell it to your employer for $10 an hour, after 40 hours, you have a $400 gain.

Answer 9

Don't get your hopes up.

http://exlax.com