Here is the Law

That Makes the Average American

Liable for the Income Tax

Various people have falsely claimed that there is no law that makes the average American liable to pay the income tax. These people usually fall into one of three categories:

  • Reality Deniers -- No matter what level of proof is shown to these idiots, they will continue to believe that they are not liable for the income tax. When one of their positions is shown to be bogus, they simply migrate to a new bogus theory. Oh, and everything is a vast conspiracy involving the Illuminati, Federal Reserve, Freemasons and your local Elks Lodge.

  • Scam Artists -- These are bad people often with criminal records for doing other bad stuff who make money selling books, tapes, DVDs, or paid seminars telling people that they are not liable for the income tax. They make their money spinning the tale of whatever seems to sell the best, and then they usually disappear when their sucker customers get indicted for tax evasion.

  • Seriously Confused -- These are average people who don't know what to believe because of the junk sold by the scam artists and the fact that the reality deniers actually believe in it, but are too lazy to do the hard research themselves to see that the de-tax theories are totally bogus.

All of these three groups chant over and over "Show Us The Law!" as if by sheer repetition of the lie (that there is no law that makes the average American liable for the income tax) that the lie may someday come true.

The purpose of this web page is simple: To show the law that makes the average American liable for the income tax. So, for all you morons, conmen, or just those trying to find out the truth, here it is:

 

Constitutionality

Let's start with the U.S. Constitution, which provides the basis for Congress to enact the Internal Revenue Code:

Article I, Section 8

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises . . . but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Comment: Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the “Power To law and collect Taxes” without further restriction in this Section. Note that the uniformity requirement only applies to “Duties, Imposts and Excises” and not to taxes. This means that “Taxes” are treated differently than “Excises” under the Constitution, since Taxes are not required to be uniform. Those who would equate “Taxes” and “Excises” are simply wrong, and demonstrably so.

Article I, Section 9

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

 Comment: Article I, Section 9, does not ban direct taxes, but merely says that such taxes must be “in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration”.

Amendment XVI

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

 Comment: Whether or not Article I, Section 9 applies to income taxes, its requirement that such taxes be “in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration” is eliminated.  Note that no new power of taxation is created (Congress already had all the power it needed for the income tax) but a potential restriction (if it existed at all) was abolished.

At this point, it is clear that the plain text of the Constitution authorizes an income tax without regard to either apportionment or the census. It is thus totally irrelevant whether such taxes are “direct” or not – it simply makes no difference whatsoever from the plain text of the Constitution.

Finally, Congress passes the tax laws according to:

Article I, Section 8

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

 Summary: It is crystal clear from a reading of the Constitution that Congress has the power to tax (I.8), that “Taxes” are not the same as “Excises” (I.8), and that income can be taxed without regard to either apportionment or a census (Am.16). Congress is also authorized to draft income tax legislation (I.8). The “direct” versus “indirect” argument is simply a red herring, and -- if the issue exists at all -- is conclusively resolved by the passage of the 16th Amendment.

The bottom line is that challenges to the income tax based on the Constitution are bogus, and demonstrably so.

Now that we have proven that the income tax is 100% constitutional, let's examine the laws passed by Congress.

 

The Law

THE LAW that makes the average American liable to pay income taxes is in Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 1. Congress put THE LAW right up front so that nobody could miss it (well, nobody who was actually interested in knowing, anyhow).

The statutory scheme that creates liability to pay income taxes for the average American is discussed below:

Section 1. Tax Imposed

There is hereby imposed on the taxable income of [various categories, such as married individuals, single individuals, etc., omitted for sake of this discussion] a tax determined in accordance with the following table: [table omitted for brevity].

Comment: This is THE LAW that makes the average American liable to pay income taxes. Some idiots claim that this statute doesn't create liability because it doesn't use the magic word "liable". Of course, the Constitution does not require the use of the specific word "liable" and the word "imposed" makes it clear that the tax is on the income.

Note also that there are only two parties involved: The one paying money (to whom it is an expense) and the party receiving the money (to whom it is income, which is shorthand for "money coming in"). Thus, it is only "income" as to the person receiving the money and thus the person receiving it is the only person who could be liable for paying it (although there can be separate liability for failure to withhold).

Section 63. Taxable Income Defined

     (a) In general

[T]he term "taxable income" means gross income minus the deductions allowed by this chapter (other than the standard deduction).

Comment: This means that taxable income is all the income that you receive less any deductions to which you may be entitled.

So what is "gross income"? Let's check out Section 61.

Section 61. Gross Income Defined

     (a) General definition

Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, gross income means all income from whatever source derived, including (but not limited to) the following items:

(1) Compensation for services, including fees, commissions, fringe benefits, and similar items;

(2) Gross income derived from business;

(3) Gains derived from dealings in property;

(4) Interest;

(5) Rents;

(6) Royalties;

(7) Dividends;

(8) Alimony and separate maintenance payments;

(9) Annuities;

(10) Income from life insurance and endowment contracts;

(11) Pensions;

(12) Income from discharge of indebtedness;

(13) Distributive share of partnership gross income;

(14) Income in respect of a decedent; and

(15) Income from an interest in an estate or trust.

Comment: Everything that is listed in Section 61, and all other income, is considered "Gross Income" for purposes of determining sections 1 and 63 above.

 

Did you know . . .

That George Washington hated tax protestors and thought that they were traitors and criminals? Our First President had the two leaders of one of the first tax protests, the Whiskey Rebellion, arrested, but then pardoned them because he decided that one of them was a "simpleton" and the other was "insane". Not much has changed since 1794 has it?

The point is: Even our Founding Fathers hated tax protestors and thought that they were a stupid nuisance!

It is that simple! This is why no accredited legal or tax scholar worldwide thinks that the bogus theory "that there is no law making the average American liable for the payment of income taxes" is anymore than a bad joke. The Scam Artists and Reality Deniers have for decades tried to get any legal or tax scholar interested in their kooky reasons for not paying taxes, but none have bitten.

It is also the reason that ALL the courts in the United States, included the United States Supreme Court, have routinely characterized tax protestors' arguments as frivolous, and have hit tax protestors with huge penalties up to $25,000 for making their stupid arguments. All the courts in the United States have also routinely affirmed the convictions of tax protestors.

The Few Criminal Acquittals

Over the years and out of literally thousands of tax protestors who have been criminally prosecuted, a very small handful have won acquittals in their criminal trials, by convincing the jury that they were too stupid to understand that they had to pay taxes. But even in these "wins", such as they were, all those tax protestors remained 100% liable to pay their taxes. FedEx pilot Vernice Kuglin, for instance, won her criminal trial and avoided going to jail, but lost her retirement pension and a lot more by paying her back taxes, interest and penalties. Adding in their legal defense fees, all these tax protestors would have been far ahead had they just paid their taxes in the first place.

No tax protestor has ever won a court case to avoid their income taxes, never. It is not because of any kookie conspiracy theories; it is simply because tax protestors are WRONG.

Summary

And there you have it folks! THE LAW (26 U.S.C. § 1, in conjunction with §§ 61 and 63) that creates the income tax liability for the average American.

More Resources

For those who want to read more about the technical basis behind the income tax, and why tax protestors' various stupid theories are wrong, please see:

 

$10 Million Challenge ! ! ! ! !

Financial & Tax Fraud Education Associates, Inc., the publishers of Quatloos.com, will pay the sum of $10 million in cash to the first person who can prove to the satisfaction of any U.S. Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court that there is no law that makes the average American liable to pay the income tax.

Don't just tell us about your pet theory -- nobody cares -- get out and win a case or shut up!

Number of takers so far: 0

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