Political Concepts
The Truth about Income Tax that Most Don’t Know
The Founders did not have a problem with an indirect tax, or excise tax, identified by these principles:
- A tax which can be avoided, either by not using the service, or not buying a commodity, or being able to pass it on to someone else.
- The tax had to be geographically uniform across the United States.
The Founders did have a problem with a direct tax, a tax that cannot be avoided. Under the Constitution, a direct tax must be limited by:
- A state of emergency has to be declared by the federal government.
- The cost of that tax bill must be estimated, and divided among the several States according to apportionment (population). Remember the statement “No taxation without representation”?
- Once the share of the pie has been determined, the tax bill is sent to the several States. It is up to the states to collect the federal tax bill. It could mean that the state would have the money already. The citizens of that state may not even be aware of the need to pay their share.
- The tax had to end within two years after the emergency was over.
Then came along the early Twentieth Century progressives, those who were responsible for illegally ratifying the Sixteenth Amendment. Philander Chase Knox, Secretary of State in 1913, had the responsibility of counting which states had approved the Sixteenth Amendment. However, some states had rescinded their approval. Some states were still in the process, but were counted anyway as having passed their approval for this amendment. A good example is the state of Tennessee. To get a bill through the Tennessee Legislature, it must be considered three times (third reading). Tennessee never reached the third reading. That did not matter to Secretary Knox; Tennessee was counted as a yea vote.
The income tax amendment, the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified in 1913. It did not give any more taxing power to the federal government. It only removed the enumeration, to allow a “direct tax” on the citizens instead of being levied to the several States based on their population. However, as explained above, a direct tax must follow the limitations so mentioned.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of “income source” does not apply to one’s labor. Labor is not considered an income, as it is an equal exchange for labor, for food, money, etc. Labor is a natural right, the right to my property and the products of my labor.
The people running this nation have created a monster of 73,954 pages of tax code (2013 Tax Code), forcing “you” to prove your tax case according their charges. Taxation has incremented from hardly anyone paying tax in the beginning in 1913, to payroll deductions in FDR’s era, leading up to where we are now.
The tax code is so complex, no two people can produce the same answer on their 1040. Not even IRS agents can accurately calculate one’s tax bill. The proof rests with the individual to prove what the thousands of rules indicate. The IRS has the power to lock up your bank account and confiscate your possessions.