"It's So Simple, It's Ridiculous": Taxing times for 16th Amendment rebels, by Brian Doherty, Reason, May 2004 Related Topic: Irwin A. Schiff "The claim that the 16th Amendment wasn't properly ratified actually holds up pretty well. ... there were enough procedural irregularities in its passage that it technically should not have been declared ratified in 1913. Still, it was thus certified, and the courts tend to respond ... by saying it's too late to do anything about it now ..."
Beware Income-Tax Casuistry, Part 1, by Sheldon Richman, Freedom Daily, Aug 2006 "The tax (like all taxes) entails the threat of physical force against nonaggressors and is thus indistinguishable from robbery or extortion. ... In the most fundamental terms, the income tax is objectionable not because it's an income tax, but because it is an income tax. ... Frank Chodorov ... was wrong. It's not the income tax that is the root of all evil. It's taxation per se."
Beware Income-Tax Casuistry, Part 2, by Sheldon Richman, Freedom Daily, Sep 2006 Related Topic: War "... landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), paved the way for the Sixteenth Amendment. ... the Court concluded that a general tax on income, being indirect, was constitutional without apportionment among the states, but that a tax on income from real and personal property, being indistinguishable from a tax on the property itself, was direct taxation and thus required apportionment."
Beware Income-Tax Casuistry, Part 3, by Sheldon Richman, Freedom Daily, Oct 2006 Related Topic: Constitution of the United States "Like it or not, the U.S. Constitution empowers the Congress to levy any tax it wants. You may read the Constitution otherwise, but the constitutionally endowed courts have spoken. Reading one's libertarian values into the Constitution in defiance of the text and court holdings is futile."
Cough Up, by Ron Paul, Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk, 10 Apr 2006 "The only tax reform needed is to lower or abolish existing taxes. When reform proposals seem complicated, the reason is simple: they obscure their true nature as schemes to shift the tax burden around. It's not who pays or how we pay; it's how much we pay. The real enemy of tax reform is the spending culture in Washington."
Dangers of No Tax Liability, by Walter E. Williams, 13 Sep 2004 "... 122 million Americans are outside of the federal income tax system ... if you have no income tax liability, how much do you care about how much Congress spends and the level of taxation? ... every American should get one additional vote for every $10,000 he pays in federal income tax."
Death and Taxes — Can the Congress Kill a Pernicious Tax?, by Paul Boytinck, 16 Jul 2003 Related Topic: Mark Foley "Lincoln introduced an inheritance tax during the Civil War. Then an estate tax was levied in 1916 in the course of World War I, and the same tax has existed for almost a hundred years, but the reluctance to pay it has grown more intense. It is widely recognized that the estate tax is still another tax on money that has been remorselessly taxed before ..."
Don't Repeal the Sixteenth Amendment!, by Sheldon Richman, 23 May 2008 Analyzes various court cases regarding income taxation and suggest the only way to eliminate taxation is by educating and changing people's minds "Repealing the Sixteenth Amendment would be a waste of time because its disappearance would change nothing. Alas, Congress could continue to tax incomes (and anything else). ... As the Anti-federalists warned in 1787 -- and the courts have affirmed -- the Constitution empowers Congress to tax whatever it wants. If we are ever to get rid of the income tax, we'll have to do it by amending the real constitution -- the one in the hearts and minds of the people."
Exploiting the Workers, by Anthony Gregory, 14 Apr 2006 "... the coerced payment occurs continuously as every dollar is earned. Ever since World War II, Americans have had their income tax withheld by their employers, so they don't realize all at once how much they're being milked and revolt. Government funding runs more smoothly, especially in larger amounts, when the taxpayer is soaked gradually."
Flat Tax Folly, by Laurence M. Vance, Mises.org Daily Article, 14 Apr 2006 A review of Flat Tax Revolution by Steve Forbes "The US tax code — with its 'nine million word mountain of verbiage' — is so complex and 'littered with impenetrable passages' that a fictional tax return given by Money magazine to forty-five tax preparers resulted in forty-five different calculations of the correct amount of tax due."
Funding Leviathan, Part 1, by Laurence M. Vance, Freedom Daily, Mar 2007 Reviews the latest tax reform proposals, including Steve Forbes' flat-tax plan, quoting Murray Rothbard on the flat-tax movement "Individual income taxes — which swelled government coffers by roughly $1.059 trillion during FY 2006 — are the most onerous. Income taxes discourage the creation of wealth, they punish success, they violate financial privacy, they are the fuel of wealth distribution and social engineering, they are the backbone of the interventionist-welfare state."
Funding Leviathan, Part 2, by Laurence M. Vance, Freedom Daily, Apr 2007 Reviews the latest tax reform proposals, including the "Fair Tax" plan, quoting Murray Rothbard on consumption taxes and Ron Paul on the real issue of "tax reform" "The 'best' tax system from the standpoint of liberty, and not from the standpoint of what the government says it needs, would be one that interferes the least with the free market. The ideal amount of tax collected would then, of course, be zero. ... it is certainly reasonable to support any tax-reform proposal that aims to substantially reduce the federal leviathan's food supply."
How your taxes turn into manure, by David Barry, The Miami Herald, 13 Apr 2008 Comedic look at how tax levies are used, how to prepare a tax return, and the Economic Stimulus Payment "This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format: Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment? A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers. Q. Where will the government get this money? A. From taxpayers. ... Q. What is the purpose of this payment? A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy. Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China? A. Shut up."
Is There A Federal Deficit?, by Walter E. Williams, 19 Apr 2006 Related Topics: Government, Inflation "A balanced budget is no panacea. For example, suppose Congress spent $6 trillion and taxed us $6 trillion. We'd have a balanced budget, but we'd be far freer with today's unbalanced budget. The fact of business is that the true measure of the impact of government on our lives is not the taxes we pay but the level of spending."
No Representation Without Taxation!, by Jan Clifford Lester "Consider state distribution of tax-money. We can see that this must create two social categories: those who are net taxpayers and those who are net tax recipients. Only the net taxpayers can be said to provide the state with tax-funds. The net tax recipients are paid out of taxation ..."
Protesting the Tax Protesters, by James Ostrowski, 1 Jan 2007 Related Topics: Constitution of the United States, Henry David Thoreau "Tax protesters make what I believe are arcane legal arguments about why this or that tax has no legal basis. ... The courts have held that there is a legal obligation to pay taxes. What the 'legal' in that term means exactly is a very interesting question ... Bottom line: 'legal' means that if you do not comply, the government may use physical coercion against you."
Self-Interested Defenders of 'the Peculiar Institution', by Vin Suprynowicz, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 24 Mar 2007 Related Topic: Compulsory Education "... one cannot erect a moral justification for an immoral act by listing the good things you've done with your slave's labor or with the property you have stolen. Taking wealth from others against their will, under the threat of brute force, is immoral. If you doubt that's what 'taxation' is, try refusing to pay."
Tax Cuts Are Unfair? It Just Ain’t So!, by David Kelley, The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, Jul 1999 "... a tax cut does not confer a 'benefit' on taxpayers, as if the money belonged to the government, which was generously conferring gifts on its citizens. ... People are not passive recipients of an income 'distribution.' They acquire money by trading with others, earning income in diverse ways."
Tax Day, by Murray N. Rothbard, The Libertarian, 15 Apr 1969 Related Topic: Government "... does anyone seriously believe that if the payment of taxation were really made voluntary, say in the sense of contributing to the American Cancer Society, that any appreciable revenue would find itself into the coffers of government? Then why don't we try it as an experiment for a few years, or a few decades, and find out?"
Tax Gouging: The Real Problem, by Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Mises.org Daily Article, 8 Jun 2006 "The property tax bonanza that is being enjoyed by state and local governmental bureaucracies creates yet another evil. ... they use the money to appease more and more special interest groups by starting up myriad new programs. Then when the real estate market cools ... the programs all remain in place while revenues shrink, creating a 'deficit crisis.'"
Tax Reform Promises Treats, Delivers Tricks, by Ron Paul, Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk, 4 Nov 2007 Related Topic: Founding Fathers Discusses Charles Rangel's plan to reform the Alternative Minimum Tax "Tax policy should not be based on the premise that government owns you and allows you to keep some arbitrary amount of your labor. Thus, the AMT should be repealed. The estate tax should be repealed. Capital gains taxes should be repealed. The income tax should be repealed. We don't need to overhaul or adjust tax policy, we need to scrap the whole thing and start over."
The Fraudulent Tax, by Laurence M. Vance, Mises.org Daily Article, 9 Oct 2006 "The twin truths that taxation is theft (no matter how the money is collected) and that the US government should never be given a budget that is in the trillions (no matter how the money is collected) are concepts that FairTax proponents have never grasped. The FairTax is intended to be revenue neutral ... Federal spending will remain at the same obscene level that it is now."
The Future of an Illusion: Kerry’s Tax Policy, by Charles Adams, 21 Sep 2004 "The middle classes have always been the only dependable source for taxes. ... A government cannot force a wealthy taxpayer to work if the taxpayer finds the tax rates personally intolerable ... if Kerry’s sock the rich tax policy becomes law, we can predict with certainty, that most of these taxpayers will disappear ..."
The Ultimate Tax Cut, by Jacob G. Hornberger, Freedom Daily, Dec 2007 Related Topics: Government, Inflation Explains how tax cuts promised by political candidates are fraudulent, since the government expenditures still have to be paid somehow, either by taxation or monetary inflation "I had envisioned the government as just being part of a huge collection of enterprises, producing its own wealth and deciding what to do with it. ... then I discovered that the federal government acquired its money differently than everyone else. Its money comes from taxes, which are forcible exactions imposed on people. That is obviously very different from how people in the private sector get their money."
And now, a word from our founder: Freedom patriarch R.C. Hoiles explained his editorial policies, by R. C. Hoiles, The Orange County Register, 29 May 2006 Related Topics: Non-aggression Principle, Government Written in the 1960s by Freedom Communications, Inc. founder "If we are consistent with this principle we have to be against tax-supported schools, ... Social Security ... This also makes us take a stand against any form of taxation, because taxation is a form of initiating force. If one believes in taxation or initiating force, it would seem that he must discard the commandments against stealing and coveting ..."
Begrudging Another Battle of Ballot-Boxing, by Kenneth R. Gregg, 23 Nov 2006 Related Topics: Politics, Libertarian Party, The State, Voting "Some people want the state to provide one service; others prefer another ... Each service requires the use of force, if for no other reason than to receive taxes which maintain the instrumentalities of the state. The stronger a state becomes, the more taxes it requires; the more taxes required, the more force needed to enforce the dictates of the state."
Do You Consider Yourself a Libertarian?, by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., 25 May 2007 Related Topics: Libertarianism, Anarcho-Capitalism, Constitution of the United States, Murray N. Rothbard Interview by Kenny Johnsson for "The Liberal Post" blog "... taxing always and everywhere means taking money from people by force. They try to disguise that in various ways ... It's like negotiating with a robber, who proposes to enter your house at night so he won't disturb you ... or suggests that you give him some cash so that he won't have to take the family silver. In the end, your property is gone."
Don't Believe Those Inflation Numbers, by Mark Brandly, Mises.org Daily Article, 1 Sep 2006 Related Topics: Inflation, Government "... if the government reports a rate of inflation that is lower than the actual inflation rate, this will increases tax revenues through bracket creep. If the actual inflation rate is 10%, but the measured rate of inflation is 4%, some taxpayers will be pushed into higher tax brackets even though their real income has not increased."
Four California tax increases defeated, Libertarian Party News, Dec 2004 Related Topics: California, Libertarian Party of California "The LP joined with the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association (headed by Libertarian Dennis Umphress) to oppose 13 of the 15 tax increase proposals in the county. ... They succeeded in defeating four tax increase measures on Election Day, saving local taxpayers millions of dollars over the next few years."
How to Destroy Mongolian Mining, by Morgan J. Poliquin, Mises.org Daily Article, 20 Jun 2006 Related Topics: Mongolia, Mining, Wages "Funds that are forcibly exacted are subject to misallocation and abuse ... But taxation is fundamentally flawed because it is based on the ridiculous assumption that someone in a position of authority is capable of deciding on behalf of others what is best for them, or what their needs and wants may be."
Inequality of Wealth and Incomes, by Ludwig von Mises, The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, May 1955 Related Topics: Socialism, Capital Goods, The Free Market Describes how attempts to equalize incomes and wealth lead to lowered standard of living for the masses and eventually to socialism "... under the sway of the doctrines taught by contemporary pseudo-economists, but for a few reasonable men all people believe that they are injured by the mere fact that their own income is smaller than that of other people and that it is not a bad policy to confiscate this difference. ... Our present taxation policy is headed toward a complete equalization of wealth and incomes and thereby toward socialism."
Libertarians help California county save $98 million in school taxes, Libertarian Party News, Apr 2004 Related Topics: California "In Santa Maria ... in Santa Barbara County ... voters rejected a proposed bond measure that would have cost them $98 million for school construction. ... Public school officials and teachers were hoping the voters would have forgotten about the bond money they've misused in the past ..."
The Egregiously Destructive War on Drugs, by Gennady Stolyarov II, Mises.org Daily Article, 30 May 2006 Related Topics: War on Drugs, Moral Repression "Thus, to regulate and thwart the activities of the addicts, the government expropriates substantial property from moral, productive people who do not even think about consuming illegal drugs. To punish the self-destructive, the government must also punish the self-improving and deprive them of the fruits of and the incentives for their self-improvement.
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The Idea of a Private Law Society, by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Mises.org Daily Article, 28 Jul 2006 Related Topics: Private Property, Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Democracy, Government, Law, The State "... those who must pay the taxes regard the payment as something bad, as an act of expropriation. As a tax-funded life-and-property protection agency, then, the very institution of government is nothing less than a contradiction in terms. It is an expropriating property protector, 'producing' ever more taxes and ever less protection."
Thinking about Foreign Policy, by Sheldon Richman, Freedom Daily, Dec 2006 Related Topics: Foreign Entanglements, The State "The power to coercively extract wealth from a population immediately sets up two groups: the taxpayers and the tax consumers. In a democratic society the possibility of attaining power is open to more people than in an aristocratic society, creating an incentive for many people to contend for a share of that power."
Washington Logic, by Sheldon Richman, 22 Sep 2006 Related Topics: Washington, DC, Government, Politics "So it's the tariff that is a special-interest measure and an unjust cost to taxpayer-consumers. But if that's the case, then suspending the tariff can't also be a special-interest measure. When a thief is made to stop stealing, we don't speak of his loss of advantage. We speak of justice."
What’s Wrong with Public Schools?, by Sheldon Richman, Separating School & State, 25 Mar 2005 Related Topics: Educational Freedom Excerpt from chapter 2 "What does the presence of taxation indicate about the schools? It indicates that those who run the schools have an access to revenue that no one outside government has. The proprietor of a shoe store cannot send you a bill, whether or not you buy shoes there, and demand payment under penalty of law."
The Spirit of '43, by Walt Disney (producer), 7 Jan 1943 Related Topics: Military Industrial Complex World War II propaganda cartoon showing how the military industrial complex needs income taxation to subsist
What Would You Do?, 14 May 2008 Related Topics: Massachusetts Interviews with people asking "What would you do with $3600 every year?" (average amount expected from elimination of the Massachusetts income tax)
