Posted on 02/12/2004 1:37:01 PM PST by ancient_geezer
Spain's disdain for IRS is island folklore
February 11,2004
Charlie Hall, Sun Journal Staff
The late Charles Spain was mad at the Internal Revenue Service for most of his life. He was a successful, even innovative, commercial fisherman who grew up on Goose Creek Island in Pamlico County, and made his living on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
But paying taxes rubbed totally against his grain.
"From day one, from way back he didn't want to pay taxes to the government," recalls his brother, author Odell Spain, who has chronicled life on the island.
"To him, it just weren't right. It was a passion for him to have to send his money to Washington."
But, Charles Spain always paid, and everyone got to hear him talk about it the rest of the year. His disdain for the IRS has become folklore on the island.
"It was just a way of life and it was just something he didn't like," recalls his widow, Mary Spain. "He always fussed about it all year long, especially if he got with someone who had like feelings. He didn't like giving anybody his hard-earned money."
Like all fishermen, Charles Spain worked hard for his money, risking life and limb year-round on the sea.
"He liked to work. He wasn't happy unless he was working," says his brother. "Everybody else says they wanted a car or something for Christmas. Charles would say the way he got happy was to get him a basket of dollar bills and put them in front of a fan and let them blow around on him."
As a shrimper, Charles Spain was well-respected and successful. When times were hard locally, he went where the seafood was, spending the 1960s fishing the Gulf of Mexico.
He was so successful many people thought his boats were lucky and they were much in demand.
"He would buy them brand new and work them two or three years and then he would go get him a bigger one," says Odell Spain.
"Charles didn't look at a boat like most people. They get attached to them, you know. But not Charles. He said she wasn't nothing but a bunch of boards nailed together. He'd sell them in a minute if the money was right. He was a businessman about that."
His brother once wrote of his fiercely independent and frugal brother: "All money spent on the boat was necessary. Everything else was questionable."
As for his dislike of the IRS, it was an outgrowth of his loathing for high-powered politicans in general.
"He disliked anything to do with sending his money to Washington," he says. "He paid his taxes. He had no problem with that. He tried to keep straight with them. He just didn't want to do it.
"He paid his taxes, but he knew he could manage his money better than they (government) and he wanted to keep it."
During their days in Texas, Charles and Mary Spain became devout Dallas Cowboy fans. When they returned to Pamlico County, they found the Carolinas to be a hotbed for Washington Redskin supporters.
Naturally, this did not sit well with him.
The story goes that he would have two televisions tuned in for Sunday afternoon NFL games -- with no volume.
"He said he knew what was going on and didn't need (announcers) telling him what was going on," his brother says.
And, whenever the Washington Redskins scored a touchdown, he would jump to his feet and turn off the offending television.
His dislike for Washington was as strong as his love of the seas -- unconditional.
Think maybe he might be ready for a change?
If you would like to be added to this ping list let me know.
John Linder in the House & Saxby Chambliss Senate, offer a comprehensive bill to kill all income and payroll taxes outright, and provide a IRS free replacement in the form of a pure consumption tax:
H.R.25
SPONSOR: Rep Linder, John (introduced 01/7/2003)
A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.S.1493
Sponsor: Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] (introduced 7/30/2003)
Title: A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.
So Ron Paul's amendment has a chance at enactment & ratification:
H.J.RES.15
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/28/2003)
Title: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to abolishing personal income, estate, and gift taxes and prohibiting the United States Government from engaging in business in competition with its citizens.
(But lets modified it to prohibit all income, payroll, gift estate taxes as HR25 calls for, or we will see European VAT style hidden taxes along with payroll excises to take over in the place of the of the current individual income tax(i.e. personal income tax) that Ron Paul amendment prohibits.)
It is long past time to end the Income Tax once and for all and get rid of the intrusive anal exam of family finances by government. Support the enactment of the bills before congress that would actually achieve that.
Billy Tauzin offers one solution, a 15% retail sales tax that replaces all income taxes but doesn't touch SS/Mediscare payroll taxes, that comes close to meeting the essentials of what it takes to reverse trend?:
H.R.2717
Sponsor: Rep Tauzin, W. J. (Billy)(introduced 8/2/2001)
Title: To promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity for families by repealing the income tax, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.
John Linder in the House & Saxby Chambliss Senate, offer a comprehensive bill to kill all income and payroll taxes outright, and provide a IRS free replacement in the form of a pure consumption tax:
H.R.25
SPONSOR: Rep Linder, John (introduced 01/7/2003)
A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.S.1493
Sponsor: Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] (introduced 7/30/2003)
Title: A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.
Modify then enact and ratify:
H.J.RES.15
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/28/2003)
Title: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to abolishing personal income, estate, and gift taxes and prohibiting the United States Government from engaging in business in competition with its citizens.
(Modified to prohibit all income, payroll, gift estate taxes as HR25 calls for, or we will see European VAT style hidden taxes along with payroll excises to take over in the place of the of the current individual income tax(i.e. personal income tax) that Ron Paul amendment prohibits.)
Other bills, moving in the proper direction are:
To get the ball rolling and focus Congress Critter's attention:
H.R.2714
Sponsor: Rep Largent, Steve(introduced 8/2/2001)
Title: To terminate the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
A bill to prohibit he imposition of any tax by the Internal Revenue Code: (1) for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2005.
To sunset some agencies we don't need and rein in their expenditures:
H.R.2373
Sponsor: Rep Brady, Kevin(introduced 6/28/2001)
Title: To provide for the periodic review of the efficiency and public need for Federal agencies, to establish a Commission for the purpose of reviewing the efficiency and public need of such agencies, and to provide for the abolishment of agencies for which a public need does not exist.
And to keep em reminded that there is indeed a Constitution to pay attention to:
H.R.175
Sponsor: (introduced 1/3/2001)
Latest Major Action: 2/12/2001 Referred to House subcommittee
Title: To require Congress to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes.
IMO
The income tax is approaching the end of its term. It has served it's purpose and it will be eliminated in the foreseeable future. However, the "intrusive anal exam of family finances" will NOT be eliminated, it will be expanded by whatever system replaces the income tax. You will find yourself unable to spend any money or sell anything for money without an exact and permanent government record of the transaction and everyone involved in it.
The income tax is approaching the end of its term. It has served it's purpose and it will be eliminated in the foreseeable future.
However, the "intrusive anal exam of family finances" will NOT be eliminated, it will be expanded by whatever system replaces the income tax.
The only way to justify direct intrusive data reporting from individuals, is through having to compute income for personal income payroll tax. Your statement is self contradicting.
As far as government collecting data from business accounts and transaction records behind the scenes, is a separate issue to be resolve by peoples awarness and concern. But has little to do with taxation once the income/payroll tax is out of the picture.
Moving to any kind of sales/tariff etc. tax removes individual reporting of income from the equation.
So either you figure the income/payroll tax system is forever, or you haven't really thought through the implications of your opinion.
You will find yourself unable to spend any money or sell anything for money without an exact and permanent government record of the transaction and everyone involved in it.
Already happens, they are called bank accounts & credit cards. The method of taxation has nothing to do with such accumulation of data.
However the method of taxation has a whole lot to do with whether you as a citizen are required to account for and directly report to the government your personal financial information. That to me is a big issue and why going to a different tax system such as a retail sales tax makes alot of sense.
[Montesquieu wrote in Spirit of the Laws, XIII,c.14:]
- "A capitation is more natural to slavery; a duty on merchandise is more natural to liberty, by reason it has not so direct a relation to the person."
--Thomas Jefferson: copied into his Commonplace Book.Patrick Henry, Virginia Ratifying Convention June 12, 1788:
- "the oppression arising from taxation, is not from the amount but, from the mode -- a thorough acquaintance with the condition of the people, is necessary to a just distribution of taxes. The whole wisdom of the science of Government, with respect to taxation, consists in selecting the mode of collection which will best accommodate to the convenience of the people."
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