"I do not recognize the authority of a court that hangs the gold fringe flag. A flag with gilded edges is the flag of an Admirality Court. An Admirality Court signifies a naval court martial. I cannot be court martialed twice."
Posted on 04/13/2005 10:45:43 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952
Austinite earned $2 million, said he owed zero, indictment says.
By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Steven D. Shanklin of Austin earned $876,398 in 1998 and filed a tax return claiming he owed none of it to Uncle Sam, according to a federal indictment.
The Cisco Systems Sales and Services Inc. employee made $770,504 in 1999 and $681,955 in 2000 and didn't file a federal tax return in either year, the indictment says.
Shanklin, 48, wrote in a letter attached to his 1998 return that he knew of "no section of the Internal Revenue Code that . . . establishes an income tax 'liability,' " according to the indictment, handed up by a federal grand jury in Austin last week.
Internal Revenue Service agents and federal prosecutors disagreed, and Shanklin now faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of three counts of tax evasion.
At his 3,000-square-foot home in Southwest Austin last week, Shanklin said he has "quite a story" to tell but can't do it until his case is resolved. He declined to comment further.
Shanklin is among the 300 or so people each year who fail to file tax returns or cite frivolous arguments in their returns and are subsequently prosecuted in federal court, according to the IRS. About 180 are convicted and sentenced to prison.
The IRS tries to draw attention to those cases to deter others from buying into bogus tax-avoidance techniques pitched in seminars, in books and on the Internet, said Harlan Carter, the special agent in charge of the San Antonio field office of the IRS criminal investigations division.
"Throughout the United States, there are constantly different types of claims that are being made" to avoid taxes, he said. "One thing that we can stress is the courts have consistently . . . held that there are no legal grounds for their failure to file and their failure to pay."
For example, some might argue that the income tax is unconstitutional or that protesters of specific government programs or actions may withhold taxes. Not true, officials say.
One argument that has circulated in Texas in recent years is that the 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was not ratified properly, IRS officials said. It explicitly states that Congress may directly tax citizens and came in the late 19th century after the Supreme Court disallowed the federal income tax.
It is unclear what specific argument Shanklin cited.
The indictment says that after failing to file a return in 1999, he said in a letter to the IRS that "federal income tax laws do not exist." In 1999 and 2000, he gave his employer a tax form claiming he was exempt from withholding, the indictment says.
Shanklin is free on bail pending trial. After his arrest, he asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Pitman to appoint a lawyer for him, a right reserved for indigent defendants. But Tuesday at a hearing, Shanklin arrived with his own lawyers.
Pitman asked the lawyers, "I assume you'll withdraw his motion for a court-appointed, taxpayer-funded attorney?"
They did.
Admiralty!
Don't take away the only weapon the dumbocRAT party has left.
Not true. The US requires all of its citizens to pay taxes, even if they live abroad and make money abroad.
You do get a tax credit for any taxes you pay abroad, however.
Larken has been indicted and is awaiting trial.
"I do not recognize the authority of a court that hangs the gold fringe flag. A flag with gilded edges is the flag of an Admirality Court. An Admirality Court signifies a naval court martial. I cannot be court martialed twice."
"he US requires all of its citizens to pay taxes, even if they live abroad and make money abroad."
You'll have to show me that law because my understanding is if you live abroad and make money by 'telecommuting' to the U.S. THEN you owe U.S. taxes.
I can't see anyway the U.S. can claim taxes on money made in another nation.
I am reminded of one of the items in Jay Leno's "Headlines" bit this week. A tax-preparation service had published an ad with a list of prominent bullet points, one of which read "AUDIT GUARANTEED".
>>Larken has been indicted and is awaiting trial.<<
It will be fun to see how it goes.
Remember -- if your "100 Quatloos on the newcomer" bet pays off, you must pay your taxes on the resulting winnings. ;-)
I can't see anyway the U.S. can claim taxes on money made in another nation.
The US is one of a very small number of countries that do this.
I don't think that he wants them to do it that bad. LOL Anyway he dares them and they haven't taken up the dare yet. Darn near 40 years.
haha! That's what I figured. :)I am so surprised that someone can get away with it for that long.
Amazing! :)
They used to bother him about every five years but he hasn't heard from them in about 10 now. So, it must be an actual legal loophole.
He takes his salary, spends it for the home and family, puts a percentage away for investment, then sends them anywhere between zero and $400. Does all the tax forms, never signs them though.
One years he had made a mathmateical error and they sent him $30 or $40 back. That convinced him that he was in the legal mode.
Anyway, I like having nice roads to drive on; police to take out the bad guys/gals, the military to make the world safe for democracy, etc.
I really wish is the govt. would spend equal to what's taken in - but alas, entitlements and special intrests rule the roost.
That's my soapbox rant... please drive through.
Trajan88
Wow. Just amazing.
Consider this, school kids go beserk and slaughter their
class mates, postal workers go 'postal', "deadbeat" dads
take their children hostage but no one, NO ONE not EVER
takes over a IRS office? Shoots an IRS worker?? Blows up
an IRS office???
Think about it, the income tax has driven people to the
brink and sometimes over it, but can any of you remember
EVER hearing about someone taking it to the IRS?
I don't think you WILL ever hear about an instance.
Abortion bombers? yes. Ecoenviromental bombers? Yes.
Radical leftist bombers? yes. Radical rightist bombers?yes.
Yet NO, NO irate taxpayer bombers?
Odd, don't you think?
"You may end up with a government worse than what we have now. "
That was also an argument in 1776. The fact is that no one will want to mess with a bunch of pissed off, heavily armed Americans who just kicked their government out on its ass.
He went into a burning house and saved a mans 3 year old. This was the result on the promise not to share it.
Do you think our troops in Iraq are parasites? These people are refusing to pay them.
Do you think our troops in Iraq are parasites? These people are refusing to pay them.
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