Posted on 03/11/2014 8:20:42 PM PDT by smoothsailing
March 11, 2014
Mark Steyn
....The IRS is corrupt, and should be abolished, and replaced by an agency with far fewer powers. Instead, Republicans dither ineffectually. In Congress last week, IRS fall girl Lois Lerner took the Fifth again. That's her right, of course, and very prudent given the malicious and selective prosecutions of a corrupt Justice Department. But in my column below I quote Walter Williams observing that every single US tax-filer signs away his Fifth Amendment rights every April 15th. My piece was written last May, when the scandal broke. It ended with some advice that self-respecting American citizens ought to try the Lois Lerner Defense when the IRS comes a-callin'. Ten months on, it's more pertinent than ever: ....
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
HANG HER! That’s the sign I am putting on my car.
HANG LOIS LERNER OR DON”T PAY YOUR TAXES!
watch for me in CA.
This is an old, and, to my mind, a tired argument.
The 16th Amendment ALLOWS an income tax! It does not REQUIRE an income tax. It does not REQUIRE an IRS. In fact, the IRS existed before there was an income tax. It is a government invention, and is not mandated by the 16th Amendemnt.
So, we can replace the income tax with the FairTax and abolish the IRS with regular order legislation.
Repealing the 16th Amendment requires more votes in each House and positive votes by 3/4 of the states. That will take a bit longer.
It is best to rid ourselves of the income tax and the IRS and then rid ourselves of the 16th Amendment.
Your point that we could wind up with both an income tax and the FairTax is well taken. HST, nothing in present law prevents that FRom happening tomorrow, except taxpayer outrage and rebellion.
BUT, the American people will not react well to such a move by Congress, and would quickly, IMHO, cause such laws to be repealed.
Likewise, when FairTax is implemented, the legislation calls for abolishing the IRS two years after FairTax legislation is signed into law.
The economic and FReedom benefits of the FairTax are so significant that any attempt to reinstate the income tax would be met with massive resistance.
All that Taxman says above is true but the actual fact is that income taxes have always been legal under the Constitution! If you carefully read the 16th amendment you will see that all it actually did was allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census. It exempted income taxes from the constitutional requirements regarding direct taxes, after income taxes on rents, dividends, and interest were ruled to be direct taxes in the court case of Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. (1895).
Text of the 16th amendment:
“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.”
Steyn nails it as usual.
Thanks for the clarification, Bigun.
As usual, you are RIGHT!
I don’t see anything in the 16th that requires an “Internal Revenue Service.” I may have read the readers digest version. If you have a flat or fair tax, just let the IRS monitor that. Get rid of all the law enforcement and Obamacare stuff.
Any type of income tax requires an IRS.
FairTax does not require an IRS — the FairTax will collected and remitted by retailers to their respective state sales tax agency, just like the state sales tax is collected and remitted.
Federal oversight of state sales tax agencies is a given, but that agency will have no contact with any individual about his or her tax situation — it will only deal with state sales tax agencies.
Did not mean to imply it would.
Some one can work the details. I don’t care what they name the agency.
I don’t care what they name it either. What is important is that average, everyday, non-retail business owning US Citizens will have no contact with ANY federal tax agent.
And, retail business owners will only have to deal with state tax collectors. States will deal with the Feds.
The intent of all conservatives should be to get the government off our back and out of out pockets!
FairTax is but one effort to do that and restore a measure of FReedom to all Americans.
There are others.
Let’s roll
Go to http://www.fairtax.org to help us roll!
Thanx
You are most welcome.
Mark Steyn ping.
Freepmail me, if you want on or off the Mark Steyn ping list.
Thanks for the ping Slings and Arrows
That be an ugly b!+c# right there.
inside and out
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.