alpert@nanook.DEC (ingsoc goodthink doubleplusgood @MHO/DTN 2632172) (01/28/86)
[This line for the IRS] >Unfortunately, Schiff's claims are very hard to verify, because >in order to do so one would have to read the entire tax code! It is not necessary to read the entire tax code, for starters check out those parts dealing with the filing of tax returns, and those portions that make persons liable for various excise and other taxes. And be aware that tax attorneys are part of the system, you will not see them interested in true tax reform, as that would put most of them out of some very cushy jobs. >And, I suppose, most people convicted of "tax crimes" are political >prisoners because Shiff says so. Or is it because you say so? Many of these people are political prisoners simply because they have not broken any law on the books. Many are victims of arbitrary and illegal actions by the IRS. I am awaiting more specific information on Schiff's case to be released by his attorney. Note that an appeal is pending. Here in this area, a man in a recent tax case had been judged incapable of handling his own affairs. He is still being held in prison (not a hospital as the law dictates) by the IRS despite the fact that a mistrial was declared weeks ago. However, not everyone that the IRS decides to go after goes to jail. At a recent meeting of the NJ American Citizens for Constitutional Taxation, I met an elderly woman whose husband had died of a heart attack after the IRS arbitrarily assessed fines and taxes that were not owed, and confiscated the couple's bank account and business without prior notification or warning. >How about some evidence? So far, everything I've seen about Schiff >is consistent with two very different possibilities: > > (a) the government has indeed railroaded him, in violation > of all the applicable laws, or > > (b) he is a criminal lunatic who has gotten what he deserved. > >Now, I don't have at my disposal any experiment that I can do to >distinguish between these two cases. For instance, even if I knew >how to obtain a transcript of the trial, that wouldn't help! -- if >case (a) were true, the transcript would be a fraud. I certainly >don't have the time or knowledge to read the entire tax code! So >how do I distinguish? What independent evidence can I use? I can certainly understand why the writer above and many others have asked for information regarding the tax code by someone other than Schiff. I have probably given the unfortunate impression that he is the only one that holds these views, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Schiff has, however, devoted over a decade to studying the income tax laws and practices of the IRS. The "criminal lunatics" are running the IRS, not fighting it. I can direct those folks in the southern New Jersey/Philadelphia area to sources of information that you can check out if you so desire. I unfortunately cannot type the entire works of the tax movement into the net! However, I will in the coming weeks be presenting (when I have time) extracts from the works of Schiff and others showing the history and practice of the income tax and detailing the abuses and illegal methods of the IRS. If time permits, we may also take a look at Social (In-)Security and the Federal Reserve. Another excellent source of information on the illegality of the current tax system is Congressman George Hansen of Idaho, and his organisation "Victims of Government United Everywhere" (V.O.G.U.E.). A book that every taxpayer should read is Hansen's "To Harass Our People -- The IRS and Government Abuse of Power." I recently heard Hansen speak at a Citizen's Rights meeting held in my area, his position is that the income tax as currently implemented is illegal and that the IRS is an agency totally out of control which has no regard for law whatsoever. He stated that he believes the only way to insure citizens' rights and liberties is to eliminate the income tax system as it presently exists. He also stated that political reality dictates that this may not be possible for some time, if ever, so he and his organisation currently concentrate on exposing the illegal nature of the IRS's daily operations, and work towards a cleaning up of the agency. (Hansen describes the IRS as a "rogue elephant in a china closet.") I will be obtaining a tape of this meeting in the near future, anyone interested in a copy please contact me. Also contact me if interested in getting a copy of the book if you cannot obtain it locally. (I'll also add that the tape I offered in a previous note, featuring an interview with an ex-IRS agent, makes for some interesting listening.) The address of Congressman Hansen's organisation: V.O.G.U.E. P.O. Box 3776 Washington, DC 20007 The forward to this book in and of itself tells quite a bit and is worth reflecting on (note: > 80 lines long): --------------------------------------------------------------- The history of the Internal Revenue Service is a history of a tax agency, drunk with power, ruthlessly smashing dissent among its own personnel and brazenly roughing up taxpayers at will. The IRS defies and intimidates its Congressional creators to to virtually unchallenged in its blatant illegal exercise of awsome powers against the American public. The IRS story told in this book is drawn from several large file drawers of documents and testimony collected from frustrated government employees and indignant citizens. It was so imperative that this shocking material be shared with the public, that the book has practically written itself. In reading this book, its should be remembered that our American system of constitutional free enterprise is the envy of the world. We love our country and its traditions, but such love carries a responsibility to protect the integrity of the system from the excessive use of power and abuse of civil rights. Recent developments show the mechanics of our system to be dangersously "out of synch", our oversized beauracracy is sick, bloated with the confiscated fruits of the labor and the property of the people. The Federal establishment is slipping alarmingly close to totalitarianism. The violations of the rights of the American people today by their own government are ironically parallel to the injustices suffered by the Colonists in the years preceeding the Revolutionary war. The *Declaration of Independence* states that the British King "has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance." The IRS is so independently arrogant and arbitrary in its abuse of power that it is legally and politically dangerous to challenge or oppose -- no matter how legitimate your case may be. A good case in point is that my effort as a congressman to question the conduct and activivites of the IRS resulted in a vicious retaliation by that agency. A division of the IRS from another state illegally fed distorted and inaccurate figures regarding my tax returns to political opponents in my state in the closing days of a general election. This was a blatant attempt to rig that election by creating embarressment in the press, and to justify opening an investigation, not of the illegal leaks of the IRS, but of the Congressman. Although this IRS venture into politics failed, such underhanded and conspiratorial practices are not unusual and frequently succeed, as this book will demonstrate, which makes reform of the IRS a most difficult task. Nevertheless, we believe that this situation can be changed. it is interesting to note that my charges did at least force an IRS Commisioner to disclose information relating to personnel and practices -- something almost unheard of, as top IRS officials point out. The system with proper legislation and administration can serve the people appropriately and without intimidation. It is good to remember that in most countries of the world this book could not even have been written. -- GEORGE HANSEN --------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Alpert ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-chovax!alpert