Dave Ives is a real estate investor and entrepreneur who proudly talks about his home in Alice Springs, Australia on his Website. Dave is a dual U.S.-Australian citizen. The Air Force sent him to Australia in 1990. He returned to the U.S. in 1991 and then moved again to Australia in 1995 when he accepted a job with a US company and then just stayed.
Since he pays both U.S. and Australian taxes, the U.S. tax law very much negatively affects him.“One thing is clear:
The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens
would pay nearly 1/2 of everything they earn to the government” - Ron Paul
He wrote an article he posted on 4/29/17. This article describes the income-tax in a way often overlooked.
Here is Dave’s excellent article.
Why do you and I pay income-tax?
I’ve heard some people answer this question by saying things like, “How we going to pay for the roads? How do you think we pay for all the social services? Who’s going to mow the lawn at the governor’s mansion? You think someone’s going to do all that for free? Come on, don’t be ridiculous! It’s obvious! We pay income-tax to keep society running!”
Nice try, but that’s not why we pay income-tax.
I’ve found in life there are always 2 reasons for everything. The 1st reason is the one people talk about, the one you’re told, the one sounding good. The 2nd reason is the one people don’t talk about, the one they don’t tell you, the one that sounds bad. By the way, the 2nd reason is always … THE REAL REASON!
The same holds true for why we pay income-tax. People don’t talk about the real reason because it’s unsightly, it’s not pretty, it’s … THE TRUTH. The real reason is so obvious it eludes most people. It goes right over their heads. It went over mine for years. But now, I know the real reason.
I discovered it in a book written by a former American slave. To understand the real reason we pay income-taxes, let me ask you a basic question. Would you pay the income-tax if you didn’t have to?
I imagine everyone would say no, they would not pay the income-tax if they didn’t have to. So, here is where we arrive at the answer to the initial question of why we pay income-tax.
The ugly truth is we pay the income-tax because WE ARE FORCED TO. The government has the power to compel us to pay. That’s it. End of story.
This fact became clear to me while reading the book, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.” At the end of Chpt. 10, Douglass talks about handing all his wages over to his master…
I was getting $1.50 per day. I contracted for it. I earned it. It was paid to me. It was rightfully my money, yet, every Saturday night, I was compelled to turn over every cent to Master Hugh. Why? Not because he earned it. Not because he had any hand in earning it. Not because I owed it to him. Not because he possessed the slightest shadow of a right to it. I had to give him all my money solely because he had the power to compel me to give it up. The right of the grim-faced pirate upon the high seas is exactly the same.
Think about it. Frederick Douglass handed over all his wages to his master for 1 reason, his master had the power to make him do it. That’s it, bottom line, end of story.
You and I pay income-tax for the very same reason. We have to. The Federal government has the power to compel us to do it. If you would not pay income-tax if you didn’t have to, then how is the government any different from, as Fredrick Douglass says, the “grim-faced pirate?”
The ugly, unsightly fact is, we are all compelled to pay income-tax just like Frederick Douglass was compelled to pay his master. It’s a simple power game. You pay because the balance of power is stacked against you.
And you may be OK with that. Who knows, maybe there were some slaves who were OK with handing over all their wages to their masters. But, the fact remains, you pay because you have to, under the threat of force.
Now here’s where the ugly truth gets even uglier and more uncomfortable. How can a person call themselves free when they are compelled, by the threat of force, to hand over their wages to a master, any master? How can I call myself free if I’m compelled, by threat of force, to hand over my wages to the government, and then they hand back to me what they think I should be allowed to keep?
I don’t have any say in the deal. I don’t have any choice in the arrangement. I must comply because the threat of force is hanging over my head. How can I call myself free under such an arrangement? How can anyone consider themselves free under such an arrangement?
It’s a tough sell.
I would say you can’t. I would venture to guess Frederick Douglass would agree with me. He wanted to live in a world where he kept all of his hard-earned pay. And he eventually did. When Frederick Douglas worked as a free man, he kept all his pay. He touched his money first. The government didn’t touch it at all. He earned it. He kept it. And he was free to spend the money however he wanted. He could give some to charity. He could buy the things he wanted. He was in charge of how he spent his own hard-earned money.
The reason Frederick Douglass kept all his pay is, at that time in the U.S., there was no such thing as income-tax. That’s right, it didn’t exist. The U.S. operated perfectly fine for its first 130 years or so without an income-tax.
For some reason The Founding Fathers didn’t include a provision in The Constitution for an income-tax. I wonder why? Maybe they just forgot? Or maybe they understood the evils of giving the Federal Government the power to tax the income of individual citizens. Maybe they knew it would give the Federal Government too much power over the citizens. It would change the balance from a government working for the people to a government ruling the people. Maybe they left an income-tax out of the Constitution on purpose. Maybe, just maybe, they knew what they were doing.
Politicians pushed and pushed for an income-tax but they couldn’t get it through. The Constitution wouldn’t allow for it. Finally, they accomplished their dirty deed, with the 16th Amendment in 1913.
Now we all disclose our incomes and hand over our paychecks to the powerful central government, who hand back to us, as net pay, what’s left over after the government takes what they want. The whole process is against the principles of The Founding Fathers and the original Constitution. It’s an end run. It’s a sneaky trick to take power from the people. And, it worked.
Maybe it’s time to re-think this income-tax thing. Maybe it’s a bad idea after all. OK, it’s a great idea if you favor a strong, all powerful, money wasting, corrupt central government. But, if you prefer a government “of the people, by the people and for the people,” then it’s a very bad idea indeed.
The income-tax is simply incompatible with freedom.
I wonder what Frederick Douglass would have to say about paying income-tax?
Conclusion
Dave is making a powerful argument. It’s time for Members of Congress, and all of us, to realize Americans should decide how much tax they will pay when they make purchases. The FAIRtax is truly the only “Fair Tax”.
Already more and more Americans are doing what enslaved people have done for centuries, they are protesting. As many commentators noted, slaves generally did everything they could to avoid work and often broke or mistreated the implements of their work. This is one of the reasons why George Washington wrote near the end of his life that the slaves should be freed.
Present day “income-tax slaves" are also protesting. According to the study by Dr. Cebula, the evasion of the income-social-security-tax will be $9 trillion in the next 10 years. As we move farther away from an economy where most of us are employed by others and are subject to tax withholding, to an economy where we calculate and pay our own taxes, this evasion will grow.
As I responded to former House Speaker Paul Ryan to a question by him on how to reduce evasion under the income-tax, it will have to be done with increased force, just like was often required by slave holders with lashes on their slaves.
The simple way for Congress to “free” the “income-tax slaves” is to pass The FAIRtax, the only “Fair Tax!" Trust the American people rather than treat us as less enlightened beings who have to be forced to do what Congress thinks is right.
Anyone who truly cares about the American people say, “It is time to pass The FAIRtax, the only “Fair Tax”!
The author George Bernard Shaw said, "You see things; and you say “Why”. But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why Not”.
We say to you President Trump, “Embrace The FAIRtax and real tax reform! Stand up to The Swamp. They will oppose you anyway because they see you as a threat. What have you got to lose?”
The truth is the truth. Remember, if we don't continue to tell the truth and demand a change, then this quote from George Orwell's 1984 may foretell our children's future: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”
Take Back America Again! Pass The FAIRtax Now!
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Read Evasion Study Summary
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This week's Episode #176 - "Tax Reform Is Not A Game - Or Is It?"
The FAIRtax Guys Plus One use a board game to demonstrate the superiority of The FAIRtax over the present income-tax-system and how American lives will be improved with The FAIRtax.
Some years ago the AFFT - Americans For Fair Taxation toyed with the idea of creating a FAIRtax board game. Several prototypes were created but the game did not go into production. Fortunately Randy Fischer, a board member of both AFFT & FFTEA - Florida FAIRtax Educational Association secured one of the prototypes and lent it to The FAIRtax Guys to use on the show.
FAIRtaxer Elaine spent several hours learning how to play the game and therefore was invited to join The FAIRtax Guys to use the game as an instructional tool.
They had so much fun with this episode they went over the normal 30 minutes - but hey, who’s counting!
As always, FAIRtax Power Radio seeks to help everyone with a better understanding of the FAIRtax and this is no exception. However, this time, we had a little more fun than usual.
What Can Each Of Us Do?
Call the local and DC offices of your Representative and 2 Senators. Use the following script:
- I am sure Representative ____ or Senator ____ is in favor of everyone obeying the income tax laws.
- After they assure you their boss is not in favor of anyone breaking the law, ask if they are aware of the Cebula study showing $9 trillion of evaded income-payroll taxes over the next 10 years.
- Since most will say they don’t believe their boss has seen the study, drop off a copy, email a copy or click Read Evasion Study Summary and copy/paste the link into an email.
- Say you are going to call back in a week and ask what the Representative or Senator is going to do to stop this evasion.
- In a week, call back and ask specifically what the Representative or Senator is going to do to enforce the law.
- They probably will say their boss believes simplifying the income tax will handle the problem.
- Explain, when people evade income taxes, they are also evading the 15.3% payroll/Medicare tax and state income tax. So, it’s unlikely they are going to pay 30-40% when they were paying 0% because they have already decided it’s okay to cheat.
- Say, the only way to reduce evasion is to increase by tens or hundreds of thousands the number of comprehensive IRS audits done each year.
- Point out Evaders do not self-identify by putting an “E” on their income tax return.
- 80% of the people likely to be audited are trying to comply, but they will be forced to endure these IRS audits as well.
- Ask if the Member is in favor of this?
- If they say no, then ask again how the Member proposes to stop people breaking the income tax laws.
- Then explain the way to handle evasion without unleashing the IRS audits is The FAIRtax.
- If you meet with your Representative or attend a town hall and ask these questions, you will be even more effective.
American's Big Solution - The FAIRtax Primer America Needs
Hard to believe but there still are people who have not heard of The FAIRtax. For those people, America’s Big Solution provides a starting point in their study of The FAIRtax and is meant for any age.
America’s Big Solution is an introduction to The FAIRtax written by Terry Tibbetts, author of “A Spartan Game: The Life and Loss of Don Holleder”, with help from Ron Maiellaro, President The Florida FAIRtax Educational Association. You can buy an electronic version for only $2.99 for the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook and Apple iOS. You can purchase a print copy at the same Amazon link above for $9.25.
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