According to the IRS Data Book in 2020:
- The IRS collected $3.5 trillion from more than 240 million federal income tax returns.
- More than $736 billion in tax refunds were issued.
- IRS.gov received more than 1.6 billion visits and 437 million files were downloaded.
- Of the taxpayers who participated in the 2020 Comprehensive Taxpayer Attitude Survey (CTAS), 87 percent said it is not at all acceptable to cheat on their income taxes.
In addition, in 2020, $1 trillion was collected from payroll taxes.
This means that the federal government collected $2.8 trillion in income taxes, plus $1 trillion from payroll taxes for a total of $3.8 trillion.
For many years, the government downplayed the impact of evasion on the income/payroll tax system. Why? Because they didn’t want to admit how easy it was to evade the federal income.
Finally though, IRS Commissioner Rettig admitted that evasion costs the government at least $1 trillion per year.
$1 TRILLION EVADED IS OVER 25% OF THE $3.8 TRILLION COLLECTED!
WHAT DOES TAX EVASION REALLY MEAN?
Throughout history, Rulers have been able to collect taxes from the Ruled only for as long as the Ruled agreed with the services being provided and that the taxes were being assessed and collected fairly.
When the Ruled felt like they weren’t getting the services they needed or that the tax system was unfair, the Ruled start resisting. Resistance to the Ruled almost never starts out as an open revolt. Instead, because the Rulers rely on the tax system to exist, the Ruled begin to evade taxes.
The Rulers shrilly point out that tax evaders are just criminals and some are. But widespread tax evasion can not occur without the agreement of others. The plumber could not sell services at a lower price for cash if no one was willing to pay cash.
The rapidly growing amount of federal income tax evasion is frightening our Rulers because they see it for what it is—a rebellion against their policies and their tax system. They realize that it is not just the evaders but many more of the Ruled may not be evading taxes, yet, but they are in sympathy and willing to help.
If our Rulers were wise and wanted to really end the revolt, they would address the real issues. They would implement a fairer tax system and they would listen to the concerns of the Ruled about how their taxes are being spent.
Unfortunately, throughout history, most Rulers when confronted with people protesting their actions simply enact more laws trying to force the Ruled to comply. In this case, new laws are supposedly aimed at tax evaders but because tax evaders are only a small percentage of the total evaders, the new laws will affect all taxpayers and justify more people to start evading taxes. This oppressive reaction has never worked in the past and it will not work now.
The ruler’s “solution” on how to handle people who dare protest against them is hidden on page 88 of the General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals published by the Department of the Treasury in May of 2021.
Entitled, INTRODUCE COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL ACCOUNT REPORTING TO IMPROVE TAX COMPLIANCE, here are the main points of the proposal:
- Financial institutions will report gross inflows and outflows with a breakdown for physical cash, transactions with a foreign account, and transfers to and from another account with the same owner.
- This requirement would apply to all business and personal accounts from financial institutions, including bank, loan, and investment accounts, with the exception of accounts below a low de minimis gross flow threshold of $600 or fair market value of $600.
- Other accounts with characteristics similar to financial institution accounts will be covered under this information reporting regime.
- In particular, payment settlement entities would collect Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) and file a revised Form 1099-K expanded to all payee accounts (subject to the same de minimis threshold), reporting not only gross receipts but also gross purchases, physical cash, as well as payments to and from foreign accounts, and transfer inflows and outflows.
- Similar reporting requirements would apply to crypto asset exchanges and custodians.
- Separately, reporting requirements would apply in cases in which taxpayers buy crypto assets from one broker and then transfer the crypto assets to another broker, and businesses that receive crypto assets in transactions with a fair market value of more than $10,000 would have to report such transactions.
- The Secretary would be given broad authority to issue regulations necessary to implement this proposal.
- The proposal would be effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022.
Wait, you say, how can they do this? The Fourth Amendment states:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Probable cause exists when there is a reasonable basis for believing that a crime may have been committed (in order to make an arrest) or when evidence of a crime is present in the place to be searched.
What probable cause does the IRS have to collect this data on 100% of taxpayers when they claim that only 10-15% of taxpayers are committing serious evasion? The answer is simple. There isn’t any. The IRS has absolutely no probable cause to target all of us, but that’s exactly what they are proposing to do.
HOW DOES THIS IMPACT EACH OF US?
Our Rulers want detailed reports on all of our financial activity. They want to know who we receive money from and who we pay money to. And they’re not looking just for large transactions that might indicate some kind of criminal activity. They want to know about everything so they can more closely monitor and control our day-to-day activities.
One example that is real to those reading this newsletter is when you make a donation to AFFT. Since AFFT is a 501(c)(4) organization, donations are not deductible and not reported on your tax return. Consequently, there is no way for the IRS to know that you donated to AFFT under current law.
However, with the new system in place, the IRS could very easily compile a list of everyone who donated to AFFT. And remember that the IRS considers AFFT to be a subversive organization since our stated goal is to replace the income tax with the FAIRtax, and in the process, abolish the IRS.
Of course, our Rulers will scoff at this and say that all of the data they receive is confidential and they would never allow anyone to use this information to attack any of us.
Right. The tax returns leaked to ProPublica were also “confidential”. Remember Lois Lerner, the IRS head of exempt organizations, and how she discriminated against groups to which she objected?
CONCLUSION
At least for now, the public pressure on the House Ways And Means Committee has forced them not to include this proposal in their new proposed income tax bill.
But that hasn’t stopped the Rulers from sending their minions to all of the Sunday news shows loudly proclaiming the need for this new proposal. They claim that it’s necessary to stop evaders and that if you’re not doing anything wrong, why should you care?
We care because we see this for what it is—an attempt to obliterate our Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
Using their logic, if you’re not doing anything wrong, why would you object to the police having the power to search your home without a warrant ?
Wouldn’t you want the police to need probable cause before they could arrest you for walking down the street?
This willingness to show their utter contempt for the rights of the Ruled so openly is clear and compelling evidence that the Rulers are very much afraid of what this rapid increase in income tax evasion really signals.
As the great French philosopher and Nobel Prize winning author Albert Camus said, Rebellion cannot exist without the feeling that somewhere, in some way, you are justified.
These tyrannical and desperate measures are doomed to fail. As the IRS becomes more intrusive in their enforcement efforts, more and more people will feel justified in rebelling against the system. The result will be more tax evasion, not less, and reducing revenue to the Rulers.
Replacing the income/payroll tax system with the FAIRtax will all but eliminate tax evasion without having to resort to draconian and unconstitutional laws. To be fair, it won’t eliminate all the reasons that make people feel justified in rebelling against the system, but it will make our Rulers more accountable.
With the FAIRtax, the cost of government can’t be hidden in the prices of the goods and services we buy. People will see on every retail receipt just how much government is costing them, and they’ll be in a much better position to decide if the Rulers are giving us our money’s worth and take action at the polls if they aren’t.
What else can each of us do?
We can write letters and make calls to our elected representatives demanding that if the government really wants to eliminate the burden of filing income tax returns, they should enact the FAIRtax and do away with tax returns altogether.
The great 18th century Irish statesman Edmund Burke made a statement that applies in many ways,
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
If you want to prevent the IRS from being further weaponized to punish those of us who may object to the D.C. opinions and dictates of what is good for us, then help us PASS THE FAIRTAX!
The IRS will be gone and we will pay our taxes when we make purchases. WE and not D.C. Elites will decide how much federal tax we pay!
If you have friends who don’t know about the FAIRtax, send them to FAIRtax.org. Have them watch the white boards under “How It Works” and, if they agree, ask them to please join us.
Then contact your Members of Congress and the President and demand that Congress pass -the FAIRtax—the only fair tax.
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.”
Is it hopeless? When confronted with a seemingly impossible problem, remember the statement attributed to the author George Bernard Shaw who wrote, You see things; and you say “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?”
Isn’t it time for us to ask, “Why not?”
HELP BRING ABOUT REAL TAX REFORM AND STOP FUTURE IRS ABUSES
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