BEST PROTECTION FOR YOUR CONFIDENTIAL DATA—THE FAIRTAX
The IRS Data Book states that in 2022 there were over 250 million returns filed with the IRS. 150 million of these were individual income tax returns and 12 million were business income tax returns.
Taxpayers file these returns on the assumption that the information on them is confidential.
Few of us want to see the confidential data that we’re forced to disclose to the government published on the internet or sold to the various groups that specialize in identity theft. After all, our social security number, bank accounts and other personal data that we have to put on our income tax returns is highly valued by these criminals.
Disclosure of confidential information is federal crime. Here is the statute:
Disclosure of Tax Return and Return Information-26 U.S.C. § 7213(a)(1)
(a)Returns and return information
(1)Federal employees and other persons
It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the United States or any person described in section 6103(n) (or an officer or employee of any such person), or any former officer or employee, willfully to disclose to any person, except as authorized in this title, any return or return information (as defined in section 6103(b)). Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution, and if such offense is committed by any officer or employee of the United States, he shall, in addition to any other punishment, be dismissed from office or discharged from employment upon conviction for such offense.
The Leaked Tax Returns
President Trump’s tax return was illegally obtained from the IRS and published in the New York Times in September of 2020. It showed that he paid only $750 in federal income taxes. His campaign claims that this cost him valuable votes.
Then in 2021, ProPublica started publishing a series of stories based on leaked IRS tax information covering thousands of the wealthiest Americans over more than 15 years.
Many in D.C. and the media downplayed the illegalities involved and applauded the leaker’s actions. The leaked data strongly supported their narrative that the rich aren’t paying their fair share of income taxes and helped make the case for the wealth tax being promoted by Senator Warren.
Three years later, the leaker was finally tracked down and has entered into an agreement to plead guilty to one count of disclosing a tax return without authorization.
This is from the Department of Justice (DOJ) release:
- An IRS contractor, Charles Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to disclosing tax return information without authorization.
- According to court documents, Littlejohn, while working at the IRS as a government contractor, stole tax return information associated with a high-ranking government official (President Trump).
- He then evaded IRS protocols established to detect and prevent large downloads or uploads from IRS devices or systems.
- Littlejohn then saved the tax returns to multiple personal storage devices.
- In July and August 2020, Littlejohn separately stole tax return information for thousands of the nation’s wealthiest individuals.
- In November 2020, Littlejohn disclosed this tax return information to ProPublica, which published over 50 articles using the stolen data.
- Littlejohn then obstructed the forthcoming investigation into his conduct by deleting and destroying evidence of his disclosures.
- Littlejohn pleaded guilty to unauthorized disclosure of tax return and return information.
- He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
CONCLUSION
While Americans are glad that Littlejohn has been caught and is going to be punished, there are several questions that need to be asked.
- The evidence of Littlejohn’s guilt is very clear. He stole President Trump’s tax return and the tax returns of thousands of other wealthy Americans. Why is the DOJ only charging him with one count that is punishable by a maximum of five years?
- Five years in prison, if he gets the maximum, is bad but why not charge him with multiple counts since he leaked thousands of tax returns?
- This seems like a sweetheart deal similar to the Hunter Biden plea deal that the DOJ had to abandon when it was exposed to public view.
- Why did it take the IRS so long to discover the source of the leak? Were there so many people who had access to the “confidential” tax returns that it took three years to sift through all of them?
- How do we know that others are not stealing “confidential” data now?
- Is there any way to ensure that other IRS employees who have access to tax return data and political agendas to push won’t do the same thing Littlejohn did?
- Is there any way to guarantee that our confidential data will remain absolutely confidential?
THE SOLUTION—PASS THE FAIRTAX!
If you don’t want your confidential information leaked or sold, the FAIRtax is the only real solution. Here’s why.
- Under the FAIRtax, there are no more tax returns. You no longer have to disclose your personal financial information to the government.
- Banks and other financial institutions no longer have to tell the government about the dividends and interest you received, or about how much you made trading stocks, bonds or other capital assets.
- There is no need for the government to know anything about your IRA because you won’t need an IRA. The FAIRtax lets everyone save for their retirement tax free.
- And of course, if the government doesn’t have your data, they can’t leak it.
In addition to solving the confidentiality problem, the FAIRtax lets business owners concentrate on making their business more profitable and beneficial for their shareholders and employees.
President Biden and Congress, pass the FAIRtax and:
- Do the right thing for the people of America and fix the broken income/payroll tax system!
- Go down in history as the ones who freed all present and future Americans from the tyranny of the income/payroll tax system.
- Ensure that there can be no more leaks of our confidential information.
- Transfer power back to the American people over how much tax they pay!
The FAIRtax transfers power from Congress and the bureaucrats to the people. We, not D.C., decide how much federal tax we pay.
There is no IRS—the states collect the FAIRtax.
Only retail businesses will have to collect the FAIRtax and remit it to the government.
Since less than 10% of the retailers account for 90% of retail purchases, there will be much less opportunity for evasion.
Why would D.C. pass the FAIRtax and give up this almost unlimited source of donations? The only way that they will is if the rest of us demand it!
Isn’t it time to end this ludicrous tax collection system and the IRS?
There is going to be a vote on the FAIRtax in the House of Representatives.
We now have the opportunity to force all Members of the House to show where they stand. They can:
- Vote for the present income/payroll tax system or for the FAIRtax.
- Support the corrupt income tax and the IRS or eliminate it. It can’t be any simpler than that.
- Hide the true cost of their government or pass the FAIRtax and show everyone the true cost of government on each retail receipt.
- Support the largest transfer of power from government to the people, the FAIRtax, or not.
If Members think that the FAIRtax needs to be amended to address a problem, then they can propose the change. Don’t let reject the entire bill because it has a perceived “flaw” that can be addressed.
Please stand with us and demand that your representative support a much fairer, much simpler and much more efficient way to fund the government—the FAIRtax!
The FAIRtax doesn’t pick winners and losers. Because it taxes spending, not earnings, the FAIRtax lets everyone save for their retirement tax free.
The FAIRtax will allow us to TAKE BACK CONTROL.
The income/payroll tax system is broken and no longer working—we can’t repair it but we can replace it with the FAIRTAX!
Join us and TAKE BACK CONTROL OF OUR COUNTRY AND OUR LIVES—NOT WITH BULLETS BUT WITH THE ELIMINATION OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST THREATS TO OUR LIBERTY AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY—THE INCOME/PAYROLL TAX.
We all should remember Edmund Burke’s warning that applies to our efforts to TAKE BACK CONTROL,
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
We should also remember this quote from George Orwell's 1984, which, if we do nothing, may foretell your and your children's future:
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”
WHAT CAN EACH OF US DO?
We can write letters and make calls to our elected representatives and attend Zoom town hall meetings demanding that if they really want to allow Americans to “TAKE BACK CONTROL”, the first step is to eliminate the income/payroll tax system and enact the FAIRTAX!
TAKE BACK CONTROL! Help us PASS THE FAIRTAX!
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