How is it against the law to not pay your taxes?

Question

Someone, anyone, if you can.... SHOW ME THE LAW THAT STATES THAT CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MUST PAY THEIR TAXES, AND THAT IT IS A FEDERAL CRIME TO NOT DO SO. Think you got what it takes?

Answer 1

The federal tax laws are contained in Title 26 of the United States Code, which is the compilation of laws passed by the Congress (“Title” basically means “Volume” when applied to the U.S. Code as a whole, so Title 26 is what might more casually be called Volume 26). The most important statutory provision with regard to income taxes is section one of the tax code, 26 U.S.C. § 1. This is the section that actually imposes the income tax. It’s very simply written. If you are unmarried, the relevant provision is § 1(c), which states:

There is hereby imposed on the taxable income of every individual . . . who is not a married individual a tax determined in accordance with the following table:

followed by a table specifying the tax rates on various income amounts. If you are married, you are covered by the similar provision at § 1(a). There are also a couple of other possible filing statuses covered elsewhere in § 1 (such as “head of household”), but the basic point is that section 1 imposes an income tax.

[G]ross income means all income from whatever source derived, including (but not limited to) the following items:
(1) Compensation for services, including fees, commissions, fringe benefits, and similar items;
(2) Gross income derived from business;
(3) Gains derived from dealings in property;
(4) Interest;
(5) Rents;
(6) Royalties;
(7) Dividends;

There are 15 items in the full list (I’ve only quoted the first seven), but the key part of the definition is that gross income means “all income from whatever source derived.”

So, between sections 1, 61, and 63, we see that the tax code passed by Congress imposes a tax on your taxable income, which includes all your income, from whatever source derived, less the deductions allowed by the tax laws. So the tax laws do impose a tax on you.

Now, how do you know that you have to file a tax return and actually pay the tax?

Section 6151 of the code, 26 U.S.C. § 6151, says:

[W]hen a return of tax is required under this title or regulations, the person required to make such return shall, without assessment or notice and demand from the Secretary, pay such tax to the internal revenue officer with whom the return is filed, and shall pay such tax at the time and place fixed for filing the return (determined without regard to any extension of time for filing the return).

So according to this section, if you are required to file a tax return, you are required to pay the tax owed, to pay it at the time you file your return, and to pay it to the internal revenue officer with whom you file the return.

But who says you’re required to file the return? Turn back to section 6012(a) of the code, 26 U.S.C. § 6012(a), which provides:

26 U.S.C. § 6012(a)
Returns with respect to income taxes * * * shall be made by the following:
(1)(A) Every individual having for the taxable year gross income which equals or exceeds the exemption amount * * *.

The “exemption amount” is defined in 26 U.S.C. § 151(d) as $2000, adjusted for inflation since 1989. You can see the exact amount for the current tax year in the IRS instructions to form 1040. If you have more income than this amount, section 6012 requires you to file a tax return (except that if you’re married, section 6013 gives you the option of filing a joint return with your spouse).

So there it is:

Sections 1, 61, and 63 impose the tax,
Section 6012 requires you to file a tax return if you have income of more than the exemption amount, and
Section 6151 requires you to pay the tax at the time and place fixed for the filing of your return.

And when is your return due? Section 6072 provides the answer: “[R]eturns made on the basis of the calendar year shall be filed on or before the 15th day of April following the close of the calendar year.” This is the statutory basis for the familiar April 15 tax deadline.

Of course, there’s a lot more to know if you want to achieve a full understanding of the tax system. For example, other statutes besides the ones quoted above create the extensive system of tax “withholding,” whereby you actually pay your taxes on your wages in advance, each time you receive a paycheck, so that on the day your return is due the government usually ends up owing you a refund. If you have substantial amounts of unearned income, there are also other statutes that require you to pay estimated taxes each quarter. And, needless to say, there are innumerable, complex statutes that more specifically define how much income tax you owe. But you only need to look at a few, relatively simple statutes to see that the duty to pay income tax is mandatory. You can look up the above statutes yourself in any law library (just ask the librarian to help you find Title 26 of the United States Code.) These statutes demonstrate that the claim that there is no law requiring anyone to file income tax returns or pay income tax is complete nonsense.

Being that this is a FEDERAL LAW, breaking of this law would be considered a federal crime or a "felony". Felonies are punishable by jail time, and loss of many rights such as voting, right to bear arms, etc. Contrary to what some people may believe, a law doesn't have to include a specific punishment in order for it to be enforceable. The simple fact that it IS a federal law makes it enforceable. In fact MOST federal crimes don't have laws spelling out a certain punishment. They are punished by the classification, which is a felony and based largely on legal precedent.

Answer 2

There are a small group of loonies who want us all to believe that the government does not have the power to tax citizens, and they ingore the important legal concept of precedent in order to make their case, and insist that you have to have a specific law passed by congress that prescribes a punishment for non-payment.

The fact is that there is strong legal and constituional precedent giving federal and state governments the power to collect taxes and enforce non-payment. You may think precedent has no place in legal arguments, but you would be wrong.

Answer 3

The enabling act is the 16th Amendment to the Constitution and the applicable law is the Internal Revenue Code.

Answer 4

Ask Al Capone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone#Federal_income_taxes_and_downfall

Answer 5

we all need to stop at paying at once. united we stand ya no.
if there is any hope left for this country,this needs to happen then and only then will the govt. remember what they are getting paid for. i cant just go out and buy things unless i have the cash.they can go buy anything, then take our cash..what's wrong ? hmmm govt. maybe so

Answer 6

Those taxes pay for more prisons so pay up