Where is the law stating that you have to file an income tax?

Question

I was watched Aaron Russos film America: Freedom to Fascism who has seen this and believes you shouldn't be taxed on your income?

I watched the film America: Freedom to Fascism by Aaron Russo. In this film it stated that there is no law requiring a person to pay income taxes. Who strongly believes this is true and what are you doing about it?

Answer 1

Many so called tax resisters bizarrely assert there is no statutory basis for income tax. There's a technical term used by lawyers for them.

Convicts.

Answer 2

The entire Title 26 of the United States Code, passed by Congress over the past 90 years.

Apparently, some people have missed those hundreds of pages of federal law.

For the long version, which debunks most of the arguments used to claim we don't have to pay federal taxes, see below.

EDIT to "robert" below: I'm working on the legal defense team for a case right now involving refusal to pay income taxes.

Answer 3

I've heard that too, but I could never find anyone with the guts to not pay taxes. The IRS is a scary organization. Remember when Clinton sicked them on all his political enemies once he got into office? He had them trembling.

Just tell your local congress people that you like the Fairtax and we can just get rid of the pesky IRS. It will improve our economy and help the poor, but will hurt the lobbyists who make millions rearranging the tax code for clients.

Answer 4

I watched it too and found it to be blatantly disinformative.

But don't take my word for it. From the NY Times:

"Facts Refute Filmmaker’s Assertions on Income Tax in ‘America’"

"...examination of the assertions in Mr. Russo’s documentary.. shows... they ... collapse under the weight of fact."

"Many of the reviews in major newspapers have accepted as having some factual basis the film’s main contention, ... even though every court that has ever ruled on these issues has upheld the constitutionality of the income tax.

"... Mr. Russo says ...that the Internal Revenue Service has refused every request to show any law making Americans liable for an income tax on their wages. ... Yet among those thanked in the credits for their help in making the film is Anthony Burke, an I.R.S. spokesman. Mr. Burke said that when Mr. Russo called him asking what law required the payment of income taxes on wages, he sent Mr. Russo a link to documents, including Title 26 of the United States Code, citing the specific sections that require income taxes be paid on wages. Title 26 says on its face that it is law enacted by Congress."

"..Arguments made in court that the income tax is invalid are so baseless that Congress has authorized fines of $25,000 for anyone who makes them..."

"... Mr. Russo says in the film that the 16th Amendment was never properly ratified and thus a tax on wages is unconstitutional. This claim has been made in various forms by thousands of tax protesters since 1913, and so far their batting average with the courts is .000.
To buttress the claim that the 16th Amendment is invalid, the film displays a quotation from a federal district judge, James C. Fox. But the transcript from which the judge’s words were taken shows that while he spoke those words, they were in the context of laying out issues and that the conclusion he reached was the opposite of the words quoted."

(ref: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/movies/31russ.html?ei=5088&en=05c0d0988f58fc50&ex=1311998400&partner=rssnyt&emc=rs )

For the income tax laws, check out:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sup_01_26_10_A.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00006012----000-.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00000001----000-.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00000003----000-.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00006651----000-.html


For the major acts passed by congress regarding the Federal Income Tax...

Revenue act of 1862:
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1862


1894 Income Tax and the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act:
http://law.enotes.com/major-acts-congress/income-tax-wilson-gorman-tariff-act


Revenue act of 1913:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1913
http://law.enotes.com/major-acts-congress/federal-income-tax


Internal Revenue Code of 1954:
http://law.enotes.com/major-acts-congress/internal-revenue-act
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Code_of_1954
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Code_of_1954


Tax reform act of 1986:
http://www.answers.com/topic/tax-reform-act-of-1986
http://law.enotes.com/major-acts-congress/tax-reform-act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Reform_Act_of_1986


For more in-depth discussion on income tax arguments, check out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_constitutional_arguments
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_statutory_arguments
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_conspiracy_arguments