The Tax Honesty Movement Should Learn From the Gun Culture

It's a topic which, in pro-freedom forums at least, has become almost passe': there is no actual law making anyone liable for the U.S. income tax; filing a 1040 tax form constitutes a waiver of Fifth Amendment guarantees; the Sixteenth Amendment was never properly ratified; the Supreme Court has held numerous times that "income" is a corporate profit, not wages, salaries, or dividends. A music teacher once told me that if you studied music theory for ten hours a day, seven days a week, from the time you were old enough to read, until around the time you slip off this mortal coil, that you still would not know everything there is to know about the subject. I would say the same is true of the income tax. Not, mind you, that one needs to go much further than to verify the truth of any one of the aforementioned attributes of the tax in order to conclude that those in the Tax Honesty Movement, by and large, know what they're talking about (incidentally, Aaron Russo's new film, America: From Freedom to Fascism is a real eye-opener in this regard, even to those of us who have travelled in these circles for a while; be sure to check it out). But so what, you're saying: try not paying it, and likely you'll end up a penniless street waif, if not a resident of Club Fed. All too true, I'm afraid. Government, at all levels -- from Congress, the Treasury, and the IRS itself; to the U.S. district attornies and equally culpable members of the federal judiciary -- has been less than kind to those who stand up for their supposedly inalienable rights and the letter of written law as it applies to the tax.

Now let's shift gears. Look, by contrast, at how successful the Gun Culture has been at protecting the right to keep and bear arms. True, there are still some twenty-thousand or so (unconstitutional) federal "laws" on the books infringing upon our supposedly uninfringable Second Amendment guarantees -- to say nothing of the laws which likely exist in your state of residence -- but the fact remains that the right still exists. Americans have not been disarmed as a whole, by any means. Yes, government does disarm people here and there in abject violation of their rights, such as in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. But look how swiftly organizations comprised of private individuals jumped into the fray, such as Gun Owners of America, the National Rifle Association, and the Second Amendment Foundation. The courts were forced to condemn the actions of the police and National Guard, and order the seized weapons returned to their owners. Various state legislatures across the nation rapidly moved to pass legislation (as if constitutional precedent -- i.e. "Supreme Law" -- should not be enough) to prevent similar future abridgement of gun rights. The spectre of Waco in 1993 was once again raised in some media. Yes, it meant engaging the State instead of shunning them altogether. But people got angry. And government backed down.

Contrast this to the government's enforcement and collection of income taxes. Most of us accept wage withholding at work, file our returns every year like good little sheep (while angling for the biggest "refund"...or at least to pay as little as possible), and then hope the big, bad IRS won't get interested in us. I don't know about you, but that state of affairs makes me sick to my stomach. Never mind that it makes me question whether being an American means anything; it makes me question whether my status as a human being has any value.

Direct resistance, as stated, may not be much of an option. Sure, there are victories from time to time -- but they're in the minority. They're the Tax Honesty Movement's Irish sweepstakes winners. And even at that, the IRS, leaving the courtroom with egg on their face, usually still pursue these good folks civilly, and force them to live in two-room apartments and eat peanut butter sandwiches for most of the rest of their lives.

What if, however, there were an anti-IRS version of GOA, or the NRA, or Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership? What if one, or better yet a series, of large national lobbying organizations, as is the case with Gun Culture groups, existed with one sole purpose in mind: The abolition of both the income tax and the IRS. Folks, who doesn't want to see that happen? Only government people, that's who. They're more than happy to keep stealing our money and continue the March of the Police State. But we outnumber them a hundred to one.

Now, you're undoubtedly asking: "Are you nuts, Knight? Who in their right mind would join such a group, knowing the IRS -- and government in general -- would immediately make them a target? I mean, you might as well walk around with a bullseye on your forehead with a big neon sign that says, SHOOT ME!"

Well, here's a revelation: Government doesn't want us owning guns, either. They'd much prefer we remain unarmed serfs. Yet, the existence of the heretofore mentioned Second Amendment groups, and countless others like them, have insured that this has not yet come to pass. You may be a member of one, or several, of these organizations. I am as well, and I've further put my John Hancock to what you're reading at present. Government knows who we are, they know we own guns, and they know what our membership in these groups is responsible for. They're the reason that, even if you live in an ultra-restrictive State like Massachusetts, if you're willing to jump through one hell of a lot of hoops and bureaucratic red tape, you can still own firearms at the end of the day (albeit under heavy continuing regulation). They're the reason that, even though Vermont itself has for years been Leftist-dominated politically, I can still tuck a handgun under my coat and go out and about my business without any license, permit, or permission from government in any form. They're the reason that renewed energy has been infused into advancing firearm freedoms across the country (though admittedly, much of this stems from the horrible events of 9/11 -- perhaps the sole positive socio-political side-effect of that infamous day). And in showdown after showdown, with some minor setbacks, We the People have prevailed. I submit to you that the same is possible with respect to getting the IRS off our backs and out of our lives forever.

And sure, I'm not so naive as to think that the Pols will simply, and undoubtedly with agonizing reluctance, abolish that agency, scrap the Internal Revenue Code, and call it a day. For absolute certain, they'll replace it with a federal sales tax, federal value-added tax, or other mechanism of slavery. Some of you reading this may (erroneously, and with grave error, in my view) actually advocate such a transition. I'll leave that argument for another day. Except to leave you with this: I've just illustrated one possible way to get the bureaucrats at the IRS to have to go out and get real, productive jobs, and start leaving the rest of us alone. I hope someone out there with the money and organizational skills takes this and runs with it. Certainly let me know if you do. But I would further ask why we should stop there. When it comes to government, we ought to just take the same approach to the whole insufferable mess.

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