Income Tax Liability Statute
All federal taxes have one, except the income tax.
Attorney Tommy Cryer in an interview with World Net Daily made the following statement:
“There are three points that are important. There’s no law making the average working man liable [for income taxes], there’s no law or regulation that allows the IRS to contend that earnings are 100 percent profit received in exchange for nothing, and the right to earn a living through any lawful occupation is a constitutionally protected fundamental right, and it is exempt from taxation.”
We’ll focus here on the first part of his statement. All taxing statutes are required to be clear and understandable.
“Keeping in mind the well-settled rule, that the citizen is exempt from taxation, unless the same is imposed by clear and unequivocal language, and that where the construction of a tax is doubtful, the doubt is to be resolved in favor of those upon whom the tax is sought to be laid,…” Spreckles Sugar Refining Co. vs. McLain, 192 US 397, (1904)
A basic factor in understanding a tax law is knowing exactly who is “liable” for paying the tax. As Mr. Cryer and many others have pointed out, there is no income tax liability statute in the Internal Revenue Code that makes the average American liable. One might think that Congress merely overlooked naming those liable for income taxes. But one would have to then ignore all the other taxes in the Internal Revenue Code in which Congress clearly and specifically names the parties liable for payment of the tax. For example:
26 U.S.C. 4071 (Tire Manufacture Excise Tax); “…if the manufacturer, producer, or importer of any tire delivers such tire to a retail store or retail outlet of such manufacturer, producer, or importer, he shall be liable for tax under subsection (a)…”
26 U.S.C. 4219 (Manufacturers Excise Tax); “In case any person acquires from the manufacturer, producer, or importer of an article, by operation of law or as a result of any transaction not taxable under this chapter, the right to sell such article, the sale of such article by such person shall be taxable under this chapter as if made by the manufacturer, producer, or importer, and such person shall be liable for the tax.”
26 U.S.C. 4401 (Tax on Wagers); “Each person who is engaged in the business of accepting wagers shall be liable for and shall pay the tax under this subchapter on all wagers placed with him.”
26 U.S.C. 4411 (Wagering Occupational Tax); “There shall be imposed a special tax of $500 per year to be paid by each person who is liable for the tax imposed under section 4401 or who is engaged in receiving wagers for or on behalf of any person so liable.
26 U.S.C. 4481 (Vehicle Use Tax); “The tax imposed by this section shall be paid by the person in whose name the highway motor vehicle is, or is required to be, registered…”
26 U.S.C. 4611 (Tax on Petroleum); “(1) The tax imposed by subsection (a)(1) shall be paid by the operator of the United States refinery; (2) The tax imposed by subsection (a)(2) shall be paid by the person entering the product for consumption, use, or warehousing; (3) The tax imposed by subsection (b) shall be paid by the person using or exporting the crude oil, as the case may be.”
26 U.S.C. 4972 (Tax on Contributions to Qualified Employer Pension Plans); “ The tax imposed by this section shall be paid by the employer making the contributions.”
26 U.S.C. 5005 (Gallonage Tax on Distilled Spirits); “The distiller or importer of distilled spirits shall be liable for the taxes imposed thereon by section 5001 (a)(1).”
26 U.S.C. 5043 (Gallonage Tax on Wines); “(a) The taxes on wine provided for in this subpart shall be paid— (1) …by the proprietor of such bonded wine cellar… (A) …liability for payment of the tax shall become the liability of the transferee from the time of removal of the wine from the transferor’s premises, and the transferor shall thereupon be relieved of such liability (B) …the liability for payment of the tax shall become the liability of such person from the time of the removal of the wine from the bonded wine cellar,…”
26 U.S.C. 5232 (Storage Tax on Imported Distilled Spirits); “The person operating the bonded premises of the distilled spirits plant to which such spirits are transferred shall become liable for the tax on distilled spirits withdrawn from customs…”
26 U.S.C. 5364 (Tax on Wine Imported in Bulk); “The proprietor of a bonded wine cellar to which such wine is transferred shall become liable for the tax on the wine withdrawn from customs…”
26 U.S.C. 5703 (Excise Tax on Manufacture of Tobacco Products); “The manufacturer or importer of tobacco products and cigarette papers and tubes shall be liable for the taxes imposed thereon by section 5701,…”
26 U.S.C. 5751 (Tax on Purchase, Receipt, Possession or Sale of Tobacco Products); “Any person who possesses tobacco products or cigarette papers or tubes in violation of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) shall be liable for a tax equal to the tax on such articles.”
I could go on at some length, as there are hundreds of federal taxes on various consumer and business goods. The point is not to impress you with how many taxes we pay, but with the fact that Congress knows very well that tax laws must specify those who will be subject to and liable for paying the tax. But nowhere in the I.R.C. is there language that makes most Americans liable for the income tax. We should ask ourselves why and what it means about the application or misapplication of the income tax to hard-working Americans.
For more on the subject check out Tommy Cryer’s website, Truth Attack.
CAUTION: THIS ENTRY IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. THE U.S. TAX COURT CONSIDERS THE LACK OF A LIABILITY STATUTE IN THE I.R.C. TO BE A ‘FRIVOLOUS’ ARGUMENT.