At 12:59 AM 2/5/2002 +0200, Jei wrote: >BOB'S NOTE: What kind of government would "get in bed" with the big money >people, lock, stock and barrel, in deference to "We The People"? Why, the >same government that would hoodwink "We The Sheople" into paying that which >is referred to as Federal Income Tax when there is no such law that requires >the sheople in the 50 united States to pay such an exorbitant tax - just like >there is no law that requires them to give up their fifth amendment right and >sign a form 1040......... THAT'S WHAT GOVERNMENT!!!!!
Yes, its quite curious that one is compelled to give testimony (your signed tax forms are not evidence in a court of law) against one's self. The U.S. Supreme Court held as early as 1927 in United States v. Sullivan 174 U.S. 259 (1927), that a taxpayer could not refuse to file a federal income tax return because of the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The Supreme Court adhered to the Sullivan principle in Garner v. United States, 424 U.S. 648 (1976). The requirement that a taxpayer include information on the tax return concerning income does not, by itself, violate the self-incrimination clause of the Fifth Amendment as the court noted in United States v. Daly, 481 F.2d 28 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1064 (1973). This case, as well as others, represents an extension of the holding in Sullivan that a taxpayer must do more than file a blank tax return with little or no information. This appears to be in complete opposition to all their other holdings of the privilege. For example, one can take the stand in any trial and refuse to answer any questions which you deem self-incriminating. In Swallow v. United States, 325 F.2d 9F (10th Cir. 1963), cert. denied, 377 U.S. 951 (1964), the court held, "It is now well settled that the income tax laws are not unconstitutional under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment..." "The Supreme Court has stated that the privilege against self-incrimination, if validly exercised, is an absolute defense to a section 7203 prosecution for failure to file an income tax return. Garner v. United States, supra, 424 U.S. at 662-63, 96 S.Ct. at 1186-1187. The Court has also held, however, that the privilege does not justify an outright refusal to file any income tax return at all. United States v. Sullivan, 274 U.S. 259, 263, 47 S.Ct. 607, 71 L.Ed. 1037 (1927). Furthermore, an objection may properly be raised only in response to specific questions asked in the return. Id. See Garner v. United States, 501 F.2d 228, 239 n.18 (9th Cir. 1974) (en banc), aff'd Garner v. United States, supra, 424 U.S. 648, 96 S.Ct. 1178, 47 L.Ed.2d 370. "We are here faced with a case in which the taxpayer did assert his privilege in response to specific questions in the tax return form, but did so on such a wholesale basis as to deny the IRS any useful financial or tax information. Other circuits, faced with similar wholesale assertions of the privilege against self-incrimination, have concluded that a tax return form which contains no information from which tax liability can be calculated does not constitute a tax return within the meaning of the IRS laws. Once these courts determine that the taxpayer has filed no return, simple application of the Sullivan precedent, which states that the Fifth Amendment will never justify a complete failure to file a return, invalidates the Fifth Amendment defense. E. g., United States v. Irwin, 561 F.2d 198, 201 (10th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1012, 98 S.Ct. 725, 54 L.Ed.2d 755 (1978); United States v. Silkman, 543 F.2d 1218, 1219-20 (8th Cir. 1976) (per curiam), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 919, 97 S.Ct. 2185, 53 L.Ed.2d 230 (1977); United States v. Daly, 481 F.2d 28, 30 (8th Cir.) (per curiam), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1064, 94 S.Ct. 571, 38 L.Ed.2d 469 (1973)." So, its apparent that even though you must file a return which contains some information from which tax liability can be calculated you can still assert your 5th Amendment rights by refusing to provide certain, even substantial, information, as long as its so noted. There seems to be no required method of denoting your method of assertion and it appears it can be quite non-obvious to the IRS data entry people and still pass muster. So, unless you are audited the IRS will be unaware of the 5th Amendment assertion and if they do audit you can bring it to their attention without fear of prosecution for filing a false return. Be prepared however for the IRS to prosecute you for filing a frivolous return, a misdemeanor, as a means of harassment.
