Re: [TruthTalk] A Good Read/Taxes

[Judith H. Taylor]

Hi Bruce you also wrote: Yes, God has ordained the powers that be. But refusing to pay voluntary taxes to support the wicked programs of such rulers is NOT resisting evil!     Judy: Once more .. in the USA income tax is the law so we are not dealing with something that is as you say 'voluntary'   Bruce:  It is obeying God's commands re. not being unequally yoked together with unbelievers! (II Cor.6:14 and following)   Judy: You are taking this out of context Bruce. I am not yoked with Government nor is 2 Cor 6:14 referring to Government; this scripture refers to personal holiness in the Church.   It is obeying God's command to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. (Ephesians  5:11) It is obeying God's command to refuse to cast in our lot with sinners and have one purse with them in supporting laying wait for blood, running to  evil, taking  away the life of the owners thereof...all for the greed of gain!  <snip>   Judy: Bruce are you saying then that noone can be a Christian and work for the Government or serve in the military? Bruce:  You are right that God does not hold us morally responsible for something we have no control over. That is why the Lord Jesus and his disciples paid  mandatory taxes and that is why I do the same.  But once I discovered that Income Tax was in fact a voluntary tax, I was morally responsible if I  continued to choose to voluntarily donate funds for wicked means!   Judy: Income tax is the law Bruce, here is another incident. You would be in trouble over here....   Proponent of 'Voluntary' Income Tax Sued for Millions Jason Pierce, CNSNews.com Thursday, May 30, 2002 Former Libertarian presidential candidate Irwin Schiff, who maintains that the federal income tax is optional, is being sued by a New Hampshire man who says he lost his business after following Schiff's tax advice. Steven Swan, a former real estate agent in Auburn, N.H., is suing Schiff for $1 million in compensation for the loss of earnings from his real estate business since 1997, $1 million for physical and emotional distress for the loss of his business and earning ability and $5 million in punitive damages. The lawsuit was filed May 23 in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., where Swan now lives. "If you do something where you encourage people to do something to their detriment, whether they believe it or not, it is called a tort, and so I filed a lawsuit for the torts I believe [Schiff] committed," Swan said. He claims in his lawsuit that he first met Schiff at a Libertarian luncheon in New Hampshire in 1995 where Schiff was speaking. Afterwards, according to the suit, the two spent approximately three hours in the hotel lobby, during which time Schiff told Swan about his theories that the federal income tax was voluntary. Swan says he then bought the books Schiff had written on how to legally avoid paying income taxes, and even began teaching others about Schiff's theories at seminars. In 1996, Swan's suit alleges, he used Schiff's theories to try to convince the Internal Revenue Service that he owed the government nothing and planned to pay nothing. Later, Swan was forced to close his business, and IRS employees levied his bank accounts. When Swan used Schiff's theories to file two lawsuits against IRS employees, the U.S. District Court in New Hampshire dismissed both. Last week, Swan directed his legal action at Schiff. "He honestly believes what he is saying," Swan said. "But I think he is misconstrued. I don't think it is anything he is trying to do purposely, but he is guilty of misrepresentation, fraud and negligence." Schiff, who ran unsuccessfully for the 1996 Libertarian Party presidential nomination, said Swann's lawsuit is "nonsense." 'I Went to Jail' "My books point out that I went to jail for four years," Schiff said. "My books point out that I sued the government. "There are disclaimers in all my books, but I stand by everything in my books," he said. Schiff added that in teaching people about his theories, he gives those who listen the information necessary to avoid paying taxes, but has no control over what is done with the information. "It can't take Steve six years to learn I am wrong," Schiff said. "Here's what I do: I bring them the law, the statutes and the code, but I tell them they are dealing with the federal government, which is a criminal government. "If I told [Swan] to go rob a bank, would he do it? What is he, an idiot?" Schiff said. Swan admitted Schiff did not force him to take any action. "It's true that I didn't have to listen to him," Swan said. "I didn't have to listen to the guy, but he was so convincing that I did listen to him." Copyright CNSNews.com