Did
You Know?
- No section of the Internal Revenue Code establishes a
liabilty for the income tax.
Section
5005 establishes a tax liability for the distillation and
importation of distilled spirits;
Section 5703 establishes a
tax liability on the manufacture and importation of tobacco products
and
cigarette papers; Section
4374 creates a liability for the tax on policies issued by
foreign insurers; Section
4401(c)
establishes a liability for the tax on accepting wagers; Section 5043
establishes a liability for the tax on wines.
- The general term
"income"
is not defined in the Internal Revenue Code.
U.S. v.
Ballard 535 F2d 400
The Internal Revenue Code
defines 'Gross Income'
(Section 61), 'Ordinary Income' (Section 65),
Adjusted Gross Income (Section 62),
Taxable Income (Section 63), 'Earned Income' (Sec. 32). It
does not
define 'income'.
- "Our system of
taxation is based upon voluntary assessment and payment, not upon
distraint."
Flora v. United States, 362 U.S.
145, pg 176
- "The IRS' primary
task is to collect taxes under a voluntary
compliance system."
(emphasis added)
Jerome Kurtz, Internal Revenue
Annual Report, 1980
- "Our tax system
is
based on individual self-assessment
and voluntary
compliance."
(emphasis added)
Mortimer Caplin, Internal
Revenue
Audit Manual, 1975
- "Each year
American taxpayers voluntarily
file their tax returns and make a
special efort to pay the taxes
they owe."
- Johnnie M.
Walters, Internal revenue 1040 Booklet, 1971
- "Your
income tax is 100 percent voluntary tax, and your
liquor tax is 100 percent enforced tax. Now the
situation is as different as day and night." (See footnote 1)
- "An individual
taxpayer may refuse to
exhibit his/her books and records for examination on the
ground that compelling him to do so
might violate his/her right against self-incrimination under the
Fifth Amendment and constitute an
illegal search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment."
(italics added) - Handbook for Special Agents
- "...warrantless
entrys into
the private premises of a person by the Internal revenue Service for
the purpose of
seizing property to satisfy a tax liability is a violation of that
person's reasonable expectation of privacy under
the Fourth
Amendment
to the Constitution. Before levies or seizures of
property
located on private
premises are made, permission of the occupant of the premises on which
the
seizure is to take place must
be obtained. If the occupant refuses to permit the entry the
matter
should be referred to
District Counsel so that a court order authorizing the entry may be
obtained."
G.M. Leasing
Corp. v. United States, 429 U.S. 338
FOOTNOTES:
1) This statement was made by then head of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax
Division of the IRS. It was made under oath in testimony
given to the House of Representatives' Subcommittee of the Committee on
Ways and Means, Eighty-Third Congress, First Session, Part A, 1953
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