Frivolous tax arguments are amusing, but the IRS penalty isn't

Each year the IRS hears new and different frivolous tax arguments. The most popular unsubstantiated claims made by working class individuals each year are compiled into a compendium by the IRS. Most working class individuals would laugh at some of the frivolous tax arguments people come up with, however the IRS is not amused. Source for this article – Frivolous tax arguments are amusing, but the IRS penalty is not by MoneyBlogNewz.

Cheating on taxes a poor choice

The Truth about Frivolous Tax Arguments is an annual report the IRS has just released for 2011. The document was 87 pages long. It described several tax evasion scenarios that have been popular. The individuals would often get penalties depending on the arguments which were integrated in the document. It also had the official legal policies used by the government to argue these cases. Most of the arguments are spread on the Internet by a growing number of scam artists posing as brave crusaders against an unjust government and contain refusal to pay federal income taxes for moral, religious, semantic or philosophical reasons.

Paying for an argument

An argument some have is that they aren't a "person." This is in accordance with the IRS definition. Others have argued that the federal income tax is unconstitutional or that paying taxes is voluntary. Military income is exempt for some taxpayers while foreign income is still taxable. It has been estimated that annually at least 10,000 individuals attempt to evade taxes with a frivolous argument, and the number is growing. There is a $5,000 IRS penalty to everyone that files a frivolous tax return argument. Taxpayers who go to court with their frivolous arguments can receive an IRS penalty up to $25,000. The Department of Justice has had over 455 businesses and individuals that it filed injunctions against since just 2000.

Never seeing courts rule in favor of tax arguers

There have been claims that paying taxes violates the fifth amendment, that it’s against ones religion or that it is against the 13th amendment, the IRS explained. The Supreme Court often rules that saying “paying taxes is against my religion” simply won’t fly. The Fifth Amendment states an individual shall not be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” However the law gives the government authority to collect taxes from U.S. citizens. Courts don't think the idea that paying taxes is servitude is really a valid argument when using the 13th Amendment.

Articles cited

Main Street

mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/taxes/tax-excuses-irs-won-t-buy?page=2

Portfolio.com

portfolio.com/views/blogs/resources/2011/03/21/irs-warns-taxpayers-about-excuses-for-not-paying-that-won

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/Business/2010/0415/Tax-Day-101-42-excuses-you-can-t-use-to-avoid-filing-IRS-forms