I vaguely remember reading something awhile back about income tax laws being left in effect after war time and that if you fufill certain conditions, you don’t have to pay them.
I looked through the SD archive and was unable to locate anything on the subject. I’m not trying to be cheap (though I wouldn’t mind not paying taxes) but I mentioned it to someone and they don’t believe me. Please answer soon as I hate being wrong.
There is one main condition for not having to pay income tax: don’t make any money.
Oh, it’s slightly more complicated than that (in most years, you can make a very little money, as long as it’s not over a certain threshold – but then you’d still have to file to get your withholding back), but that’s the gist of it.
Don’t make any money, and you won’t have to pay any income tax!
According to several court decisions, the easiest way to avoid income taxes is to earn less than $4000 per year (or whatever the threshhold amount actually is). Otherwise, see the Internal Revenue Code (sec 101 et seq) for items that specifically excluded from income for income tax purposes: gifts, municipal bonds interest, reimbursement of medical expenses, etc.
I’m currently reading the book “Good-By April 15th” by Boston T. Party:
http://javelinpress.com/gbye.html
It is the author’s contention that you are not required to pay federal income tax.
I’ll let you know if I agree with him after I finish the book.
When I refer to not paying taxes I was not talking about not making money so you wouldn’t pay taxes. I am almost 100% that cecil had an article that mentioned that income tax was put in place due to a necessity for wartime financial support. However, after wartime it stayed on the books. So technically you are not required to pay it because it isn’t wartime or something to that effect. I seem to remember Cecil saying that the hoops you have to jump through and the papers that you need to file make it very very difficult but not immpossible. Does this ring a bell with anyone else?
Cecil wrote a column on a specific claim as to why income tax is illegal. I don’t know if this is the same claim, but the column is worth reading anyway.
Even better, let me know if the IRS agrees with him… 
Zev Steinhardt
Boston T. Party?? A book about taxation??
Ha Ha.
Zev Steinhardt
Ah, you’ve never heard of Boston?? Go here, my man, and become educated:
You CAN avoid social security. The Big C has addressed that issue before. Aside from not making more than 4K there is one other way to not pay taxes . . . die. Wait a minute, isn’t there a death tax?
What is a bit more important is that the US Supreme Court does not agree with him. These “tax protestor” arguements have all been extensively tested in the Courts- they have consistently lost. In fact, I have seen the 9th Circuit Court get so irritated by the same disproved arguements being brought up- that they have fined folks $5000 for trying those positions.
pezpunk- there was a telecommunications tax, on your phone bill, that was put there to originally pay for the Spanish- American war- that may be where you got the "war tax’ idea. I think Congress just got rid of it- but the savings are minute.
Very good, zev. 
But aside from all the other arguments… no, you don’t HAVE to pay tax. You also don’t HAVE to go with the cops peacefully when they come to take you to jail for tax evasion. The only thing you HAVE to do is die after they fill you full of lead for attempting to escape.
[nitpick]
HAVE , in this context, IMHO, means “legally required.” In this context, you do HAVE to pay taxes…
Zev Steinhardt
I’ll remember you next time I think about re-starting my stand-up act, Zev.
Ah, good. An excuse to plug one of my favorite web sites.
Cecil wrote a lot about taxes, you have to search his archive rather than the forum archive.
He said that you don’t have to file if you don’t owe anything OR the gov owes you something.
Here’s a couple of candian cites responding to the same UL:
From the US Constitution
I don’t think we were at war in 1913, and an ammendment to the Constitution was probably not supposed to be a temporary measure. That is the complete text of the 16th ammendment and it doesn’t say jack about it being a war time measure.
I just read the last response and was curious. I have been trying to find alternate research on this subject since yesterday and just found this…
In 1862, in order to support the Civil War effort, Congress enacted the nation’s first income tax law. It was a forerunner of our modern income tax in that it was based on the principles of graduated, or progressive, taxation and of withholding income at the source. During the Civil War, a person earning from $600 to $10,000 per year paid tax at the rate of 3%. Those with incomes of more than $10,000 paid taxes at a higher rate. Additional sales and excise taxes were added, and an “inheritance” tax also made its debut. In 1866, internal revenue collections reached their highest point in the nation’s 90-year history—more than $310 million, an amount not reached again until 1911.
The Act of 1862 established the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Commissioner was given the power to assess, levy, and collect taxes, and the right to enforce the tax laws through seizure of property and income and through prosecution. His powers and authority remain very much the same today.
In 1868, Congress again focused its taxation efforts on tobacco and distilled spirits and eliminated the income tax in 1872. It had a short-lived revival in 1894 and 1895. In the latter year, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the income tax was unconstitutional because it was not apportioned among the states in conformity with the Constitution.
Only after this did the 16th amendment come into play. I guess I am a little less sure about the probability of not paying taxes now but I swear I read some article about it. Oh well…
There are plenty of articles about not paying income tax. They’re all a load of bull. Anyone who follows such crap gets what they deserve. The wages of stupidity, as it were. What’s worse is I expect the people making money off this idea are paying taxes on it (probably more than they legally have to, to avoid any problems) and laughing all the way to the bank.
There are also plenty of articles about not paying property tax. They’re all a load of bull. The best is the one (pushed by the Texas Republic, I believe) about “land patent sandwiches.” Apparently the State (State in the general term) is illegitimate, knows that it is, and winks at those that know as well. If you construct this “land patent sandwich,” consisting of various records, notarized statements, etc., and have it registered by the Clerk of Court (oddly, an agent of the State), you’ll get a wink and a nod, and will no longer have to pay property taxes.
If you don’t want to go up against the IRS, try your odds with your county finance office.