printIt’s intended as a temporary, two-month tax cut. Nothing permanent. Our munificent masters in DC are wrangling over whether to throw their galley slaves (taxpayers) some pennies in time for the Holidays. In and out of our pockets they reach, only to decide, on Tuesday, that “a Senate plan for a two-month extension” of the payroll tax was “irresponsible and unworkable,” and that “it would create uncertainty by failing to resolve the issue past February.”
Swept up in the manufactured drama, CNN observes: “However, the Senate agreement was negotiated by Democratic and Republican leaders and received strong GOP support in passing on an 89-10 vote. … President Barack Obama joined the Democratic chorus, noting that Senate leaders from both parties had agreed to the short-term extension in order to guarantee that taxes don’t increase for working Americans while negotiations continue early next year on the one-year extension that House Republicans say they support.”
Said the agitator from Chicago of House Republicans: “What they’re really holding out for is to wring concessions from Democrats on issues that have nothing to do with the payroll tax cut.”
Why does the thief-in-chief not advocate for permanent tax cuts? Why not cut taxes meaningfully?
The whole routine reminds me of Oliver Twist, the little orphan protagonist in the eponymous Charles Dickens novel. And in particular, the scene where he rattles his breakfast bowel for some more gruel.
UPDATE I: PRIVATE PROPERTY. We’ve been over this before, Pauli, in another post. You are wrong about tax cuts being “hooey.” Not unless private property is “hooey.” Let me put it plainly: I don’t care what DC spends, so long as it’s mitts off my property. A pay check is private property. Your formulations are predicated on communal ownership; mine on private ownership. Throttle the revenue stream, restore private-property rights, and the bastards can do what they like.
UPDATE II: The War Street Journal is furious at House Republicans:
Republicans have also achieved the small miracle of letting Mr. Obama position himself as an election-year tax cutter, although he’s spent most of his Presidency promoting tax increases and he would hit the economy with one of the largest tax increases ever in 2013. This should be impossible.
UPDATE III (Dec. 22): To the defenders below of taxation in all its permutation: I am sure I speak for your sovereigns in DC: They are, no doubt, grateful for your faith in their ability to mange your money. From this scribe’s perspective, however, money stuffed down the maw of the Federal Frankenstein will seldom end up where it’s supposed to (as if that “destination” is so laudable to begin with). Congress, the president and the bureaucracy: These are embezzlers par excellence—so good are they at what they peddle that they have BAB’s fearless bloggers on their side.
Wake up: Money extracted from us by the Feds is fungible. Any additional revenues the Feds receive via taxes they will use to plunge private property owners deeper into debt. The solution to the debt is not to be found in seizing private property (through taxes) and placing it in communal ownership (state bureaucracies), where resources are never allocated efficiently and are always squandered.
But, this is the season of good will, and the oink sector that serves the tax-and-spend police state that Uncle Sam has become is, I am sure, thankful for your confidence
UPDATE IV: The peons get pocket money for two more months. ObamaMedia celebrate a tactical victory for the Prince of Darkness. Details of the deal here. Puke fest all around. CNN correspondents Jessica Yellin is almost yelling, “Political touchdown.” Almost.
THIS IS A VERY, VERY OLD GAME…
http://mises.org/daily/5659/Roman-Law-From-LaissezFaire-to-Statism
AND IT WILL END BADLY.
Socialist Insecurity has always been just a money transfer scheme but these last several years has stripped it of any actuaruial legitimacy. Unemployment benefits were EXTENDED – with what money??? The payroll tax (“contributions”) were cut – so what money pays for the benefits??
CURSES on both parties! They both have bought into the cut taxes today and borrow – inflate tomorrow garbage that makes people feel good temporarily (like a drug buzz) but creates indebtedness and not wealth. Much of this goes back to Reagan who, in turn, was imitating FDR.
I think that “libertarians” have bought into the mainstream “tax cut” hooey when the bottom line is the spending – if no SPENDING is cut, the bill remains the same. Heck, why not extend unemployment indefinitely, double Social Security payments, and completely eliminate the payroll tax – the voters will all go for the DEFICIT HEROIN….
[See post update.]
Absolutely, though it looks like the smart Jew-Party has completely out-politiked the stupid Goy Party on this one. At this point they’re all just re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
[As you can see, my giving “Trilby,” aka “CompassionateFascist,” a second chance was a display of softhearted naivete. The Hebrew word that comes to mind is “Zevel.” Trash. You’ve seen the last of this persistent pollutant on BAB. I promise.—IM]
I see your point, Ilana, but deficit spending does have to be paid for one way or another unless the government simply defaults on its debt (a great idea, but not likely).
Deficit spending will inevitably wind up as inflation. Thus, the $100,000 of private property in a 10% inflation equals a 10% hidden tax. In fact, both parties are perfectly happy to hide their taxes where people do not see it (the miracle of withholding tax, for example). If interest rates go up to account for excessive borrowing, the interest gets taxed as well. And paper “capital gains” when 1000 shares of Acme go from $50000 to $100000 get taxed even if the “gain” is merely due to the scaling of inflation.
When Congress does a “tax cut” without a spending cut, they are merely taking their hand out of your right pocket and placing it in your left pocket to steal – and yes, the effect is delayed. The 2012 DEFICIT is $ 1.4 Trillion – which is spread over about 200,000,000 “taxpayers” (many being marginal) – around $ 7000 per taxpayer – a fiscal sword of Damocles hanging over all of us one way or other.
I believe that all Federal taxes on a man’s wages including payroll and income are illegitimate. Given all the other sources of revenue, the Federal government doesn’t need taxes on labor to fund its limited constitutional operation anyway.
There may be a way to defeat this illegitimate tax at least on an individual basis. None of what appears in this post should be understood as legal advice. I am merely stating my own or others opinions. If anyone reading this wants a legal opinion they should consult a licensed attorney. I am not an attorney.
What follows is similar to and inspired by Bill Conklin’s strategy at anti-irs.com. He has a longer explanation, in free downloadable book form, that I can’t present here. Anyone interested should go to his website at anti-irs.com.
The IRS gets a lot of publicity in the press when they put people in jail and that gives the impression that they are invincible. Bill Conklin whose been standing up to the IRS for three decades isn’t in jail. Ask yourself why the leftist/neocon media hasn’t reported that with the same amount of vigor as you read this.
Above your signature line on the 1040 is the phrase “under penalty of perjury”. This means that you are agreeing that your tax form may be used as evidence against you in a criminal proceeding, perjury being a crime. However, the Fifth Amendment states that you may not be required to bear witness against yourself in a criminal proceeding. Therefore you do not have to sign the form. If the form is not signed, there is no legitimate bill for the tax and the Federal government owes you your withheld money back. You can not be required to pay if you’ve never received a bill. The IRS could send you a bill but absent your help it would be extremely difficult if not impossible as well as very time consuming to prove that the bill is correct. They are unlikely to try. You can object to any bill they send and demand proof of its accuracy.
However, there is a problem. If you don’t sign the form the IRS will claim that you have submitted a “frivolous return” and fine you. Our corrupt court system will uphold the fine ignoring your Fifth Amendment right. So you need a strategy to force the IRS into acknowledging that you don’t have to sign the form.
Write a letter to an attorney asking how you can sign the 1040 form without relinquishing your Fifth Amendment right against bearing witness against yourself and request a written response. Since it is not possible, you should be able to find an attorney who at least writes back that he doesn’t know how. Now you have in that response a documented reason not to sign that isn’t frivolous. However, you will need to do more to protect yourself.
Send the IRS your completely filled out but unsigned form along with any calculated tax due and the attorney’s letter. Request an automatic four month extension to file which must be granted since there is no unpaid tax due (remember you paid). Include a letter explaining that you believe the Fifth Amendment doesn’t require that you sign. Grant the IRS conditional power of attorney with a limit of four months duration to sign for you provided they first send you instructions as to how you could have signed the 1040 form without relinquishing your right. That can’t be done. When the IRS doesn’t sign the 1040 form they will have acknowledged your claim that you don’t have to sign the form. The IRS’s failure to sign will have created an estoppel to their arguing that you should have signed. An estoppel is a legal bar to arguing something in court that your previous actions or statements contradict. Your grant of power of attorney makes it their fault that it isn’t signed not yours.
Finally, along with the power of attorney letter include a demand for all your money back pointing out that there is no legitimate bill.
For years Conklin has been offering $100,000.00 to anyone who could prove that you had to file a signed form. No one has taken his money yet.
I think that in addition to Conklin’s strategy you should file amended returns for the last three years as well and demand your money back following the same procedure above including limited power of attorney. I believe that you merely need to correctly claim that the past forms were filed in error. Three additional years of filing will add the protection of precedent to your strategy.
I have obviously not addressed every possible situation that might arise following Conklin’s strategy. Go research this and educate yourself before you decide what to do.
I have come across almost a dozen people over the years who claim that they don’t pay any taxes on their wages and don’t have problems with the IRS. Above is the simplest strategy I am aware of. Another potential strategy is at http://www.losthorizons.com.
To those who might question an effort to avoid an illegitimate tax funding illegitimate government, I have this to say.
One of our forefathers who had the attitude necessary to create a free country said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Have we been reduced to saying, “Give me liberty or I’ll just complain about it online.”
I hope not. As the saying goes, “Freedom isn’t free.”