Introduction
I believe that the income tax is indirectly responsible for the majority of problems America faces
today. In a country as rich as ours, there should not be any poverty; no homelessness; no
unemployment. Yet, the rich continue to get richer and the poor continue to get poorer. I have a
plan to help the poor get richer too!
One reason I oppose income taxes is the same reason 56 men offered their Lives, Fortunes, and
Honor for in the Declaration of Independence - "FOR imposing Taxes on us without our
Consent:"
Income taxes are Capitation (direct) taxes. The Constitution of the United States says in Article
1, Section 2, Clause 3 "...direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states". It also
says in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 4 "No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in
proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken." Now look what
our State legislatures did - they ratified Amendment XVI in 1913 which says "The Congress
shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without
apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census of enumeration."
Did you see what was missing? Look again! Amendment XVI never repealed Article 1, Section 2,
Clause 3, and never repealed Article 1, Section 9, Clause 4! We obviously have a choice if we
want to pay income taxes or not according to The Constitution of the United States! "If
Congress wanted you to pay income taxes, the Congress would have most certainly repealed
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 4. The IRS (a federal government agency) is collecting for the
Federal Reserve Bank (a private corporation) instead of the IRS collecting for Congress". Bob
Barber, Philoeconopolist
The framers of the Constitution were concerned that the newly formed federal government may
abuse its taxing power, that Article V put that notion to rest when they wrote: "...no Amendment
which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any
Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article;"
It is my belief that the Congress promoted a non-direct form of taxation in Article V until 1862
when President Lincoln imposed a temporary income tax that was later declared
unconstitutional in 1895.
Another reason I oppose Income taxes is that the Corporate income tax of 1909 was a tax on "net
profit". Individuals were taxed beginning in 1913 on the so called "income" tax also. But, how do
individuals make a net profit? The not-for-profit organization may offer great services, but it
doesn't pay any Federal Income Taxes because it is not in business to make a "profit". Now you
can see how the U.S. Individual Income Tax doesn't even exist - individuals don't make a "profit"
because individuals are not "corporations" unless individuals "incorporate"!
Here's what Adam Smith said in his book "Wealth of Nations" over 222 years ago about
Capitation taxes: "Capitation taxes are levied at little expense, and, where they are rigorously
exacted, afford a very sure revenue to the state. It is upon this account that in countries where
the ease, comfort, and security of the inferior ranks of people are little attended to, capitation
taxes are very common. It is in general, however, but a small part of the public revenue which,
in a great empire, has ever been drawn from such taxes, and the greatest sum which they have
ever afforded might always have been found in some other way much more convenient to the
people.
The impossibility of taxing the people, in proportion to their revenue, by any capitation, seems
to have given occasion to the invention of taxes upon consumable commodities. The state, not
knowing how to tax, directly and proportionably, the revenue of its subjects, endeavours to
tax it indirectly by taxing their expense, which, it is supposed, will in most cases be nearly in
proportion to their revenue. Their expense is taxed by taxing the consumable commodities
upon which it is laid out."
On April 15, 1997, Congressmen Dan Schaefer and Billy Tauzin stated "Americans spend more
than 5.1 billion hours merely filling out income tax forms. None of this time is for productive
enterprises that actually add to the social, economic, or moral well-being of our society. By
some estimates, the cost of compliance exceeds $300 billion a year - that's in addition to the
$600 billion a year Americans also pay in taxes. In effect, Americans are taxed twice by the
IRS. They pay a federal tax on their income, and they pay what amounts to a hidden sales tax
-- believed to be as high as 10 - 15 percent -- on all retail goods and services they purchase".
On September 23, 1997, in a Senate Finance Hearing, Congress accused the IRS of abusing
taxpayers. On October 5th, Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve announced he
wanted to overhaul the federal banking laws. On October 10th, President Clinton offered IRS
legislation and on October 20th Bill Archer, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee
said he wanted to shift the burden of proof from the individual taxpayer to the IRS in tax court
cases.
We are told by the federal government that income taxes are needed to provide services to
United States Citizens, like building roads and bridges, and sending checks to those who are on
social security, and giving money, food stamps and medical care to those who are on welfare. If
that is true, and we are lead to believe that income taxes pay for those services exclusively, then
why does the federal government borrow $2 trillion a year to run the federal government? And
why does the federal government demand that your employer withhold those income taxes and
social security taxes from your paycheck? Income taxes are not needed by the federal
government at all. But, the federal government's IRS collected $900 billion in income taxes in
1996 that will never pay off the national debt in full because the federal government cannot
afford to pay all of the principal and interest on the $5.5 trillion national debt all at once. In fact,
the IRS in Fiscal Year 1996, collected approximately $1.5 trillion, processed more than 200 million
tax returns, handled approximately 2 billion documents and assisted more than 118 million
taxpayers.
Do you want more money? Help me to Abolish Income Taxes! That's right! Help me to Abolish
Income Taxes and you will have more money ! If you want more money, please read on !
I started a political party to Abolish Income Taxes. By joining "The Philoeconopolist Party" and
electing 290 new members to the U.S. House of Representatives and electing 67 new members to
the U.S. Senate for the purpose of passing new tax legislation with a required 2/3rds vote in both
the House and the Senate to Abolish Income Taxes, we will be doing ourselves and our Country
a big favor. We can do it !!!
Because of the income tax, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Americans are collateral
for the $5.5 trillion debt the federal government owes. How can Americans be held collateral?
The federal government does not depend on income taxes for support !!!!! The federal
government's Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) borrows $2 trillion a year to operate the Federal
Government and to account for the resulting debt by selling Treasury bills, notes, and bonds to
foreign investors, corporations, banks, State and local governments, and private individuals.
The BPD pays interest to investors, and, when the time comes to pay back the loans, the BPD
redeems investors' securities. Every time the BPD borrows or pays back money, it affects the
outstanding debt of the United States.
For 84 years our Congress has taxed us directly and the Public Debt has increased as a result.
Our Debt! The federal government has spent our tax dollars without any accountability and will
continue to do so until Congress votes to Abolish Income Taxes. Federal government direct
taxation of the citizens of the several States MUST be abolished!
Who is the government indebted to?
1995 Debt held by the Public $3.7 Trillion
$1,683,500,000,000 Corp., finan. inst., and other 45.5%
$858,400,000,000 Foreign Investors 23.2%
$429,200,000,000 State and local governments 11.6%
$377,400,000,000 Federal Reserve Banks 10.2%
$351,500,000,000 Private Individuals 9.5%
Debt held by the government $1.4 Trillion
(I wonder what this is used for?)
GROSS DEBT $5.2 TRILLION !!!!!
To service foreign-owned debt, the U.S. government must send interest payments abroad, which
adds to the income of citizens of other countries rather than U.S. citizens.
The reality of the whole matter of the national debt is - there is no national debt at all. In fact, the
federal government's budget states that the combined wealth of the federal government and
Citizens is $55 trillion. Since we as U.S. Citizens are the government, OUR national debt is only
$5.5 trillion. With national assets of $55 trillion, and a national debt of only $5.5 trillion, we as
Citizens of the United States have a net worth of $49.5 trillion! And yet, the federal government
sent 6,798 American taxpayers to prison during the last 3 years because those Americans tried
to defeat the income tax individually. Those Americans failed because they took the wrong
approach to solving their income tax problems. What we must do to defeat or get rid of income
taxes is to go to the source of the problem - the U.S. Congress. We must vote into Congress 290
U.S. Representatives and 67 U.S. Senators who will vote to Abolish Income Taxes.
The Public Debt and the Deficit are NOT the real economic factors that Congress leads you to
believe are the two economic factors that affect our economy the most. The Public Debt and the
Deficit are two important factors, but not the most important.
Why does Congress allow deductions and exemptions on tax returns when all tax money is
needed by the federal government? It doesn't make any sense, unless Congress is hiding
something from American taxpayers. As long as the federal government can confuse you, the
income tax will remain in place. The federal government wants to keep track of you via
withholding and the tax return.
Why does Congress allow wealthy people to hide their money in Foundations and give them a
tax break to boot? I think that the wealthy people are the ones that buy Treasury securities and
this is the way the federal government thanks these investors.
If you are an employee, you earn wages. The IRS has told your employer to withhold income
taxes from your paycheck. Your employer sends your hard-earned money directly to one of the
12 Federal Reserve Banks (FRB), (which are PRIVATE corporations and sometimes called the
FED), 4 times a year. The IRS also deposits YOUR money into the FRB. The FRB is NOT a
federal agency. In 1996, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York processed an average of nearly
$1.6 trillion a day in funds and securities transfers. Aggregated to include all twelve Federal
Reserve banks for the entire year, the Fed transferred approximately $418 trillion worth of funds
and securities of which the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's portion was $279 trillion.
The income of the FRB is derived primarily from the interest on U.S. government securities, fees
for check clearing, fees for funds transfers, and fees for automated clearinghouse operations.
After it pays its expenses, the FRB takes its 5% cut of the $418 trillion in funds and securities
transfers, and deposits the remaining 95% into the U.S. Treasury. Why does the IRS deposit
YOUR money directly into the FRB? Isn't the IRS one of the eleven components of the
Department of the Treasury, just as the BPD is? YES. Our income taxes pay the INTEREST
COSTS !!!!!
The increasing interest costs of $355.7 billion overshadows the declining deficit of $22 billion by
a margin of almost 11 to 1. Even if there was no deficit, the dollar amount of the gross debt of
$5.5 trillion must be reduced to create a surplus to reduce the national debt, but that may not be
possible because the interest costs are increasing. Interest costs will eventually be equal to the
national receipts of $1.5 trillion in a few years. Interest costs MUST be curtailed by controlling
federal spending, borrowing less and financing business startups with non-foreign money.
15 cents out of every federal budget dollar spent is used to pay interest on the debt rather than
to finance other public priorities.
The following report is the Financial Management Service's (FMS) "1997 Financial Report to the
Citizens". Receipts, Spending and Annual Budget Deficit
TOTAL SPENDING, 1997: $1.601 TRILLION
Major Spending by Category
Billion %
Social Security $365.3 22.8
Other expenses 300.6 18.8
National defense 270.5 16.9
Interest* 244.0 15.2
Medicare 190.0 11.9
Unemployment, disability, and
other income security payments 135.3 8.4
Medicaid 95.6 6.0
* Net "Interest" is the gross interest paid on the
Public Debt less (1) interest received on
investments of government accounts in federal
securities, and (2) interest received on loans
made by the government.
TOTAL RECEIPTS, 1997: 1.579 TRILLION
Receipts by Source Billion %
Individual income taxes $737.5 46.7
Social insurance taxes
& contributions 539.4 34.1
Corporate income taxes 182.3 11.5
Other receipts 62.9 3.9
Excise taxes 56.9 3.6
ACTUAL RESULTS COMPARED TO BUDGET
2/97 1997
In billions of dollars Budget Actual
Total receipts $1,505 $1,579
Total spending 1,631 1,601
----- -----
Total deficit $126 $22
==== ====
The Public Debt and Deficit are Congressional Budget smokescreens promulgated by Congress
and the Media to hide the REAL economic culprit -- INTEREST COSTS.
What I want to know is where is $111.7 billion in interest payments going?
1997 Interest per BPD $355.7 billion
1997 Interest per FMS $244.0 billion
=============
$111.7 billion
Who is this going to?
The only way to stop the spiraling interest costs is to Abolish Income Taxes which will result in
an increase in a worker's take-home pay which will benefit the economy by increasing revenue.
Who is the IRS collecting for? American taxpayers are not dumb. The IRS should be called the
"Foreign Revenue Service". Who is the Federal Reserve Bank really owned by? Take a guess.
Now you can see why Corporations control our Congress! Here's another question I have: The
BPD borrows $2 trillion, and the IRS collects $1.5 trillion. Where does the remaining $500 billion
go?
BPD $2,000,000,000,000
IRS $1,500,000,000,000
=======================
$ 500,000,000,000
Where is this going to?
My guess is that this money pays
the redemption of securities.
Actually, if you really think about it, the federal government is taking in:
BPD $2,000,000,000,000 Treasury Securities sales
IRS $1,500,000,000,000 IRS tax collections
=======================
$3,500,000,000,000 TOTAL federal government income
If people read Adam Smith's book - "Wealth of Nations", income taxes will disappear in America
!!!!! Mr. Smith wrote - "The sole use of money is to circulate consumable goods". That is one
secret Mr. Smith reveals in his classic book published in 1776. Unfortunately, most of the 36.5
million Americans who live in poverty today do not know that.
When our Congress votes to Abolish Income Taxes, 10% to 15% of all individual's money
problems will disappear overnight; 760,000 homeless men, women and children will be off the
streets; and 36.5 million people will no longer be living in poverty. People will simply have more
money to spend!!! BUT, those in poverty must be willing to start learning about money and
taxation and start saving and investing a small portion of their income.
Support the 1998 and 1999 Abolish Income Taxes Tour! I will be visiting the majority of the 435
Congressional districts to talk to as many people as I can in each district. I need your help to
spread the word also. Print copies of this website and pass them out to as many people as you
can in your district. Thank you in advance for your help!
The Philoeconopolist Party
A philoeconopolist studies the philosophy, economics and politics of taxation.
All American tax payers should become a member.
Run For Congress. Represent your district as an elected U.S. Representative or U.S. Senator by
running for Congress in the next election. We must Abolish Income Taxes! In order to do that
we need the votes in Congress to get rid of income taxes. Contact your State's Election Board
and ask them what the rules are to register as a Candidate. Run for Congress on the
Philoeconopolist ticket.
Join The Philoeconopolist Party
Our primary purposes are to
1) Abolish Income Taxes;
2) draft a tax bill to replace income taxes
with The Barber Plan and submit to Congress
by April 15, 1998;
3) establish a private corporation for the
homeless, welfare recipients and needy families
to plan, produce, market and sell products and
services to compete in the local community and
international marketplace;
4) teach the philosophy, economics and politics of
necessary taxation and teach the principles
contained in Adam Smith's book "Wealth of Nations";
5) promote controlled federal spending;
6) promote a controlled growth rate of the federal
government;
7) promote State Sovereignty;
8) provide for the care of the elderly, care for
single women with children who need assistance,
and for U.S. citizens who need immediate
assistance; and
9) make our nation the leader in promoting health,
education, general welfare, national defense,
human rights, caring for animals and taking care
of our environment and limited natural resources.
To get rid of income taxes join the Philoeconopolist Party and elect 290 new members to the U.S.
House of Representatives and elect 67 new members to the U.S. Senate to pass new tax
legislation with a required 2/3rds vote in both the House and the Senate. We can do it !!!
The only way Congress will Abolish Income Taxes is for the replacement taxation system to be
Revenue-Neutral. Revenue-Neutral means that the tax system that replaces the income tax must
generate the same amount of tax revenues that the income tax generates. The Philoeconopolist
Party has a plan that provides a revenue-neutral Fee On Transfers and/or Apportioned PPR tax
instead of a Flat Tax or National Retail Sales Tax (NRST). Flat Tax requires you to file a tax
return. The NRST requires you to file a tax return if you claim deductions. No tax return or
deductions or exemptions are needed with Fee On Transfers or Apportioned PPR.
I propose to replace the present income tax system our federal government uses with two simple
tax methods, 1) a small fee on the money which the Federal Reserve Bank handles for the federal
government called the "Fee On Transfers" tax, and 2) a small purchase percentage rate of 1% to
15% tax on most goods and services, a smaller tax on the least product price, and a higher tax on
luxury items, to be collected from all States according to the population in each State, known as
"Apportioned PPR". The two simple taxes are discussed in "The Barber Plan":