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| STATEMENT GIVEN TO THE PRINT, BROADCAST AND INTERNET MEDIA BY BOB SCHULZ,
CHAIRMAN Sidewalk
Press Conference September 16, 2003 Most people file tax returns simply because they have been led to believe they had a legal obligation to file and pay the tax. Most people don’t know why. Most people don’t question it. They just do it. The forms arrive every year from the government and they fill them out and send them back. They believe they are required to file a Form 1040 and pay the tax, not because they know anything about the tax laws, but because of the tax “culture” and the public pronouncements of the media and our government: “Everyone has to die and pay taxes,” is what they hear. However, with the advent of the Internet and organizations such as ours, many People have began to learn a lot more about the income tax system. We became aware of a substantial and credible body of legal evidence in support of the proposition that the income tax system was fraudulent in its origin and illegal in its operation and enforcement. At the same time, we have watched with dismay as the Executive and Legislative branches of our federal government have refused to respond to both the most humble and straight forward questions from ordinary Americans about the legal authority behind the tax and the formal Petition for Redress of Grievances that has challenged the origin, unlawful enforcement and the substantial constitutional abuses of the income tax system. Attached is a statement of the beliefs of the rapidly growing Tax Honesty Movement, beliefs that have been shaped in large part by: 1) our understanding of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill of Rights; 2) by our understanding of the Statutes and Regulations; 3) by our understanding of the growing body of research reports by attorneys and experts such as Larry Becraft, Bill Benson, Bill Conklin, Irwin Schiff , Joseph Banister, Larken Rose, John Turner, Sherry Jackson, Chris Hansen, , Paul Chappel, Lynda Wall, and Victoria Osborn and others; and 4) by our knowledge of the arrogant and continued refusal of the Executive and Legislative branches to answer the People’s questions. Based on the attached statement of our beliefs, and particularly our 1st Amendment Right to Petition and government’s obligation to respond, many People have decided to retain their money until the Executive and Legislative branches respond to the Petitions for Redress of Grievances, which have been served on every member of Congress and the President. While the Petition for Redress presents hundreds of legitimate questions which the People want honest answers to before they agree to send the government any more money, we call your immediate attention to the line of inquiry regarding the threshold question of jurisdiction, and particularly to its references to: 1) Article I, Section 8, clause 17 of the federal Constitution; 2) 40 USC 255 (now 40 USC 3111,3112); and 3) Adams v. United States (1943) 319 US 312, 87 L Ed. 1421, 63 S. Ct. 1122 and United States v. Lopez, 514 US 549. Listen to the words of the Supreme Court; "In view of 40 USCS 255, no jurisdiction exists in United States to enforce federal criminal laws, unless and until consent to accept jurisdiction over lands acquired by United States has been filed in behalf of United States as provided in said section, and fact that state has authorized government to take jurisdiction is immaterial." Adams v. United States (1943) 319 US 312, 87 L Ed. 1421, 63 S. Ct. 1122. (Quoted from U.S. statute 40 USCS 255, Interpretive Note #14, citing the US Supreme Court). [Federal jurisdiction] " ...must be considered in the light of our dual system of government and may not be extended. . .in view of our complex society, would effectually obliterate the distinction between what is national and what is local and create a completely centralized government." United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 115 S.Ct.1624(1995). Listen to the words of Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; “ ‘Act of Congress’ includes any act of Congress locally applicable to and in force in the District of Columbia, in Puerto Rico, in a territory or in an insular possession.” 18 USC, Rule 54 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Note: There is no reference to the 50 “states." This question of jurisdiction is a threshold question. Given Constitution Article I, Section 8, clause 17, 40 USC 255 and Lopez and Adams, the question we have asked the Executive and Legislative branches to answer before all others is, “What is the government’s legal authority to impose a tax on the labor of state citizens residing in the fifty states and to prosecute citizens within Article I or Article III courts located within the fifty states?” The government has refused to answer. Beyond this threshold question, the attached materials also raise several other key questions that we have respectfully requested the government to answer. There should be no misunderstanding about these: We have asked the government if it owns our labor. Either we own our labor, our most essential private property, or someone else does. If we own our labor, we are free people. If another person or group of people (the federal government) can arbitrarily take our labor by force, we are slaves. If a 1 % direct tax on our labor is constitutional, so is 100%. If, as individuals, we don’t have the inherent power to force another person to labor for us, then we can’t clothe, or delegate to the government, the power to force others to turn over the fruits of their labor – regardless of any beneficent intent. The government has refused to answer. We have respectfully asked the government to show us
the specific statute imposing a liability to file and pay the tax. We
cannot find the law that specifically imposes a legal duty upon us to either
file or pay a direct tax on our income. The government has refused to
answer. We have respectfully asked the IRS, “What is your
delegated legal authority to enforce Title 26 Subtitle A (Individual
Income tax), or Subtitle C (Employment taxes)? We have respectfully told
the IRS and the DOJ that we do not believe they have any such legal
authority. We have encouraged them to verify the extent of their
limited legal authority, if any, by an examination of the source
legal documents that delegate such authority within the Department of
Treasury. The government has refused to answer. In light of overwhelming evidence in support, supplied by numerous credentialed tax professionals, we have asked the government: ISN’T THE INCOME TAX, AS APPLIED, A CONSTITUTIONALLY
PROHIBITED TAX ON LABOR? DOESN’T CONGRESS LACK THE AUTHORITY TO LEGISLATE AN
INCOME TAX ON THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, THE U.S.
TERRITORIES AND IN THOSE AREAS WITHIN ANY OF THE FIFTY STATES WHERE THE
STATES HAVE SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED IT, IN WRITING? ISN’T THE GOVERNMENT PROHIBITED BY THE 4TH
AND 5TH AMENDMENTS FROM COMPELLING INDIVIDUALS TO SIGN AND FILE
AN INCOME TAX RETURN FORM 1040? WAS THE 16TH AMENDMENT PROPERLY AND LEGALLY
RATIFIED BY 3/4THS OF THE STATE LEGISLATURES AS REQUIRED BY ARTICLE 5 OF THE
CONSTITUTION? DOES THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE ACTUALLY MAKE
INDIVIDUALS LIABLE TO FILE A TAX RETURN AND PAY AN INCOME TAX? ISN’T IT TRUE THAT UNLESS ONE IS A FOREIGNER WORKING
HERE OR A CITIZEN OF THE U.S.A. EARNING HIS MONEY ABROAD HE IS NOT LIABLE
FOR THE INCOME TAX ? ISN’T THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE IS VOID FOR VAGUENESS? DOESN’T THE IRS LACK THE AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE
INDIVIDUALS TO KEEP AND TURN OVER DOCUMENTS, BOOKS AND RECORDS? ISN’T THE GOVERNMENT ROUTINELY VIOLATING PEOPLE’S RIGHT
TO DUE PROCESS? With regard to the Petition for Redress of Grievances, a process that formally got underway in 1999, tens of thousands of People across all fifty States have been participating. Since 1999, the Petition for Redress process has sought nothing but to have the Executive and Legislative branches address the evidence and answer specific legal questions regarding the fraudulent origin and illegal operation and enforcement of the income tax system. We believe the Petition process is well grounded, in all respects, on fundamental Rights and constitutional principles. The remedy sought by our Petition for Redress of Grievances regarding the income tax system has merely been answers to certain specific legal questions regarding the origin and operation of the federal individual income tax system. The record shows that during the entire Petition process we have remained true to the Constitution, exercising not only our Right to Petition for a Redress of Grievances, but also our Rights to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press and Freedom to Peaceably Assemble by joining with other People under the auspices of various organizations such as the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, Inc., and the We The People Congress, Inc. The record shows that the People have acted rationally, intelligently, and professionally at all times during the Petition process, while always showing kindness and respect toward all appointed and elected representatives of the government. On the other hand, the record shows that during the Petition process the Clinton and Bush administrations and the Congresses have:
We will soon file what may well become the largest class action lawsuit the country has ever seen. We intend to test the attitude of the Judicial branch by seeking a declaration of our Right to Petition the government for a Redress of Grievances, our Right to honest answers from government and our Right to retain our money until our grievances are redressed. Make no mistake, even if the government had a legitimate claim with respect to alleged tax liabilities on our labor (which is not the case), our personal, individual, and constitutionally protected Right to Petition prevails legally, over any and all claims the government may think it has against us. We must receive honest answers to our Petitions before government is entitled to ANY taxes. NO ANSWERS, NO TAXES! Based on an examination of the attached materials, there is ample evidence to assert and fully support, our personal and reasonable beliefs that the federal government has NO lawful or legitimate claim, nor authority to impose such a claim, for direct taxes upon our alleged “income.” We have a fully justified and reasonable belief that we are not liable for any federal income tax; even if we were liable, we are exercising and invoking our 1st amendment right to petition and will not pay any further taxes until the petitions are officially answered by the United States Government. The government has no legal authority to enforce IRC Subtitles A or C. Any further enforcement action taken by individual agents against People to collect any alleged obligation relating to income related taxes will be taken under “color of law” and without legal authority. As such, those agents will be in violation of federal statutes and may be held PERSONALLY and CRIMINALLY LIABLE. Federal law protects federal employees only to the extent that they are properly acting within the scope of their delegated legal authority. Bob Schulz
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