Posted on 08/16/2003 7:37:24 PM PDT by webber
By Carl F. Worden
Forget the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and our excellent adventure in Liberia. Forget about Kobe, Arnold, Arriana, Scott and Laci. The biggest news of the entire week is that on August 8, 2003, the IRS was unable to convince a jury in Memphis, Tennessee that the Federal Tax Code requires the citizens to pay individual income taxes. I kid you not.
I watched as many Sunday news programs as I could possibly stand, and I didn't hear a single mention of the IRS' debacle in Memphis. If you ever had doubts about the mainstream media being controlled by the federal government, doubt no more.
For those not already aware, FedEx Pilot Vernice Kuglin began studying the IRS Code some years ago, and was simply unable to find anywhere in the code that she was required to pay federal income taxes.
And here's the most remarkable part: Back in 1995, Kuglin wrote letters in good faith to the IRS, asking them to show her where the Tax Code requires individual citizens to pay federal income taxes. Incredibly, the IRS never answered a single one of her letters!
As she studied the facts, laws and related documents more, Kuglin became convinced that, regardless of the IRS' failure to respond one way or the other, she was exempt from paying federal income taxes. So, Kuglin filled out W-4 forms showing 99 exemptions, and turned them in to her employer. Doing that meant Kuglin got to take home almost all of her paycheck each payday, instead of what was left after the feds ravaged it.
The IRS went after Kuglin for six counts of tax evasion on $920,000.00 income, and for filing "false" W-4 forms, charges that could have put the 58 year-old Kuglin in federal prison for up to 30 years and cost her 1.5 million in fines.
Apparently, things didn't go quite the slam-dunk way federal prosecutor Joe Murphy thought they would. My money says the IRS wishes they had never gone after Kuglin at all. In fact, after the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all counts, Murphy is reported to have demanded that the judge order Kuglin to file her forms, pay her taxes and "obey the law". The judge reportedly replied, "Sir, I don't work for the IRS."
Now pinch yourself and review this astonishing turn of events: A highly trained and educated federal prosecutor in Memphis was unable to convince 12 American citizens that Vernice Kuglin was required to pay federal income taxes.
He was clearly unable to produce a single section of the Tax Code to that end, and the jury was unanimous in clearing Kuglin of all charges against her. If the foregoing was not so, Kuglin would have been convicted.
Jurors tend not to be very sympathetic with tax scofflaws, since each one of them is also a taxpayer and they understandably feel resentment towards anyone not paying "their fair share". So in order for this federal jury to completely vindicate Kuglin, the government's failure to prove their case against her had to have been clear and unequivocal!
I haven't read the trial transcript yet, but I must assume the federal prosecutor at least tried to twist some vague and ambiguous section of the Tax Code to make it look like it applied to Kuglin. I don't know that, but I'll bet he tried.
What else could he use to prosecute her with "Thanks to the IRS" arrogance and stupidity, and Kuglin's refusal to plead to lesser charges, Kuglin accomplished what Bob Schultz and the other "tax protesters" had been denied all along: To force the IRS into a public debate and to answer the question of whether or not the Tax Code requires an individual to pay personal income taxes. Kuglin and her two attorneys, Larry Becraft and Robert Bernhoft, have unequivocally forced the IRS to show its hand, and 12 judges hearing that debate ruled the answer to be "NO".
I think it's time for everyone reading this to send a very polite letter to the IRS, telling them they read about the case in Memphis, and is it true that there is no section in the U.S. Tax Code that requires an individual citizen to pay federal income taxes?
Don't be threatening in any way, or announce that you plan to stop paying federal income taxes. This request is for your personal edification, and you just simply want to know the truth.
Like Kuglin, you probably won't get an answer back, but just to prove you sent the letter and that they received it, be certain to send the letter via certified U.S. Mail, with a return receipt requested. When you get that receipt back, staple it to a copy of the letter you sent the IRS, and put it somewhere real secure, like a personal safe or bank deposit box.
I don't have to explain why, now do I?
Carl F. Worden
The Sierra Times
If this turns out to be another one of those "Gotcha" Fairy Tales, please don't let me know. I want to believe that this news is true. PLEASE?
She's not going to jail for evasion, but she still owes the taxes.
Nonsense. The 16th Amendment allows for the collection of an income tax, and that collection has been upheld by every court decision since its passage.
Yes these is, but only certain people, on certain income, Income that is truely "income" a gain. NOT everyone.
They just won't answer you either. Sean Hannity, journalist, could ask on your behalf, but he thinks you should just shut up and pay your fair share, too.
Since she's not going to jail for evasion, what would stop her from further evasion? She refused to pay before; do you think this verdict will convince her to pay now?
To determine if you need to file a Federal Income Tax return for 2002 answer the following questions:
Occasionally, individuals have one-time or infrequent financial transactions that may require them to file a Federal Income Tax return.
Do any of the following examples apply to you?
Did you have Federal taxes withheld from your pension and wages for this tax year and wish to get a refund back?
Are you entitled to the Earned Income Tax Credit or did you receive Advance Earned Income Credit for this tax year?
Were you self-employed with earnings of more than $400.00? Did you sell your home?
Will you owe any special tax on a qualified retirement plan (including an individual retirement account (IRA) or medical savings account (MSA) ? You may owe tax if you:
Received an early distribution from a qualified plan Made excess contributions to your IRA or MSA
Hello
Occasionally, individuals have one-time or infrequent financial transactions that may require them to file a Federal Income Tax return.
More than likely, the IRS will just seize everything she owns for the rest of her life. Property, bank accounts, jewelry, vehicles, just about anything that is cash or that can be sold at auction. I don't know if bankruptcy can eliminate an IRS tax judgment ... anyone?
Round two will be a civil enforcement proceeding. By the time she's done with that one she will have paid several times as much in attorney fees as the taxes she avoided.
Then next year, they'll come after her again criminally and civilally.
This acquittal was a fluke. She cannot consistently win acquittals in tax evasion prosecutions. The only way to win these things is in the legislature by changing the law.
It cannot.
But the IRS really isn't the bad guy. Congress created both the tax code and the IRS to enforce it. Congress loves having the IRS as enforcer because it knows that citizens tend to focus their anger on the IRS--not Congress.
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