The most frequently-missed tax deduction

...is that federal taxes are purely voluntary.

I realize that sounds bizarre. But think back to High School History classes for a moment. The State governments were created by We, the People. And the People's authority was ceded in very specific ways to create the Federal government, and the authority We gave it. It had - and still has - very limited scope of authority, such as:

• To create a lawful money supply.
• To entreat (form treaties with) other nations.
• To manage inter-state commerce.
• To settle disputes between the states themselves,

and depending on which texts you go by,

• To keep a standing army in case of invasion.

That's it. And all authorities not ceded to the government remained with We, the People.

Increasingly the American government has been purporting to grant itself all kinds of authorities it doesn't have. But in order for someone to grant authority to anyone, it must first have that authority to grant. That only stands to reason. I cannot give myself something that I don't already have. I could steal it from someone else, but the law would not accept that as valid.

And it doesn't accept this as valid, although almost everyone goes along with it. Have a look at The Whiskey Rebellion, and you'll see what I mean. An unfortunate fraud has been created that intentionally generates a common misconception about the nature of the government and its citizenry, and the nature of the relationship they have with each other. Many citizens are hitting the books going back to the laws to sort out fact from fiction, and they're doing it on the internet at sites like FamGuardian and SuiJuris. Notably, this year Wesley Snipes made it onto the New York Times Website with this information, so it's getting more attention these days. If you're willing to learn the laws and live by them, you may never have to pay unlawful taxes - and subsidize attrocities like human torture, the massacre in Iraq, and warrantless wiretapping at home - ever again, and you will understand the basis in law behind it. If everyone did that, we would have a system that worked, because we wouldn't be funding corruption. Plus, we wouldn't be spending a full third of our money paying federal income taxes to a bloated and lawless government.

But because people don't all do that, you're likely to learn and understand the law, act fully within your rights, and wind up rotting away in jail anyway, because of pure brute force backed by "color of law" - that which seems to be law, but isn't. It's what attorneys mean when they say "legal" instead of "lawful". Impossible as it may seem, when the majority of citizens go along with something that isn't law, they enforce something entirely beyond the bounds of the law and it will deprive you of your rights even if you know what they are. So consider carefully how you will approach the situation. Will you learn and assert your rights, find among many other joys the greatest "tax loophole" that could exist, and risk being thrown in jail anyway by a country of people who mistake the law for something it's not? Or will you knuckle under, pay "your" taxes although it isn't the law, and subsidize human torture, treason, and unconscionable atrocities because it's easier and - temporarily - safer?

Depending on how you look at it, it's either one of the Big Decisions that life will hand you, or the simplest no-brainer of them all. But I thought you would at least appreciate the information, given your interest.