Would Ron Paul pardon tax evaders?

[John T. Kennedy]

For instance, the taxes you pay on your phone bill.. if you don't pay those, you won't go to prison, but you will lose your phone service.

In that case the president could effectively pardon the companies that declined to collect those taxes. Competing on price, companies would stop collecting the tax if they were free from prosecution.

 

[johngr]

Remember Ron Paul believes in following the law. He would however work to change the law yet he would enforce the law. The idea that everyone might immediately stop paying taxes under a Paul administration and therefor the nation would collapse is rather ridiculous. This question has been answered here in depth many times before. Try using the search feature it is very helpful.

Ron Paul also endorses Aaron Russo's "Freedom to Fascism" whose main thesis regarding federal income tax is, you guessed it, THERE IS NO LAW!

 

[Brian in Maryland]

Remember Ron Paul believes in following the law. He would however work to change the law yet he would enforce the law.

The IRS has been asked numerous times to show the law that requires U.S. citizens to pay a tax on their income. They have never done so. This is because it does not exist.

 

[hypnagogue]

About there being no law -

I did some lengthy reading of the law as written a while back. The results were perplexing.

1. The law written in the US Code clearly mandates a tax on income.

2. The regulations written in the Code of Federal Regulations then exempts everyone who was specifically named in the US Code, excepting foreign companies or individuals doing business here and US businesses or individuals doing business in foreign countries.

So I'm still trying to figure out what the law requires to be done when the US Code and the CFR are principally at odds.

This is further perplexing because it's clear the Congress believes they have the power to tax incomes and intends to do so, yet they operate under a law which apparently doesn't require it.

My current appraisal, I suppose, would be that the Tax Code has become so sprawling and confusing that Congress and the IRS have broken it and don't even realize it. Further, the Code of Federal Regulations is written by the executive branch to lay out how they intend to pursue the laws written in the US Code. In other words, the IRS could change the CFR at will.

I guess they're all just idiots.

 

[nickcoons]

In that case the president could effectively pardon the companies that declined to collect those taxes. Competing on price, companies would stop collecting the tax if they were free from prosecution.

Again, a pardon is for criminal activities. If the companies decide not to collect nor pay those taxes, they will not be charged with a criminal activity; and so there is nothing to pardon.

When a corporation doesn't pay its taxes, the entities in charge of collecting the tax levy the funds from the corporation's bank accounts first, then ask questions later. The burden is (wrongly) placed on the corporation to recollect funds that were taken from them.

On the other hand, many of the taxes that we pay are constitutionally legal. So while a President may pardon everyone for not paying any kind of tax, and decide not to prosecute those that rightfully should have paid taxes, he would be neglecting his constitutional duties if he did so.

So could a President prevent Congress from collecting any sort of funding at all? I suppose so, but not constitutionally (not that that seems to stop anyone these days), just as Congress, in practice, can make any law they want whether constitutionally authorized or not; and the Supreme Court, in practice, can strike down any law (or make any law, it seems) they want whether constitutionally authorized or not.