Just some friction in The Machine

Posted 12:35 PM by Gerald Klaas
There's an interesting story from WESH-TV today on prison inmates collecting bogus tax refunds:

After first refusing to answer any questions, the IRS admitted to congressional investigators that the problem is worse than many imagined. Last year alone, IRS records show almost 500,000 prison inmates nationwide tried to file a tax return seeking a total of $758 million.

And these guys go after a guy like Joe Banister?

Posted 12:20 PM by Gerald Klaas
Here is a copy of a letter to the editor I sent to The Sacramento Bee in
response to a blatantly biased article on the Joe Banister trial in federal court last week.



RE: Verdict Cheered by Tax Evaders (Business 6/25)

Does The Bee intend to show such an obvious bias
when reporting that a former IRS agent who claims
there is no legal authority to force employers to
withold "income" taxes is acquitted of all charges?

As one who actually attended the trial, and didn't
see The Bee's reporter in attendance, I was amazed
that the IRS's own witness, Robert Gorini, was
unable to cite any law that required Banister to
pay income taxes.

Maybe instead of vilifying those of us who care
about the rule of law by calling us "Tax Evaders",
(and by the way, I do pay income taxes), The Bee
could do us all a service by asking the IRS why
their case failed?  Maybe the jury was right?
Maybe Mr. Banister is right?  Maybe the IRS uses
a different definition of "income" than what
the Supreme court applied in the Stapler decision?


Gerald Klaas