Newland note: As of September 12, 1998, I'm still waiting to hear back from Senator Daschle's office.

Robert J. Newland

HC 89 Box 184-A
Hermosa SD 57744
phone/fax 605-255-4032
newland@rapidcity.com
 
 
March 2, 1998
 
Karen McGregor
Constituent Service Representative to U.S. Senator Tom Daschle
PO Box 8168
Rapid City SD 57709
 
Dear Ms. McGregor:
 
Thank you for forwarding to me a copy of the letter you received on December 15, 1997, from the IRS District Office, St. Paul.
 
The letter is illustrative of several points concerning the IRS. Primarily, however, it exemplifies the IRS's dissemblance concerning questions the answers to which every citizen of every state in the union should have access.
 
To put this another way, if I wish to know whether or not it is legal, under federal law, to distill, package and sell alcoholic beverages, I would search the federal codes and be directed to the laws listed under Title 27 USC. There, I would find definitions of pertinent words (i.e., "distill", "package", "sell", etc.). If the definitions are not listed, then I would rely on usage as defined by common dictionaries or as defined by court decisions. I would also find laws listed under section headings which apply specifically to the activity I wish to perform. I would find that I must apply to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for a license to do business, and that I must meet certain standards for both the product and the packaging, and that I must keep records and file tax returns for the sale of the product, and that these tax returns must be filed on specific forms approved by the Office of Management and Budget.
 
Then, knowing that no federal law has effect until it has been published in the Federal Register and been included in the Code of Federal Regulations, I would search those documents until I was satisfied that the statutes listed in the USC did indeed have the effect of law, and that the forms mentioned were indeed the forms approved for that purpose by the OMB. I would then make a decision as to whether to proceed with my business plan based on whether I wanted to -- and could -- meet all the criteria plainly stated in law.
 
This can be said for any activity one investigates, at least in reference to its legality under federal law, and to the legality of the procedure one follows in order to promulgate the activity. If no laws or regulations exist concerning an activity or procedure (and that's pretty hard to imagine) one may -- by constitutional authority -- enact it, providing there's an absence also of pertinent local laws.
 
Any activity, that is, except those activities surrounding the satisfaction of the federal income tax system.
 
Imagine. I call the local BATF office and ask an agent "With what federal laws and enabling regulations must I comply in order to distill and sell whiskey?" He (or she) will either say, "USC 27, §xx thru §yy", or "I'll get back to you" (and does), or "I'll mail you a package we've prepared for just that inquiry. Any questions after you've read it, call me back." I can use cross-reference tables to verify that all the statutes cited do have the requisite citings in the Federal Register and CFR. Any forms required will be listed in a table of OMB-approved forms with a reference to the specific use for the form.
 
The BATF agent will not say, "Our experience is that once we answer questions like this, it results in yet another series of questions. We do not feel it productive to restate our position over and over." The requisite publications speak for themselves. Terms used are either defined for use in the specific law, or are subject to common dictionary definition.
 
But, in the attempt to discover things I need to know in order to comply with any laws concerning a federal income tax, I wrote the IRS and asked "Which federal law(s) require(s) me to file an income tax return. And could you please tell me where I can find that law cited in the Federal Register or in the Code of Federal Regulations?"
 
The IRS responded by sending me a threatening letter, classifying me as an "illegal tax protester" because a group of people the IRS labels "illegal tax protesters" has asked similar questions. It sent me a tri-fold pamphlet entitled: "Illegal Tax Protests: Facts vs. Fiction"; subtitled: "Their names may vary. Some are hard-core protesters. Some are local anti-tax protesters. All spread similar messages and their messages are false."
 
The pamphlet goes on to list twelve presumably common "Protester Claims", and gives me the IRS view. (I am not interested in the "IRS view". I am interested in the law.) However, none of the examples answered my questions completely enough to give me the information I need to know. I asked for further information. The IRS says, "See, we answered your questions and you just have more questions."
 
My question is:
For what tax does the IRS allege I am liable? Please cite the code section(s).
(Hint: there are several "income taxes" listed in the code. I have found no personal liability for any of them.)
 
Can you think of another federal agency from which the answers to questions similar to this would be so hard to find? I am simply attempting to determine what the law is so that I may assure myself I am in compliance with it.
 
If I have a problem with property tax, I call the county treasurer and ask for the law which makes me liable. (S)he will find it for me. I can then look at it and tell if it indeed makes me liable. If I think not, I can cite my reasons. If the treasurer won't tell me which law applies, or where I can find it, I can not determine whether or not I am liable.
 
All it would take is an answer. Then I'd know.
 
If the IRS indeed receives questions like this from so many people as to make it inconvenient to answer them individually, then why doesn't it print an answer to them, citing the code sections, where definitions can be found and the references to their statutes in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations and the OMB-approved forms? It has no problem mass-printing and distributing many other "information" forms and packets, including threatening letters.
 
Why won't someone answer my question?
 
Very truly yours,
R J Newland
As of September 12, I have not heard from anyone at Daschle's office regarding this letter.
Go to Newland's Letter to and Reply from the U.S. Attorney for South Dakota
Go to Narrative of Newland's IRS Audit
 
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