A recent report shows that 47 percent of U.S. households pay no federal income taxes. The Tax Policy Center found that the percent of non-paying households had risen from 38 percent in 2007 to 47 percent this year.
Another interesting factoid is that households making more than $366,400 paid about 73 percent of the income taxes collected by the federal government.
This is not the image often presented in Washington when legislators complain about tax fairness for the middle class. White House adviser Paul Volcker appeared to call for higher taxes yesterday to deal with the rising deficit and Obama officials have been suggesting that the wealthy should face higher taxes to establish tax equity.
For the full story, click here.
Wow, goneville hit it out of the ballpark!
One question was “How can a sitting US District Judge get to be a US District Judge without knowing how many states it requires to ratify an Amendment to the Constitution?”
Judge Fox of the Eastern District of North Carolina was appointed by Reagan in 1982. At that time the Republicans controlled the Senate. It is likely that he was sponsored by Jesse Helms, the Republican Senator from that State at the time. (It is not widely known, but US District Judges in the 50 States are effectively appointed by the U.S. Senators from those States).
He probably got his job the old fashioned way – through politics.
http://faculty.rwu.edu/dzlotnick/profiles/fox_files/fox.pdf
And before the year was out, 6 more states ratified, bring the total number of states to ratify to 42.
42 states brought the percentage to 87.5 percent, well over the 3 quarters mark required by the Constitution.
So much for your tin foil hat theories.
The 16th Amendment was ratified by the following states.
1. Alabama (August 10, 1909)
2. Kentucky (February 8, 1910)
3. South Carolina (February 19, 1910)
4. Illinois (March 1, 1910)
5. Mississippi (March 7, 1910)
6. Oklahoma (March 10, 1910)
7. Maryland (April 8, 1910)
8. Georgia (August 3, 1910)
9. Texas (August 16, 1910)
10. Ohio (January 19, 1911)
11. Idaho (January 20, 1911)
12. Oregon (January 23, 1911)
13. Washington (January 26, 1911)
14. Montana (January 27, 1911)
15. Indiana (January 30, 1911)
16. California (January 31, 1911)
17. Nevada (January 31, 1911)
18. South Dakota (February 1, 1911)
19. Nebraska (February 9, 1911)
20. North Carolina (February 11, 1911)
21. Colorado (February 15, 1911)
22. North Dakota (February 17, 1911)
23. Michigan (February 23, 1911)
24. Iowa (February 24, 1911)
25. Kansas (March 2, 1911)
26. Missouri (March 16, 1911)
27. Maine (March 31, 1911)
28. Tennessee (April 7, 1911)
29. Arkansas (April 22, 1911)
30. Wisconsin (May 16, 1911)
31. New York (July 12, 1911)
32. Arizona (April 3, 1912)
33. Minnesota (June 11, 1912)
34. Louisiana (June 28, 1912)
35. West Virginia (January 31, 1913)
36. Delaware (February 3, 1913)
36 states out of 48 = exactly 75 percent, or 3 quarters.
Buy a new calculator.
Posting more discredited conspiracy theories that you found on the internet doesn’t change the facts. It does however add another layer to your tin foil hat.
William J. Benson, the author of the nonsense you’re reading was ruled a fraud in US District Court.
A FRAUD. His claims are nonsense.
Article V of the Constitution requires a 3 quarters majority to ratify an Amendment. 3 quarters = 75 percent.
In 1913 there were 48 US States.
75 percent of 48 = 36.
On February 3, 1913, Delaware ratified the Amendment, bringing the total number of states to ratify the Amendment to 36.
Hence, 75 percent or a 3 quarters majority.
Thus your conspiracy tin foil hat theories you found on the internet are disproved.
The above comment from:
http://www.thelawthatneverwas.com/new/ratification.asp
Defects in Ratification of the 16th Amendment
The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was never ratified by a majority of the sovereign States.
This is the Amendment that allegedly entitled the Federal Agent (government) in the federal territory of Washington, D.C. and their private collection company, the IRS, to collect “income tax” as falsely declared to be ratified in February 1913.
After an exhaustive year long search of legislative records in 48 sovereign states (Alaska & Hawaii were not admitted into the Union until after 1913). The only record of the 16th Amendment having been confirmed was a proclamation made by the Secretary of State Philander Knox on February 25, 1913, wherein he simply declared it to be “ineffect”, but never stating it was lawfully ratified.
Even if the 16th Amendment were properly ratified, according to Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution, it has always been unconstitutional for the U.S. Federal Government to directly tax We the People in their property, wages, salaries, or earnings. The judges of the U.S. Supreme Court rejected any claims that the 16th Amendment changed the constitutional limits on direct taxes in Brushaber v. Union Pacific R.R. Co., 240 U.S. 1, when they ruled that it “created no new power of taxation” and that it “did not change the constitutional limitations which forbid any direct taxation of individuals”.
Alleged defects in the ratification of the Income Tax Amendment
After investigating the history of the 16th Amendment, the following defects were found in the ratification of the Income Tax Amendment by the 48 states then existing, three-fourths or 36 of which were needed to ratify it:
01 – Not ratified by state legislature, and so reported
02 – Not ratified by state legislature, but reported as ratified
03 – Missing or incomplete evidence of ratification, but reported as ratified
04 – Failure of Governor or other official to sign, although required by State Constitution
05 – Other violation of State Constitution in ratification process
06 – Other procedural irregularity making ratification doubtful
07 – Approval, but with change in wording, accepted as ratification of original version
08 – Approval, but with change in spelling, accepted as ratification of original version
09 – Approval, but with change in capitalization, accepted as ratification of original version
10 – Approval, but with change in punctuation, accepted as ratification of original version
Since 36 states were required to ratify, the failure of 13 to ratify would be fatal to the amendment, and this occurs within the first three defects, arguably the most serious. Even if we were to ignore defects of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, we would still have only two states which successfully ratified.
“THE LAW THAT NEVER WAS”
“In 1984, William J. Benson of South Holland, Illinois, began an investigation of the process of ratification of the 16th Amendment, to determine if the amendment had been lawfully made a part of the constitution. To undertake such a task, never before performed, required the review of all documents stored in various state archives, state law libraries, legislative libraries, and offices of the secretaries of states, clerks of the houses, and secretaries to the senates, that related to the method by which the States in the American Union in 1913 allegedly approved the amendment as a part of the constitution. Not withstanding the enormity of such a research project, Bill spent virtually the entire year traveling to the state capitols to find dusty old records regarding the actions of the states taken to adopt the amendment, an investigative task that Bill had been well trained for during his years as an investigator with the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Today, the federal government pretends that it has all encompassing power to tax the income of everyone, and that the only way to change this system is to vote for congressmen who promise to modify or, even more unlikely, to repeal these laws. The American public needs to be apprised that another alternative exists, and that it is entirely possible to challenge the very foundation of this taxing power upon the grounds that the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was never adopted. ”
http://www.thelawthatneverwas.com/new/theman.asp
BuenaVistaMall 1, April 10, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Much of the prior (so called) reasoning doesn’t rise to the level of hogwash… watch the video. Judge for yourself.
************************************************
1. I wasn’t reasoning with you. You’re clearly unreasonable.
2. What’s hogwash is your needing a video to state your case. If you could state it, you wouldn’t need the video.
3. You asked for the law authorizing income tax. I gave it to you. Both the Constitutional Amendment and the Federal Code Title 26.
4. You then claimed the 16th Amendment was never ratified. That was a complete lie and demonstrates an amazing ignorance of the process of ratification.
5. Then you claimed the Amendment only requires filing, not collection, which is another lie as the Amendment actually states they can COLLECT as well as Levy.
No “reasoning” was required to refute any of these wingnut Tin Foil Hat theories.
Fact. The 16th Amendment of the Constitution authorized Congress to both Levy and Collect income tax.
Fact. It takes 3 quarters of the states to ratify an Amendment to the US Constitution, which was achieved on Feb 3, 1913 for the 16th Amendment.
Fact. Title 26 of the US Code enforces that Constitutional provision.
So your Tin Foil hat theories are thus disproved.
No reasoning necessary. And no video necessary.
Much of the prior (so called) reasoning doesn’t rise to the level of hogwash… watch the video. Judge for yourself.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173#
BuenaVistaMall 1, April 10, 2010 at 2:54 pm
If you want to pay federal income taxes keep sending them your money.
******************************************************
No one likes paying taxes BVM, and I doubt too many folks “want to”. Its called following the law and paying your fair share.
Its called being a good citizen of the country you live in.
******************************************************
BuenaVistaMall 1, April 10, 2010 at 2:54 pm
I am just saying millions of U.S. Citizens don’t pay federal income taxes.
******************************************************
Uhh, no you weren’t “just” saying that.
You first said there was no law ordering citizens pay income tax.
You were wrong.
Then you said that the 16th Amendment was never ratified.
And you were wrong again.
Now you’re indicating you don’t pay income taxes.
And that wrong, the IRS will likely explain to you some day.
“All the King’s Horses 1, April 10, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Problems with the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment:”
*********************************************************
There are no problems with the ratification of the 16th Amendment.
Like most Amendments there were challenges initially but all challenges were overcome on February 3, 1913 when the prerequisite 3/4 majority ratified with the state of Delaware.
Not to mention the 6 more states who ratified post passage, bringing the total number to 42, well over the prerequisite 3/4 majority.
Do you have a broken calculator too?
And not to drive home the nail too deep, but once the Amendment was officially ratified on Feb 3, 1913, 6 more states added their ratification (which wasn’t required at that point but was a nice overkill) to the Amendment.
Both New Mexico and Dick Cheney’s home state, Wyoming ratified it the same day following official ratification.
The next day New Jersey added their vote. A few weeks later Vermont ratified. A few more weeks and Massachusetts ratified.
Finally, New Hampshire (who was originally one of the opposing states) ratified on March 7th, bringing the total number of states ratifying to 42, well over the required 36 mark required by the Constitution.
So we see you Tin Foil hat wearers who go around proclaiming how you uphold the Constitution, never actually bothered to read it. Otherwise you’d know what ratification is, and what’s required constitutionally to ratify an Amendment, i.e a 3 quarters majority of the states.
But I do commend you for pointing out what a moron this Judge Fox is (Fox?…..nahhhhhh couldn’t be) for sitting on the bench lecturing on the 16th Amendment when the guy doesn’t even know how many states it takes to ratify an Amendment.
Vince, (Kapla) you said you were an Attorney so maybe you can shed some light. How can a sitting US District Judge get to be a US District Judge without knowing how many states it requires to ratify an Amendment to the Constitution?
I’m starting to think maybe I should have been an Lawyer.
Of course maybe he was just mathematically challenged, but a calculator solves that, right?
If you want to pay federal income taxes keep sending them your money. I am just saying millions of U.S. Citizens don’t pay federal income taxes.
The SCOTUS holding in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co (1895) was that Income Tax (an unapportioned direct tax) was unconstitutional. In response Congress submitted the Sixteenth Amendment to the state legislatures for ratification.
Problems with the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment:
Seven states (Connecticut, Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia) did not ratify the amendment, and it was reported as such.
Two states (Kentucky and Tennessee) did not ratify the amendment, but Secretary Knox reported that they did.
Eight states (Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and Wyoming) were reported by Secretary Knox as having ratified the amendment, but the States actually have missing or incomplete records of the ratification procedures or votes, and there is no conclusive record that they ratified the amendment or reported any ratification to the Secretary of State.
Six states (Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington) did approve the amendment, but the Governor or another official who was required by their respective state constitutions to sign the legislation into law did not sign the legislation.
In twenty-five states (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming), the legislature violated a provision of its state constitution during the ratification process.
Twenty-nine states (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming) violated “state law” or procedural rules during the ratification process.
Is the action of Secretary of State Knox subject to judicial review? The Court’s holding in Marbury answers that question in the affirmative. Many have tried to get the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the Sixteenth Amendment. The Court has refused to hear those cases. If the Sixteenth Amendment was never constitutionally ratified, the Court’s holding in Pollock would prevent our current income tax. As it stands now our federal income tax is viewed as an excise tax.
BuenaVistaMall 1, April 10, 2010 at 2:06 pm
“If you…examined [The 16th Amendment] carefully, you would find that a sufficient number of states never ratified that amendment.”
~U.S. District Court Judge James C. Fox 2003
*****************************************
If you examined a history book (and a calculator) instead of listening to tin foil hat videos on YouTube, then you’d know that it takes a 3 quarters majority to ratify an Amendment to the Constitution.
The 16th Amendment was ratified by the following states.
1. Alabama (August 10, 1909)
2. Kentucky (February 8, 1910)
3. South Carolina (February 19, 1910)
4. Illinois (March 1, 1910)
5. Mississippi (March 7, 1910)
6. Oklahoma (March 10, 1910)
7. Maryland (April 8, 1910)
8. Georgia (August 3, 1910)
9. Texas (August 16, 1910)
10. Ohio (January 19, 1911)
11. Idaho (January 20, 1911)
12. Oregon (January 23, 1911)
13. Washington (January 26, 1911)
14. Montana (January 27, 1911)
15. Indiana (January 30, 1911)
16. California (January 31, 1911)
17. Nevada (January 31, 1911)
18. South Dakota (February 1, 1911)
19. Nebraska (February 9, 1911)
20. North Carolina (February 11, 1911)
21. Colorado (February 15, 1911)
22. North Dakota (February 17, 1911)
23. Michigan (February 23, 1911)
24. Iowa (February 24, 1911)
25. Kansas (March 2, 1911)
26. Missouri (March 16, 1911)
27. Maine (March 31, 1911)
28. Tennessee (April 7, 1911)
29. Arkansas (April 22, 1911)
30. Wisconsin (May 16, 1911)
31. New York (July 12, 1911)
32. Arizona (April 3, 1912)
33. Minnesota (June 11, 1912)
34. Louisiana (June 28, 1912)
35. West Virginia (January 31, 1913)
36. Delaware (February 3, 1913)
Thus with the State of Delaware ratifying the Amendment on Feb 3, 1913 the Amendment had the 36 states it required for passage into the Constitution.
So apparently you and Judge James C. Fox need to both invest in a calculator.
An hour and a half video? Hah!
Type up the argument that the 16th was not ratified.
Schiffy has plenty of time to watch it, in the prison TV room.
My answer to the preceding hogwash… watch the video. Judge for yourself.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173#
BVM quoted:
“If you…examined [The 16th Amendment] carefully, you would find that a sufficient number of states never ratified that amendment.”
~U.S. District Court Judge James C. Fox 2003
Yet another falsehood by BVM
QUOTE
A frequently referenced quote by “tax law deniers” (Freedom to Fascism,Zeitgeist, et al) is that of Judge James C Fox.
“If you… examined [the 16th amendment] carefully, you would find that a sufficient number of states never ratified that amendment.” -U.S. District Court Judge, James C. Fox, 2003”
Though it is often cited as a ‘ruling’, in truth it was anecdotal and not a ruling at all.
The case was that of Sullivan vs U.S. The plaintiff asked a ruling against Bush for acting in violation of the constitution in regards to war powers.
Judge Fox, though he appears somewhat sympathetic in the transcript, indicates that historical, unchallenged practice tends to show an accepted interpretation of the constitution. He used the 16th Amendment as an example. He read somewhere that it was not properly ratified but that the passing of several decades makes that a moot point.
A more complete quote follows:
(Fox) … I have to tell you that there are cases where a long course of history in fact does change the constitution, and I can think of one instance. I believe I’m correct on this. I think if you were to go back and try to find and review the ratification of the 16th amendment, which was the internal Revenue, Income Tax. I think if you went back and examined that carefully, you would find that a sufficient number of states never ratified that amendment. … And nonetheless, I think it’s fair to say that it is part of the constitution of the United States and I don’t think any court would ever … set it aside. Well, I’ve seen that — I’ve seen somewhere a treatise on that. And I think it was — I think I’m correct in saying that actually the ratification never really properly occurred… Yet nonetheless, I’m sure no court’s going to say that the 16th amendment permitting income is void for any reason, although I wouldn’t mind filing for a rebate myself.
So the 16th amendment ratification question this was just a recollection by the judge that he read ‘somewhere’. It was hardly a careful examination by the judge and definitely not a ruling. [unquote]
http://webskeptic.wikidot.com/income-tax-james-c-fox
The judge was a fool. It was ratified by 39 or 48 states, more than three fourths.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/pdf2002/007.pdf
Scroll to footnote 8 on pages 35-36 for the complete list of States and dates of ratification
There. Concrete proof of a falsehood. There is a new movie out, BVM in Wonderland.
“If you…examined [The 16th Amendment] carefully, you would find that a sufficient number of states never ratified that amendment.”
~U.S. District Court Judge James C. Fox 2003
Here is some more talk. Watch the video. Former IRS agents haven’t filed taxes in YEARS!!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173#