NOW SELLING FOR $100-$300 ON E-BAY

The temporary restraining order issued by Senior U. S. District Judge Lloyd George on  March 19, 2003 enjoining Irwin Schiff from selling his $38.00 book The Federal Mafia: How the Government Illegally Imposes and Unlawfully Collects Income Taxes, And How Americans Can Fight Back has resulted in that book being sold from $100 to $300 on E-Bay. In addition four national organizations joined the ACLU’s Post Hearing Brief filed on May 1, 2003, opposing the Federal government’s attempt to ban Schiff’s book. They are: the Association of American Publishers, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Freedom to Read Foundation of the American Library Association, and the PEN American Center.  The PEN American Center is a professional association of over 2,600 literary writers (poets, playwrights, essayists, editors, and novelists) that promotes literature and seeks to protect free expression by mobilizing the literary community to defend the First Amendment whenever it comes under attack, as is the case here.   

 

As incredible as it sounds, in order for the Government to justify banning The Federal Mafia, it had to claim it was not really a book at all, but an “abusive tax shelter.”  That claim was nonsense for a variety of reasons, two of them being: 1) all  “tax shelters” (be they abusive or non-abusive) are designed to generate deductions so as to lower the tax due.  “Zero” return filers, as explained in Schiff’s book, take no deductions at all, so, obviously, no “shelter” is involved.  Secondly, “zero” return filers claim they receive no taxable “income” at all (and support that claim with 10 Supreme Court cases), therefore, Schiff argued to Senior U. S. District Judge Lloyd George,  “Why would I sell, and my informed readers buy, an ‘entity, plan, or arrangement’ to shelter ‘income’ they know they don’t have?”  Schiff even attached to his Brief copies of refund checks received by “zero” return filers.  One check, received by Las Vegan, Calvin P. Border (now known as “41 K Cal”) was for $41, 276.54, and represented a full refund of all the income taxes he paid for 5 years, including $6,880.84 in interest. In addition, Schiff attached checks totaling over $61,000 received by a “zero” filer for the years 1998 and 1999, which included  $2,140.97 in interest.

 

Schiff pointed out in his own Post Hearing Brief, “The Government wants to ban The Federal Mafia because it does not want the public to find out that it doesn’t need an “entity, plan or arrangement” to shield their “income” from taxation – because their “income” is automatically shielded from taxation merely based on the provisions of the law itself. And the Government does not want the public to know this, and to know how individuals can file a totally truthful and legitimate income tax return - in under 10 minutes - which allows them to avoid paying a tax (which no law requires them to pay anyway) while providing them with a substantial amount of protection from the kinds of illegal, criminal prosecutions that the Justice Department brings against others who file traditional returns or who file no returns at all.”

 

At the Preliminary Injunction hearing held on April 11, 2003, Schiff’s three witnesses (that’s all the Judge would allow Schiff to put on, though he was prepared to call others) testified that they did not buy an “entity, plan, or arrangement” from Schiff, but his book merely “led them to the law” which convinced them that: 1) no law made them “liable” for income taxes; 2) no law required them “to pay” income taxes; and 3) they had no “income” that was legally taxable. Schiff asked two of his witnesses “Would go back to paying income taxes, if, on cross-examination, the Government showed you a law that made you ‘liable’ for income taxes?” and both witnesses said, “Yes.”  However, U.S. Attorney, Evan J. Davis did not show them any such law on cross- examination, though he was now duty bound, Schiff claims, to do so. Nor did he challenge their testimony in any way.  Indeed, the Government did not put on one witness of its own, or cross-examine Schiff or any of his witnesses on any basis, though Schiff repeatedly asked him to do so.  Therefore, Schiff asked Judge George in his brief, “Since the Government did not put on one witness of its own who testified about anything, nor challenge any of the testimony of any defense witness (including Schiff) … why did the Government bother showing up for the ‘preliminary hearing’”?  Now, you can hear this incredible, 3 hour hearing in its entirety on Schiff’s website – http://paynoincometax.com.