Don't Try This at Home… Excuses the IRS Will not Buy

April 1, 2008 ((b)lines) - It's that time again… Most of us dislike (to put it nicely) having to file tax returns - even more so if we have to pay - and wish we had a legitimate excuse not to do so.

Here is a partial listing of taxpayer (or non-payer) excuses (found onhttp://madtbone.tripod.com/ ) that have been rejected by the IRS and the courts:

  • I refuse to file the tax return on the grounds that it violates my Fifth Amendment rights.
  • Filing tax returns is against my religious beliefs.
  • I am exempt from the Federal income tax because I am an African-American.
  • I am exempt from the Federal income tax because I am a Native American.
  • The Paperwork Reduction Act relieves Americans of their duty duty to file tax returns.
  • I was not required to file my tax return because I never received a court order to do so.
  • Payment of the income tax is voluntary.
  • The Internal Revenue Code does not apply outside of the District of Columbia.
  • The tax law is unenforceable because the symbol “”$”” used to specify the taxes is undefined and ambiguous.
  • I am not liable for the Income Tax because the instructions for the Form 1040 do not have an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Number assigned to them.
  • My failure to file my tax return was an act of non-violent civil disobedience on a human rights issue because the Government does not recognize same-sex marriages.
  • I accidentally switched mailing labels, so my Federal tax return was filed with the State and my State tax return was filed with the IRS, and the State taxation people didn’t forward the Federal return to the IRS by the due date.
  • I attribute my tax filing failures to my stupidity and to the fees I owed to my tax accountant at the time.

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