It’s time for Americans to withhold their taxes

Hume · Thursday at 11:17 PM

Political power boils down to two things: votes and money. But when money buys presidents, senators and judges, votes are merely the sales receipts. What’s left is money, and the purpose of power is to get more of it.

Trump’s non-billionaire followers appear thrilled that Elon Musk and his so-called “department of government efficiency” are burning down the government. “Imagine if Trump hadn’t met and talked with Elon Musk that all this progress on efficiency may not be taking place or at such a fast pace needed before the midterms,” comments holy666 on a Fox News story about the mass layoffs of federal employees.

It’s time for Americans to withhold their taxes | Judith Levine

The point is not to deprive the government of funds. It’s to expose the regime’s criminality

www.theguardian.com

Hume · Thursday at 11:19 PM

IRS to lay off roughly 7,000 employees

WASHINGTON (AP) — The layoffs of roughly 7,000 IRS probationary workers beginning this week likely mean the end of the agency’s plan to go after high-wealth tax dodgers and could spell disaster for revenue collections, experts say.

The majority of employees shown the door at the federal tax collector are newly hired workers focused on compliance, which includes ensuring that taxpayers are abiding by the tax code and paying delinquent debts, among other duties.

IRS layoffs could hurt revenue collection and foil efforts to go after rich tax dodgers, experts say

Experts say the layoffs of roughly 7,000 IRS probationary workers likely mean the end of the agency’s plans to go after high-wealth tax dodgers and could spell disaster for revenue collections.

apnews.com

Diogenes · Thursday at 11:19 PM

What taxes do you pay?

(Actually, I like this idea. If we starve the beast, it will get really lean).

Damocles · Thursday at 11:21 PM

Sounds like a plan. After paying my taxes this year I will not pay any more for this year. Don't want all that work to fill them out to go to waste.

Diogenes · Thursday at 11:30 PM

Damocles said:
Sounds like a plan. After paying my taxes this year I will not pay any more for this year. Don't want all that work to fill them out to go to waste.

Taxation is theft.

Damocles · Thursday at 11:32 PM

Diogenes said:
Taxation is theft.

We'll show them by collecting every penny of Social Security we can...

Prison is also theft, it steals years rather than money... So you either let them steal your money or you let them steal your years. Ask Wesley Snipes how that went for him.

Diogenes · Thursday at 11:36 PM

Damocles said:
We'll show them by collecting every penny of Social Security we can...

Prison is also theft, it steals years rather than money... So you either let them steal your money or you let them steal your years. Ask Wesley Snipes how that went for him.

In the past, the U.S. government was primarily financed by tariffs and fees, especially during its early history. For much of the 18th and 19th centuries, tariffs—taxes on imported goods—served as the federal government's main source of revenue. This was supplemented by excise taxes (on specific goods like alcohol and tobacco), fees, and revenue from land sales.

The reliance on tariffs stemmed from the limited taxing authority granted to the federal government under the Constitution, as well as the lack of a broad-based income tax.

From the founding of the United States through the Civil War era, tariffs often accounted for 80-90% of federal revenue. For example, the Tariff Acts of the early 19th century, like the Tariff of 1816 and the Tariff of 1828 were designed to both protect American industries and fund government operations.

The modern federal income tax wasn’t established until 1913 with the ratification of the 16th Amendment, which allowed Congress to levy taxes on income without apportioning them among the states.

Before that, a brief income tax was introduced during the Civil War (1861-1872) to help finance the war effort, but it was temporary.

Once the income tax became permanent, it gradually eclipsed tariffs as the primary revenue source.

@Grok

moon · Friday at 3:34 AM