Dear ABC:
I was the subject of last night's (January 17, 2003) 20/20 segment, "Are
income taxes a matter of choice?"
Thank you for letting me share some of my thoughts with your viewing
audience. I think that overall it was a piece was good and it showed both
sides of issue. Although, the person defending the IRS has never read my
books and has no idea what my legal arguments are.
Your subliminal message, "Pay taxes or go to jail", however, was misleading.
There are people who have won 'failure to file' cases against the IRS and
would be glad to forward copies of them to you.
Also, your comments on Phil Marsh excluded the relevant fact that the
convictions of him and his colleagues was overturned by the 9th Circuit on
Appeal. Unfortunately, because of the length of the appeals process, he died
before the decision was rendered.
Also, convictions for charges almost identical to those alleged in our case
were overturned in the 9th Circuit case of: United States v. Dahlstrom, 713
F.2d 1423 (9th Cir. 08/24/1983). The attorney in this case was Joe Alfred
Izen, who is also our attorney. When I made the statement, "You are not
legally required to file a tax return..." your editors failed to show that I
was reading directly from a letter from the IRS on their own letterhead.
Also I was cut off before I could read the notarized letters I had from the
Chief of Accounting of the IRS that admitted:
"According to our National Office a Pure Trust Organization (an
unincorporated business trust) has no filing requirements and is a
nontaxable organization..."
How can I be guilty of failing to file a return for an entity that has no
legal filing requirements?
The IRS Chief of Accounting did not respond by stating that the trusts were
bogus, abusive or not recognized. They merely said that they were NONTAXABLE
ORGANIZATIONS.
(I gave copies of the letters to Susan Welsh, 20/20's Assistant Producer.)
I continue to assert that I have broken no law and the IRS is abusing their
power in an attempt to silence me. The intelligence of the people was
insulted when the government forced me to stop selling my books a condition
of release. The people should be allowed to make up their own minds!
The government is unhappy with the truths I have uncovered and believes me
to be a financial threat to the "status quo". However, my first duty is to
the primary branch of government, the people. We are, after all, a
government of the people, by the people and for the people! A country cannot
prosper if it leaves its Citizen
struggling financially! A tax system that operates by instilling fear in
the American people has no place in American law! A part of the interview
that was not aired were some intelligent alternatives I presented for
financing this country, that would put dramatically more money in the
Treasury of the United States of America, to be used for the government's
lawful functions WITHOUT the need for taxing the labor of the private
Citizen.
An article published in the LA Times in May of 1985, quoted, President,
Ronald Reagan, as saying to a crowd erupting into cheers and applause; "Our
federal tax system is, in short, utterly impossible, unjust and completely
counter productive. It has earned a rebellion and its time we rebelled." The
tax laws are so
complex, even Albert Einstein was quoted as saying. "The hardest thing in
the world to understand is the Income Tax."
The reason that the mainstream, attorneys and CPAs have listened to me is
because my books are supported by case law, supreme court decisions,
statutes and regulations. It is because I am telling the TRUTH and it is
verifiable! For over 80 years the IRS has relied upon the people not asking
for proof of the existence of an actual statute that creates a liability for
a tax on the private labor of a Citizen of any of the 50 states. There is
none. They collect the tax by instilling fear in the American people.
I have never had a complaint filed against me by any of my readers or trust
clients in the eleven years I have been operating 'We the People'. The
people realize that the IRS violates the law!
I have also never received a Notice of Tax Due, an Assessment (as I can
verify, pursuant to a FOIA response) I have also never received any notice
that the IRS had a problem with the trusts. I have over 200 years of case
law supporting their legality.
There are CERTAINLY a lot easier ways to make a living than taking on the
most powerful agency in America.
It was hardly the exotic lifestyle that your segment painted. Every day we
were exposed to the horrors of the IRS, cleaning out a Citizen's bank
account, seizing a Citizen's wages so he or she couldn't pay their rent or
support their families, taking away a Citizen's car so they couldn't go to
work, etc. etc. ALL WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF THE LAW! We also heard stories of
suicides where the remedy came too late. We gave the people hope and we gave
them remedy in the
law. Fortunately, we were able to stop many of these IRS abuses and achieved
success by holding the agency accountable to the law.
In our own $100 million suit against the agency, filed by five women,
without an attorney, for damages incurred in a 1998 Search and Seizure raid
by 40 agents with guns, axes and battering rams, against my home and
businesses, the agent in charge has been denied immunity by the District
Court of California on the grounds that
he violated clearly established law.
As I expected, the segment was closed by asking me what would I do if I lost
on all levels of appeal. Of course, the ONLY answer to that particular
question is "Go to jail". There are many political prisoners, who have
broken no law other than offending the government. I do not intend to become
one of them!
In 1846, Henry David Thoreau, famous for his essay on "Civil Disobedience"
was put in prison for refusing to pay taxes, based upon his principles. When
his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson came to prison to visit him he asked: "What
are you doing in there?" Thoreau replied indignantly: "What are you doing
out there?"
I am absolutely convinced, however, that the law will prevail, that I will
NOT go to jail. We WILL prevail and we WILL be acquitted of all charges!
I will keep you updated and thanks for the opportunity to be on your
program!
Love and Liberty,
Lynne Meredith
