The IRS Jurisdiction's Long Arm

To avoid paying taxes, protesters often attempt to question the IRS' extent because of its unclear jurisdiction. To avoid suffering IRS problems in the future, have a look at how wide the jurisdiction of the Internal Revenue Service reaches.

The power provided to legal bodies or political leaders to enforce punishment and handle legal matters is called jurisdiction. The term is typically heard on TV shows or movies dealing with crimes.

If you do not understand your obligation to pay taxes and you are a taxpayer, you will suffer issues. People who earn income in the United States and US taxpayers are all under IRS jurisdiction.

Here's an excerpt from Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations which relates to the IRS:

"The Internal Revenue Service is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Commissioner has general superintendence of the assessment and collection of all taxes imposed by any law providing internal revenue. The Internal Revenue Service is the agency by which these functions are performed."

Taxes in all states that provide revenue, non-residents earning money in the United States, and United States citizens who make money or reside in foreign countries are all under IRS jurisdiction. IRS issues can happen if you belong to any one of these categories and don't pay taxes on earnings, property, capital gains, and more.

The IRS has no jurisdiction over certain people. To show that non-taxpayers are exempt from the regulations and rules of the IRS is this excerpt from the Economy Plumbing and Heating Co. against The US case:

"The revenue laws are a code or system in regulation of tax assessment and collection. They relate to taxpayers, and not to non-taxpayers. The latter are without their scope. No procedure is prescribed for non-taxpayers, and no attempt is made to annul any of their rights and remedies in due course of law. With them [non-taxpayers] Congress does not assume to deal, and they are neither of the subject nor of the object of the revenue laws."

By checking the IRS website or your state's tax website, you can avoid IRS problems and find out if you are a non-taxpayer.

To discredit the IRS's jurisdiction, tax protesters imply that the 16th Amendment giving Congress the authority to collect taxes on income was not properly ratified. The 16th Amendment was in fact ratified with a majority vote.

Another frivolous argument is that the IRS has no jurisdiction because it's not a government agency. Actually, because the Secretary of Treasury has enforcement and administration authority over the laws of internal revenue, the IRS was made. Arguments like these will give people IRS issues because the IRS does have jurisdiction over taxpayers.

You are under the jurisdiction of the IRS as a taxpayer. Inaccurate declaration of income and failure to pay taxes will give you serious IRS issues.

Be Sociable, Share!

•