The Moral Crimes Of Taxation And Their Punishments
Recent events, such as the Fiscal Cliff, are bringing discussion of tax policy into the forefront. But while the establishment media is quite willing to discuss the various tax policy proposals put forward by politicians, they are not discussing the nature and morality of taxation itself. Let us look at the definition of several crimes, see how taxation relates to them, and see what punishments would be inflicted upon anyone who dared to challenge the violent monopoly that the state has on the collection of taxes. The definitions and punishments come from the North Carolina General Statutes, except as otherwise noted.
Armed robbery: Any person or persons who, having in possession or with the use or threatened use of any firearms or other dangerous weapon, implement or means, whereby the life of a person is endangered or threatened, unlawfully takes or attempts to take personal property from another or from any place of business, residence or banking institution or any other place where there is a person or persons in attendance, at any time, either day or night, or who aids or abets any such person or persons in the commission of such crime, shall be guilty of a Class D felony, punishable by 38 to 160 months imprisonment, depending on mitigating or aggravating factors and prior criminal record.
How taxation relates: If a person disagrees with the tax policies of the government and acts upon that disagreement by refusing to pay, then the state will initiate force against that person. If the delinquency persists, then agents of the state (having in their possession firearms and other dangerous weapons) will eventually take or attempt to take personal property from that person as a lien on the tax “debt.” Therefore if anyone else did what the government does, they would be guilty of armed robbery.
Receiving or possessing of stolen goods: The receiving or possessing of stolen goods of the value of more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) while knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the goods are stolen is a Class H felony, punishable by 4 to 25 months imprisonment, depending on mitigating or aggravating factors and prior criminal record.
How taxation relates: The conduct of government in collecting taxes meets the definition of armed robbery, and the Internal Revenue Service receives and possesses the tax money. Taxes are frequently levied in amounts exceeding $1,000, and reasonable grounds to believe that the goods are stolen clearly exist. Therefore if anyone else did what the government does, they would be guilty of receiving or possessing of stolen goods.
Slavery: According to the United States Code, Title 18, Chapter 77, whoever knowingly provides or obtains the labor or services of a person by any one of, or by any combination of, the following means— (1) by means of force, threats of force, physical restraint, or threats of physical restraint to that person or another person; (2) by means of serious harm or threats of serious harm to that person or another person; (3) by means of the abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process; or (4) by means of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that, if that person did not perform such labor or services, that person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
How taxation relates: Forcible taxation on one’s personal income makes one a slave because the state is knowingly providing or obtaining the labor or services of a person by means of force, threats of force, physical restraint, or threats of physical restraint to that person or another person. Therefore if anyone else did what the government does, they would be guilty of slavery.
First degree trespass: A person commits the offense of first degree trespass if, without authorization, he enters or remains on premises of another so enclosed or secured as to demonstrate clearly an intent to keep out intruders; or in a building of another. First degree trespass is a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by 1 to 60 days imprisonment, depending on mitigating or aggravating factors and prior criminal record, unless the offense involves an act that places either the offender or others on the premises at risk of serious bodily injury. In that case, first degree trespass is a Class H felony.
How taxation relates: Governments violate property rights by enforcing compulsory tax collection. By doing so, they trespass against the property of those who pay taxes. As agents of the state have in their possession firearms and other dangerous weapons, their actions place both themselves and others on the premises at risk of serious bodily injury. Therefore if anyone else did what the government does, they would be guilty of first degree trespass at the Class H felony level.
Communicating threats: A person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by 1 to 120 days imprisonment, depending on mitigating or aggravating factors and prior criminal record, if without lawful authority he willfully threatens to physically injure the person or that person’s child, sibling, spouse, or dependent or willfully threatens to damage the property of another; the threat is communicated to the other person, orally, in writing, or by any other means; the threat is made in a manner and under circumstances which would cause a reasonable person to believe that the threat is likely to be carried out; and the person threatened believes that the threat will be carried out.
How taxation relates: Tax evasion laws provide for arrest and imprisonment of those who refuse to pay taxes. This amounts to willfully threatening to physically injure people. The threat is communicated to the citizenry in writing, and the threat is made in a manner and under circumstances which would cause a reasonable person to believe that the threat is likely to be carried out. The citizens must believe that the threat will be carried out; otherwise they would not be so compliant in paying taxes. Therefore if anyone else did what the government does, they would be guilty of communicating threats.
Conspiracy: Unless a different classification is expressly stated, a person who is convicted of a conspiracy to commit a felony is guilty of a felony that is one class lower than the felony he or she conspired to commit, except that a conspiracy to commit a Class A or Class B1 felony is a Class B2 felony, a conspiracy to commit a Class B2 felony is a Class C felony, and a conspiracy to commit a Class I felony is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Unless a different classification is expressly stated, a person who is convicted of a conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor is guilty of a misdemeanor that is one class lower than the misdemeanor he or she conspired to commit, except that a conspiracy to commit a Class 3 misdemeanor is a Class 3 misdemeanor. This means that:
- Conspiracy to commit armed robbery is a Class E felony, punishable by 15 to 63 months imprisonment, depending on mitigating or aggravating factors and prior criminal record.
- Conspiracy to receive or possess stolen goods is a Class I felony, punishable by 3 to 12 months imprisonment, depending on mitigating or aggravating factors and prior criminal record.
- Under United States Code, Title 18, Section 373, conspiracy to enslave gets half the sentence that slavery does, so conspiracy to enslave would result in a fine under this title, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.
- Conspiracy to commit first degree trespass is a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by 1 to 20 days imprisonment, depending on mitigating or aggravating factors and prior criminal record. If the offense involves an act that places either the offender or others on the premises at risk of serious bodily injury, then this is a Class I felony instead.
- Conspiracy to communicate threats is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
How taxation relates: Tax laws are enacted by legislatures, who work together to create and pass laws. As any other group of people who worked together to do what the government does would be committing the aforementioned crimes, they would be guilty of conspiracy to commit those crimes.
When we add up the above sentences, we get that anyone who dared to challenge the violent monopoly that the state has on the collection of taxes would be looking at a consecutive prison term of anywhere from 64 to 652 months. So when the day that the rule of the state is abolished, the agents of the state are denied their claimed moral exceptions, and government is suppressed as a criminal enterprise comes, a sentence of 64 to 652 months imprisonment would be a reasonable sentence for any government official who acted to create new taxes, raise tax rates, or enforce tax laws.
Notes: This analysis only accounts for the acts involved in taxation. An actual arrest and imprisonment would add charges of kidnapping, felonious restraint, and false imprisonment. Also note that larceny is not included in the list of charges because larceny is a non-violent theft, while government is inherently violent.
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