NoSSN - Love Letters From The IRS

Love Letters From The IRS
January 18, 2001

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Save-A-Patriot Communication Bridges

Bridge #1: Facts You Should Know About SAPF Power-Of-Attorney Casework

Have you ever met someone who seems to have all of the answers but really doesn't know what the questions are? If so, then keep that in mind as you read this letter!

We have found that many members (especially those who are new to the Fellowship) simply do not understand what our power of attorney program is all about. Some are so naive as to think that one letter from SAP will make the IRS go away. I assure you, that is rarely the case. In fact, to put it as bluntly as possible: when we write a letter to the IRS we do NOT even try to make the IRS go away! If you are confused by that statement then this letter is for you-so please read on...

You're probably asking yourself "If the caseworkers at S.A.P. are not going to make the IRS go away then why am I giving them power of attorney?" Indeed... the purpose of this letter is to answer that very question and that is why the information contained in this letter is so important. If you want to assert your rights it is absolutely imperative that you know what to expect and that you understand the purpose of the power of attorney program. If you are unable or unwilling to invest the time necessary to understand the process that is about to occur, or what we will be doing to help you, then you will either give up in despair or you will get angry at us because of your own misperception. Please don't put yourself in that position.

The situation is this: One hundred thirty years ago, during The War Between the States, Congress passed what was called The Anti-Injunction Act. The effect of that legislation was to prevent the Courts from interfering with the actual collection of a tax, and as you might suspect, it complicates matters for people like you who want to assert their rights. The average member thinks: "Since the income tax is limited in application and since my income is obviously not the subject of the tax, why not just ask the Court to enjoin the collection of the tax?" And, that's a good question... but (if you remember how we started this letter) that's NOT the question you should be asking. Instead, ask yourself "How can the Court enjoin the collection of a tax when the Anti-Injunction Act that we just mentioned prevents them from doing so?" The answer is: They can't and that's why we don't ask the Court to prevent the IRS from collecting a tax. However, the Court does have the jurisdiction to prevent the IRS from wrongfully collecting a tax.

That being the case... if you are not the subject of the income tax and the IRS has errantly sent you an inquiry, then you have what is called an administrative remedy. These administrative remedies ensure that a person, like yourself, will receive what is called "due process." And, they exist in the form of legal requirements that are imposed on the IRS so that the law will be applied properly. But of course, whether or not those requirements prevent the IRS from hurting someone depends entirely upon whether or not the individual in question makes the proper protests and/or other requests that are necessary to obtain relief Do you know the specific remedy for any given IRS inquiry? Probably not! But more important, if you don't know what they are, then how can you possibly pursue them?

When we represent you that is exactly what we do. We request the remedy that is available under the law. So you ask: "Does this make the IRS go away'?" No-not necessarily! But then it is NOT intended to make the IRS go away! You say: "Well.. if it doesn't make the IRS go away' then why bother???" The answer is very simple: knowing that most IRS employees are ignorant of the law and that they will probably not go away, you are building a case to show the court that the IRS has in fact violated the law that was supposed to give you the remedy you were entitled to.

The important point to remember is that... if you never bothered to make the request in the first place, then the IRS has no requirement to violate and it is presumed that they are doing things correctly. The issue before the Court is NOT whether your income was the subject of the income tax. Rather, the issue before the Court is whether you received due process and that depends on whether you requested the remedies that were available to you and whether the IRS gave you the opportunity to pursue those remedies. The requests that we forward to the IRS on your behalf cite specific administrative due process requirements that impose certain legal obligations on the IRS personnel involved. This effectively puts the IRS employee in a position where he must stop the improper assessment procedure or violate the law in order to move forward with collection. It has been our experience that most IRS employees ignore these legal obligations. However, when they violate those laws relating to due process, a law suit becomes possible. But... only if you can document the denial of due process, up to and including, for example, the IRS's failure to send a proper Notice and Demand. That is what we do when we take power of attorney.

So now you might ask: "How much does it cost to document the denial of due process and what happens after it's documented?" The answer is: We charge 38 FRNs per letter including certified mail costs, for each piece of correspondence that we generate. Sometimes, we do as many as three or four letters per month and sometimes we don't do any at all. Over the course of the year we might write as many as ten letters for a total of three or four hundred FRNs. However, after that process is complete, and you have exhausted your administrative remedies (assuming the IRS ignores them) then a law suit can be filed in order to obtain relief.

Some people get halfway through the process and think that since the IRS hasn't "given-up," we must be doing something wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth. The IRS is not going to give-up until the Court forces them to give-up. Why? Because the IRS counts on people losing their resolve. They count on people being financially unprepared to move forward with a suit. And you know what? The IRS is absolutely correct because a lot of people do just that! If you really want to assert your rights then you need to prove to them that they're wrong! If you want to assert your rights you need to set aside the funds that will be necessary to take that legal battle into Court and when you do, you've got to have the documentation we've been talking about.

We have struggled for some time with a communication-gap. For whatever reason, despite the newsletter that we publish, we have been unable to get this concept across to some of our members. This letter is the first of series of standard "member letters" by which we hope to remedy that communication-gap. If it has helped you to understand what we are doing, if it has helped to encourage you and/or more fully prepare you for the future we would appreciate hearing from you, either verbally or in writing. We thank you for the truly magnificent stand that you have chosen to take and the efforts that you have put forth thus far. And we pray that you will continue to hold the IRS to the law, if not for yourselves then for your country and for a better future for your children.

"Money is the most important subject intellectual persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may
collapse unless it is widely understood and its defects remedied very soon." -- Robert H. Hemphill, former credit manager, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

DISCLAIMER: The data on this website is the collaborative experience, contributions, and research of various websites, legal books, tax documents, researchers, associates, attorneys, CPA's, etc. and does not constitute legal advice. The primary purpose of this site is education. We do not advocate any specific course of action. What you do with this information and any course of action you decide to take, if any, is entirely your responsibility.

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