Federal income taxes due to the Government —
A Biblical Perspective
By Adele Weiss
17 October 2016
Christians read the content of our website and some have questions, which are good to ask, seeking answers regarding what the Bible states as to “submitting to government.”
Romans 13:1 states: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”
It is recommended that you read at least the first seven verses of Romans 13. When you reach Romans 13:7 you will find: “Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”
From this verse you should have picked up on the emphasized statement “taxes to whom taxes are due.” The key word about taxation is the obligatory word “due.” There are lots of varieties of taxes when that word is generally used. Custom taxes, excise taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, gasoline taxes, state income taxes, and the list could take an entire page to list all taxes that Americans pay every year. The biggest one that draws the bulk of attention in the minds of most Christians and all Americans are the federal income taxes.
The subject of federal income taxes is not challenged by Weiss+Associates when those statutory laws are properly directed toward those upon whom taxes are due. You can infer accurately that the Bible does not tell any Christian to pay taxes that are not due. In other words, there is no requirement stated in the scriptures that we pay the government any type of tax that does not come with the obligation implied by the word “due.”
In the Constitutional Republic — the 50 states of the Union, which is the geographical area that the Constitution is only law — there is the illustration that the sovereigns are the People, as stated in Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886), a U.S. Supreme Court decision. Because Americans are the government, they are the “authors of the law” and are not “subject to the law” unless they cause physical harm, financial injury or some other type of issue against their fellow man. It is well-established that the National Government is the servant of the People within that Constitutional Republic.
Such is not the case for the National Government within its limited territorial jurisdiction consisting of Washington, D.C., and the government’s U.S. territories. For simplicity, I will refer to the federal territorial jurisdiction as the Federal Zone.
As the reader is probably aware, the District of Columbia is not a state of the Union (the Constitutional Republic). It has its own jurisdiction where the seat of government resides, and within that 10- mile square area the Constitution is not law and only the dictates of the Congress rule over the people who were born in the Federal Zone. It is worth noting as a sidebar comment, that the Federal Zone is called by the National Government as the United States and that the U.S. territories (like Puerto Rico) are referenced by the National Government as ‘States of the United States.’ Furthermore, those who were born within the Federal Zone are called ‘U.S. citizens.’
Keep in mind that the Constitution that protects Americans in the Constitutional Republic is not law and has no effect upon the lives of those statutory creations of Congress by their birth in the Federal Zone referenced by the term “U.S. citizens.” Thus, I state to the reader to go to our narrative on our Home Page for more discussion and then to review our YouTube video on Jurisdiction.
Constitutionally speaking, the National Government is the servant government of the American People, or at least that was the intent of the Founding Fathers. The National Government governs only by the consent of the American People and must respect the unalienable God-given rights of the Constitutional U.S. citizens. We at Weiss+Associates have chosen a non-statutory expression to be analogous to the expression of Constitutional U.S. citizens to be referred to by the use of the term, “American Nationals.” This avoids the continuation of confusion by the National Government adapting the same verbiage or expression for those that it has under its control and dominion as it is the Sovereign in the Federal Zone. Again, those born in the Federal Zone have none of these distinctions provided by the Constitution.
As Christians, all rights granted to American Nationals and so stated in the Constitution are granted by Our Creator, the Lord God Himself. Therefore, American Nationals are the sovereigns (as previously stated by the Supreme Court in Yick Wo v. Hopkins), and we are not subject to the statutory laws created by Congress for its limited territorial jurisdiction, the Federal Zone.
Christians are subject to the Lord God and not the National Government as per the Constitution in context to the verses in the book of Romans promulgated in the Holy Bible. American Nationals are free to remain sovereigns or not. When any American National chooses to work for the National Government, then they put in abeyance their status of being an American National and become one who is a legal U.S. Taxpayer by holding any of the numerous Public Offices created by the U.S. Congress. Under that format, they are responsible for and as for those who are Christian then the taxes are due by the nature of the statutory ‘trade or business’ in which they function and derive their income from that federal employment. Federal employment is evidence of voluntary servitude in that they derive income from that Public Office which is a privilege, and privileges are taxable “due,” meaning obligatory.
Hosea 4:6 reflects that God directly said: “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.”
The significance of this was directed to many aspects of the lives of those who know His Name and have accepted His Son as the Messiah that was foretold about in the Old Testament of the Bible. It also carries a significant admission in that there are many areas of knowledge that man persues. To Christians, it is foremost to have a personal relationship with Our Heavenly Father and His Son.
In the matter of Federal Income Taxation, it is an imperative necessity that all American Nationals understand that the word “due” has the implication of “fully imposed” or “lawfully obligated.” The references to a variety of taxes that are due were discussed and will not be repeated here. What we are focused on in this discussion is the matter related to the Federal Income Tax and the statutory laws that are always referenced by the IRS.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has its statutory laws promulgated in Title 31 of the United States Code. You will find stated at 31 USC §321 (d)(1) & (d)(2) that the federal income tax is openly declared by the Treasury Department to be a “gift or bequest made payable to and for the use of the United States” (meaning the National Government). We know that if one holds a Public Office, the federal income tax is not a gift or bequest but a mandatory obligation. This fact is clearly stated in the Legislative Intent of the 16th Amendment written by President William H. Taft on June 16, 1909, and can only be located in the Congressional Record of the United States Senate on pages 3344-3345.
So the U.S. Department of the Treasury is stating that any others, including Christian American Nationals who have been destroyed for a lack of knowledge about the full truth behind the federal income tax, are merely making a donation via a voluntary action on their part for the well-being of the National Government’s Treasury resources. There simply is no obligation imposed upon American Nationals (including Christian American Nationals) via the 16th Amendment or elsewhere to make a federal income tax payment.
President Taft even stated in his recommendation to the Congress that: “I therefore recommend to the Congress that both Houses, by a two-thirds vote, shall propose an amendment to the Constitution conferring the power to levy an income tax upon the National Government without apportionment among the States in proportion to population.”
The 16th Amendment reads: “The Congress shall have power to levy and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, without regard to any census or enumeration.”
The U.S. Supreme Court in the Pollock v. Farmer’s Loan & Trust Co,, 157 U.S. 429 (1895) stated that any attempt by the National Government to impose such a direct tax upon Americans in the Constitutional Republic devoid of the rule of apportionment would be an “unconstitutional” act.
There is only one jurisdiction in which Taft could legally make such a recommendation. That jurisdiction is the Federal Zone. The Rule of Apportionment is mandated upon the National Government by Article 1, Sections 2 & 9 and would amount to a one-time tax if they did it that way.
The federal income tax does not fall under that “due” command in Romans as it is a “gift or bequest” that has no sense of obligation or implied duty, and the National Government fully knows that this tax is limited to only those who were born in that statutory United States, reside in their territorial jurisdiction, those who are U.S. Resident Aliens, those who are statutory U.S. persons, or those work for the National Government in some Public Office and derive income that is effectively connected with that type of trade or business.
American Nationals cannot be duped into changing their jurisdiction out of the Constitutional Republic by any compact or contract without first being provided full disclosure of the implications of such actions then followed by a willful and knowing intent by that American National. And for the millions of Americans who have been duped, there is a path to leave the U.S. Tax Club lawfully. This was created by the U.S. Congress in order not to violate the 13th Amendment which outlaws slavery and involuntary indentured financial servitude. Remember, every Public Office holder takes an Oath of Office to protect and to defend the Constitution in regards to American Nationals who do not meet the criteria of being identified as a legal U.S. Taxpayer of the federal income tax.
In conclusion, Romans 13:7 states that all Christians must render payment for all taxes that are lawfully “due.” This is important to adhere to as this is the obligation for Christians to abide by.
However, there is no obligation so imposed upon any American National via the U.S. Constitution or the 16th Amendment as many have wrongly inferred. Thus, there is no obligation to pay this voluntary income tax when working in private-sector enterprises as it has never been established as an obligation that is “due.”
Are you one of His people who are destroyed by a lack of knowledge in this area? If you desire to correct that, then you can contact us at bilateral@gmx.com.