Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Lighting fireworks on July Fourth didn’t restore freedom taken by the tyranny of the Internal Revenue Service. Reading the Declaration of Independence underscored this nation’s return to conditions our Founding Fathers found intolerable: government use of fear to take property and control citizens.

The tax code threatens liberty. It cannot be understood by those who must comply with it or live in fear of penalties imposed by the IRS. A law that cannot be understood is not a law derived from the consent of the governed. For those who are audited, the basic principle of trial by jury is replaced by presumed guilt. The accused must prove his innocence. The 16th Amendment must be repealed. End the IRS.

Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder recently said, “No law-abiding American should ever have to fear a call from a government official.” The IRS, a tool of fear used by politicians to control citizens and businesses, and to reward friends and punish enemies, has no place in a free society. Only the proposed “fair tax” would end the IRS and repeal the 16th Amendment.

BEVERLY MARTIN

Fulton, Mo.

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