Anyone who tries to avoid paying taxes by claiming a slave reparation credit, or that paying taxes is voluntary or that an IRS agent's badge was the wrong color can probably expect an unpleasant experience, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
The IRS issued an 80-page publication outlining some common tax dodges and the court cases disproving the attempts. To underscore the seriousness of the practice, the IRS said that anyone who uses such frivolous excuses and is convicted of avoiding paying their taxes will face fines of $25,000.
Dan Boone, an IRS spokesman, said the agency prepared the publication in response to frequent inquiries from taxpayers about various tax dodges.
"There are people out there who are gullible or who believe in conspiracies or that kind of thing," he said.
Most people won't try to use a discredited loophole once it is explained to them, he said, but the IRS sees a few who just don't accept the message.
"I don't know how widespread it would be, but there are people who will try these things," he said.
That includes people who will stand by their argument all the way to a courtroom, where the result is usually costly, the IRS said.
"Groundless litigation diverts time and energies of judges from more serious claims," the IRS said. "It imposes needless costs on other litigants. Once the legal system has resolved a claim judges and lawyers must move on to other things.
"There is no constitutional right to bring frivolous suits."
Boone said the IRS encourages those who disagree with tax laws to work to have the laws changed rather than work to avoid the laws.
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