If You Do Not Pay Your Taxes the Man with the Gun Will Come and Get You
HIGHLAND, UT | 28 April 2008 | Thinking of refusing to pay your taxes or break any other law of the land? Perhaps you would reconsider. Action movie star Wesley Snipes has recently learned first hand that law is force and the government will impose its will. Travis Reed of the Associated Press reported last Friday that Snipes received a three year jail sentence for tax evasion. This is a perfect example of how force destroys freedom.
Key Points
- Law is force. (See Bastiat’s The Law).
- Citizens resent laws allowing plunder. People want to refuse to submit themselves to such laws, which then brings the force down upon themselves. Such is the case in this story with Wesley Snipes.
- Individuals have very little leverage to protect themselves against the democratic majority.
- This is why law makers must use wisdom and propriety when creating laws that protect property, and shun proposals that would plunder property from one and give it to others.
Discussion
Law is force, and as can be seen regarding the case with Snipes, most of the time the government is not afraid to use that force. When personally opposing the force of the government (i.e., the law), be sure to use proper channels and methods for getting a law repealed. Even in cases where many people oppose a law, such as during the days of Prohibition, the outright rebellion against the law usually leads to black markets, corruption, violence, and even bloodshed. The peaceful solution lies on both the elected officials and on the people in general. An informed citizenry can do much good. Fortunately, the Constitution of the United States provides opportunities for such a citizenry to become informed (indeed, the Constitution relies upon it) and to effectively create the change they are looking for.
Action Items
- Individually, submit yourself to laws, even if you disagree with them (a prisoner, or a dead man, has a very difficult time effecting social change).
- Study the process of lawmaking in America, your state, and your community.
- If you find a law you disagree with, use the proper channels of getting that law repealed.
- Create a relationship with your elected officials wherever possible so yo may have productive discussions with them regarding the laws you like and those you dislike.
MRFC Principles: 
Resources
Travis Reed (AP). Snipes Gets 3 Years, Apologizes for ‘Costly Mistakes’, Yahoo! News, April 25, 2008.
Frederic Bastiat, The Law, (Originally published 1850) Foundation for Economic Education, Ivington-on-Hudson, 1998.
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April 29th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Snipes is just a victim of bad advice right? I mean all he did was rely on the advice of an organization committed to helping people legally not pay taxes right? While the substance of Snipes’ argument may have validity, the manner in which he chose to fight was poor indeed. Aligning yourself with the patriotic sheep of the brain off conspiracy generally isn’t the best way to effectuate change in the world. Snipes would have been much better served to use his popularity and influence to help change tax law while he still maintained the moral high ground. Now Snipes has sold himself to the very beast he was trying to defeat even offering to do public service announcements on taxes in lieu of jail time. The government’s gun is always bigger than yours. If you don’t believe me just don’t do what they tell you to and see what happens. It is true that force destroys freedom and prosperity but the solution isn’t always to blatantly oppose that force. It is a shame that Snipes wasted the ability to help make needed changes.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Principle of Prosperity 11 states that “Force Destroys Freedom and Prosperity.” This is the principle in which the Author is stating is being violated by the government in which they impose force by pressing jail time in the Wesley Snipes case. Snipes has been fighting with the IRS on proposed tax that he owed for the last 10 years. The IRS stated that Snipes owed over $2.7 million in back taxes. The government was pushing to charge Snipes with 13 years of Jail time for tax fraud and conspiracy. On April 25th during Snipes court appearance, Snipes paid $5 million to more then cover his tax debt. However the Judge still gave Snipes a 3 year jail sentence even though he had made the government more then financially whole. The judge said that Snipes had shown a history of contempt for US tax laws for some time. This is clearly a violation of principle 11 and how a over zealous government bureaucrat got caught off guard by an individual fighting the system.
I would like to add to the author’s article with another violation of principle that I see which is Principle 3 “Agency implies stewardship.” Snipes being a free man, a free agent has the free agency to choose the actions that he takes. By doing that he becomes a steward over his life, but a steward accepts the consequences for his actions. I believe that Snipes has violated Principle 3. It appears that Snipes chose the path of avoidance and not to honor his obligations. Whether you believe that we should be taxed or not, we still live in this country and must abide by its laws. Snipes had 10 years to find knowledgeable and trusting tax advisors that could have built Snipes and advantageous tax strategy. Snipes could have also used his public persona to make a stand and fight over zealous government bureaucrats. By avoiding the issue and running from Johnny Law Snipes is not taking accountability and stewardship for the decisions that he has made.