Do any of these look familiar? The U.S. Internal RevenueService (IRS) has released the 2014 version of “The
Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments,” which details and responds to some of
the most common arguments from citizens who oppose federal tax laws.
“While taxpayers have the right to contest their tax
liabilities, no one has the right to disobey the law or disregard their
responsibility to pay taxes,” the agency said. “The penalty for filing a
frivolous tax return is $5,000. The penalty is applied to anyone who submits a
tax return or other specified submission, if any portion of the submission is
based on a position the IRS identifies as frivolous.”
Included in the list are arguments that taxpayers can refuse
to pay income taxes on religious or moral grounds and that federal employees
are the only employees subject to federal income tax.
The IRS noted that those who promote or adopt frivolous tax
positions could be responsible for one of several penalties, including:
- Accuracy-related penalties
- Civil fraud penalties
- Erroneous refund claim penalties
- Failure to file penalties
Taxpayers who make such arguments may also face criminal
prosecution for attempting to evade tax.
