A group claiming the income tax is actually a ruse perpetrated against Americans by the federal government will hold a press conference tomorrow which organizers say Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md., and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, will attend.
Bob Schulz, founder and chairman of the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, said he views participation of congressional representatives in the press conference “as evidence that pressure is building on the government to respond to these constitutionally protected rights.” He added, “Defense of the Constitution is the first and primary legal duty of each and every official of the United States government. The time is quickly approaching where we will determine if we are a nation of law or not.”
The press conference is prompted by the hunger strikes of Schulz and Roland Croteau, an Oklahoma businessman. Both believe research proves their theory that no law implementing an income tax exists. Relying on exhaustive research conducted by others in the “tax-honesty movement,” the men also believe the 16th Amendment, which authorized the income tax, was fraudulently ratified in 1913.
The mantra of members of the tax-honesty movement, more commonly referred to as “tax protesters,” is: “Show me the law.” Though the IRS has so far not commented officially on the hunger strike, the agency has historically pointed to the Internal Revenue Code as the law allowing it to collect income taxes. But tax activists believe the Internal Revenue Code’s notorious complexity is intentional, so as to mask its lack of a statute that actually requires most Americans to pay income taxes.
Upset that government officials have chosen not to attend high-profile workshops and conferences organized by the group, such as those held last year at the National Press Club, Schulz began his hunger strike on July 1. He was joined by Croteau the following day, and the men have spent the last two weeks in Washington trying to gain an audience with both the public and the government. The men have vowed to fast either until they die or until IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti provides a list of government officials that will attend Schulz’s next conference in September.
Tomorrow’s press conference is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. Eastern at the Capitol Triangle. In its press release issued late Thursday, We The People announced that Bartlett “will hold a news conference,” requesting “an official response from the federal government to the legitimate questions about the income tax raised in a petition by Robert Schulz.”
However, staff for both Bartlett and Paul say the congressmen have not confirmed their attendance.
“It’s their news conference,” Bartlett spokeswoman Lisa Wright said of WTP, when asked if Bartlett was sponsoring the event. She confirmed the event had been scheduled in accordance with Capitol grounds’ regulations, but “the details are still being worked out” regarding the congressman’s attendance.
Nevertheless, Bartlett “wants the IRS to respond to We The People’s legitimate questions” about the legality of the income tax, Wright added.
Schulz could not be reached Friday as he was en route to California for a speaking engagement, and calls to WTP’s office in New York were not returned.
Now on his sixteenth day without food, Schulz is likely beginning to show physical effects of the fast. A nutritionist with Glens Falls Hospital talked to New York’s Daily Gazette about the physiological changes Schulz’s body will undergo during his hunger strike. Once employed as a nutritionist for the state Department of Correctional Services, Sandra McNeil said as Schulz deprives himself of food, his body will go into a “protection mode” and functions like blood pressure, heart rate and core body temperature will drop. His metabolism rate will slow – a condition health experts call “hypo-metabolism” – and his body will begin to draw off stored fat as its main source of fuel, according to the Gazette.
The citizen-activist has already lost his appetite, and he will begin to exhibit fatigue and lethargy, as well as an increased sense of unresponsiveness and detachment, according to McNeil.
The nutritionist said the average person can subsist on a water-only diet for as long as 60 days. In rare cases, people have been able to survive for much longer periods of time.
Related offer:
‘THE LAW THAT NEVER WAS,’ by Bill Benson, a 2-volume set documenting how the 16th Amendment was never properly ratified, is available from WorldNetDaily’s online store.
Related stories:
Day 10: Hunger strike continues
Tax activist begins hunger strike
Anti-tax crusader starts hunger strike
