How Far Does IRS Jurisdiction Reach?
Because IRS jurisdiction is a bit murky, protesters normally try to question the reach of the IRS to avoid paying taxes. To avoid suffering IRS problems in the future, have a look at how wide the jurisdiction of the Internal Revenue Service extends.
Jurisdiction is a term usually heard on movies, providing authority to leaders to handle and enforce punishment on legal matters.
You’ll have issues if you are a taxpayer and do not understand your responsibility to pay taxes. Those who make income in the US and US taxpayers are all under IRS jurisdiction.
The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 26 talks about the IRS:
“The Internal Revenue Service is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Commissioner has general superintendence of the assessment and collection of all taxes imposed by any law providing internal revenue. The Internal Revenue Service is the agency by which these functions are performed.”
If you are a resident of the United States, a non-resident earning money in the US, a citizen residing in foreign countries, or a citizen making money in foreign countries, the IRS has jurisdiction over you as a taxpayer. You will have issues with the IRS if you do not pay taxes on capital gains, earnings, property, etc.
Non-taxpayers are exempt from IRS jurisdiction, as explained in this excerpt from Economy Plumbing and Heating Co. against the US:
“The revenue laws are a code or system in regulation of tax assessment and collection. They relate to taxpayers, and not to non-taxpayers. The latter are without their scope. No procedure is prescribed for non-taxpayers, and no attempt is made to annul any of their rights and remedies in due course of law. With them [non-taxpayers] Congress does not assume to deal, and they are neither of the subject nor of the object of the revenue laws.”
You can find out if you’re a non-taxpayer and avoid IRS issues by visiting your state’s tax website or the IRS website.
To negate the IRS jurisdictional powers, tax protesters routinely make several arguments. A few insist that the 16th Amendment was never ratified properly, so the IRS is unconstitutional. The 16th Amendment gives Congress the authority to lay and collect taxes on income, and it was, indeed, properly ratified by the required three-fourth’s majority of states.
Another frivolous argument is that the IRS has no jurisdiction because it is not a government agency. Actually, the IRS was created because the Secretary of Treasury has administration and enforcement power over internal revenue laws. The IRS does have jurisdiction over taxpayers and arguments such as these will give people IRS problems.
IRS issues result from failure to truthfully declare income or pay taxes. If you are a taxpayer, you’re under the jurisdiction of the IRS.
Filed under Blog by on Oct 5th, 2009. 