A small victory against the IRS - a Ron Paul issue

This is not the kind of thing Dancing with Sprites usually covers but it attracts my attention because it is an issue central to the agenda of a presidential candidate whom I like - Ron Paul.

A Nevada businessman who was raided by the IRS and forced to sit at gunpoint in the hot, Nevada sun was acquitted in a criminal trial. Robert Kahre paid his workers in $50 gold pieces. Now the $50 gold pieces are actually worth $800 on the gold coin market. But...well - let's let the attorneys explain it.



“If a coin says it is a $50 gold piece, and it says ‘In God We Trust,’ and the law says that it is legal tender, and it is in circulation, isn’t it reasonable for people to think that they can calculate their tax liability based on that?” Hansen asks. “If a tax accountant can’t answer that question, how can a common worker be guilty of a crime? The outcome of this case is a magnificent victory for those of us who believe that the United States of America should have an honest monetary system.”



Sounds good to me. Of course I'm prejudiced. I don't care for the Internal Revenue System. I think they are undemocratic.



"Looking back, Hansen recalls what may have been a key turning point in the trial. The government called three accountants to testify. The defense asked each one, “What is the proper way to calculate income for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code if you are paid in a gold coin that has a $50 face value on it?” All three of them responded, “I do not know; I’ll have to research that.”





“One of them had a masters degree in taxation!” Hansen observed, saying their answers made it difficult to prove the defendants willfully committed tax crimes. “If accountants and masters of taxation don’t know the answer to this question, how in the world can they expect anything different from an ordinary person who is confronted with a dual monetary system created by Congress?”



Full story is here: Liberty Watch





The downside of this story is that the legal case didn't really zero in on the pure issue of legal tender. But who cares. Defeating the IRS is a good thing.