Irwin Schiff and his zero return theory

In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

– Benjamin Franklin

Irwin Schiff, author of the book “How Anyone Can Stop Paying Income Taxes”, was convicted of tax evasion, tax fraud and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $4.2 million in restitution.

Who is Irwin Schiff

Irwin Schiff, the former Libertarian party presidential candidate, has made a career out of telling Americans that payment of federal income taxes is voluntary instead of mandatory. He is the author of numerous books such as “How Anyone Can Stop Paying Income Taxes”, “The Great Income Tax Hoax: Why You can Immediately Stop Paying This Illegally Enforced Tax”, and recently, “The Federal Mafia: How the Government Illegally Imposes and Unlawfully Collects Income Taxes.” Thousands of copies of his books were sold before there were banned. For years, Schiff has been promoting his ‘voluntary’ income tax theory through seminars, radio shows, and his book and publications.

“Zero Return”

Irwin Schiff asserts that wages and salaries of American workers could not be taxed because they did not fall within the constitutional meaning of the term “income.” Based on his theory, he has been teaching thousands of people to file “Zero Return” which reports zeroes on every line of a federal income tax return related to incomes and expenses. In fact, Schiff had been filing his own “Zero Return” for years1987 through 2002.

A Long Fight

Since 1962, Irwin Schiff has fought long and hard in courts to defense his theory. At the age of 77, this is the third time Schiff was convicted. Critics have been questioning whether it was possible for Schiff to have a fair trial.