Thursday, May 25, 2006

The IRS Dies Over Charging San Juan Hill.

Not only will the IRS not be getting Slattery's taxes, but now it must refund over 15 billion dollars in taxes it has collected on a long distance phone calls it has been collecting since the Spanish AmericanWar. Simply , click on the link above to view the news and cases (hat tip Instapundit).

During the Spanish American War a tax was put in that made sure the super rich who owned phones (remember no income tax in those days as it was blessedly unconstitutional) paid their fair share. This was touted as a "temporary tax." It has outlived all but a few people alive as newborns at the time. It has outlasted the Spanish Empire in America, the Austrio-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics, the election of Senators by state legislatures, Jim Crow, the end of horse drawn carriages as a major form of transportation, traditional marriage in Massachusetts, and even the entire century that followed its imposition.

If only my existence on this planet was as temporary. Apparently, there is a legal problem with this tax (the change in technology has altered the billing practices and made the wording non-operational apparently) and so the IRS has lost in five different Circuit Courts. They kept plugging away, but have finally given up. However, because the statute of limitations against the Government is only three years, the damages are limited and you will likely not notice it in your 2006 return.

The "temporary tax" installed to pay off the Spanish American War has recouped the costs of Teddy Roosevelt's excellent Adventure 100 fold since then. Beware "modest tax increases that will only affect the very rich" when they are proposed to pay for the Iraq war or other "emergency" spending.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reading this post, a few thoughts come to mind...
First, as the wife of David Slattery, I would like everyone to know that we, the Slatterys, do, indeed, pay our taxes every year. Most of the time we even receive ridiculously large refunds, which goes to show that our unsophisticated but honest financial management is benefitting the government and fellow citizens more than it should.

I also would like to suggest that the world would be a better place if there were more whimsically-named law firms.

Finally, I wonder what Peep factories produce in the off-season.

Sincerely,
LHS

jjv said...

All I can say is that (kind of Rep) Eleanor Holmes Norton tried the innocent wife dodge too and....oh yea it worked.

Doey Cheatem & How covers the waterfront on whimsy along with Nasty, Brutish and Short.

The Peeps factory is much like Santa's workshop. It must work all year round to produce enough for one day.