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Tax Freedom - A Personal Odyssey

The road to freedom is sometimes treacherous,
but armed with knowledge, and the will to survive,
the Citizen can pursue Happiness in his own way.


Brad Barnhill
The publisher of this document hereby exercises his First Amendment rights.

Let's all get this straight.  I am NOT a tax protester!

I have studied the IRC.
It is really a tax on foreigners doing business in the United States,
or for U.S. citizens working abroad in countries where we have a tax treaty.

I agree with all of this, so there is nothing to protest.

Along the way, I have found many paths which dance around the real issues.
I hope this Odyssey helps you follow my same path without stepping into the same pitfalls.


This publication is dedicated to my children, so that they do not have to grow up in ignorance as has their old man.
20 Nov 1996 Every government is run by liars and nothing they say should be believed.
     -- Will Rogers

While reading usenet posts on alt.libertarian, I came across a thread stating that TAXES ARE YOUR MONEY.  Within this thread, I found an article which asked:  What kind of Citizen are you?  Are you a state Citizen protected by the Constitution, or are you a U.S. citizen, subject to any and all laws passed by Congress?  It listed a URL which I followed to a site which said I did not have to pay federal income tax unless I:  1) Work for the federal government, 2) Live in Washington, D.C., the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its trust territories or possessions (the Federal Zone), or 3) Have income from a corporation chartered in the Federal Zone.

I said to myself, "Gee, none of that applies to me, I better look into this."

Note:  I now believe that this is inaccurate.  The IRC applies to foreigners (non-resident aliens) doing business in America, and American citizens working abroad in a country which has a tax treaty with the United States.

21 Nov 1996
    to
19 Dec 1996
If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master.  The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual.
     - The Dosadi Lesson:  A Gowachin Assessment
        (Frank Herbert, 'The Dosadi Experiment')

I followed all the links I could find.
I learned that there are not one but three legal meanings for the metaphor "United States".  I learned that there are two sets of laws depending on the "United States" to which you refer.  I learned that wages are not "income", as described in 26 CFR (the Internal Revenue Code)  I learned that the 14th Amendment and the 16th Amendment to the Constitution may not even have been Constitutionally ratified. The 14th was "approved" by the legislatures of most of the states during wartime. The 16th was "approved" on the say-so of the Secretary of State at that time, and that at least two of the states he listed as having passed the legislation, in truth did not (Illinois and Kentucky).
I even spoke to my lawyer.  He told me that he really did not have expertise on this, but gave me the number for the Virginia Lawyer's Referral Service. I asked my lawyer, and a friend who is a lawyer what they knew about the guy to whom I was referred, and they told me he was a "boob", and I would probably get only $25 dollars worth of free advise from him.  There being no real professional "expert" available, I decided that I was NOT a U.S. Citizen, and to proceed along those lines.

Note:  It appears that a U.S. citizen is different and distinct from a citizen of the United States.  I still have no authoritative citation on whether a citizen of the United States is the same as a Citizen of the United States of America.  Until I see otherwise, I am proceeding along the lines that I am neither a
U.S. citizen nor a citizen of the United States.  Rather I am a Citizen of the United States of America, or a Citizen of the states United.

20 Dec 1996 I broke down and ordered 'Vultures in Eagle's Clothing', and 'How to Cook a Vulture' by Lynne Meredith.  Together, they cost me $90.00 from We the People in Huntington Beach, California.  Also, I wrote to Mitch Modeleski in San Rafael, California, ordering a copy of 'The Federal Zone', and asking permission to use portions of his web published book.  I sent Mitch a check for $65.00.  I felt this was a small price to pay for freedom from the IRS.

Note:  The check and letter were returned with no forwarding address.
I later found 'Mitch' as Paul Andrew Mitchell at Supreme Law Library.
This is a very good site.

21 Dec 1996
    to
25 Dec 1996
"The more control, the more that requires control.  This is the road to chaos."
     -- PanSpeci aphorism (Frank Herbert, 'The Dosadi Experiment')

Here is what I have to do to become a Sovereign Citizen:
  • Change my withholding statement by filing an amended or substitute W-8.
  • Rescind my Socialist Insecurity number (SIN).
  • Rescind my Birth Certificate from Kansas as it states I am a U.S. citizen.  My parents unknowingly delivered me into a government trust and collateralized me against the National Debt.
  • Rescind my voter registration as it states I am a U.S. citizen.  I will later reapply and amend the form so I do not state this status.
  • Replace my driver's license as it has my SIN attached.  I can reapply and get them to issue me one without a SIN on it.
  • File an amended W-8 with all my bank accounts, creditors, and the credit bureaus, as they have my SIN on file.
  • Stop using the federal form of the address:
    NAME
    ADDRESS
    CITY, ST ZIPCODE
    and start using my Citizen's address:
    Name
    c/o Domicile
    City, State
    united States of America
    non-domestic [ZIPCODE]
Some Sovereigns argue that any form of registration is unnecessary.  There are those that go so far as to create a Citizen's ID on their own.  I guess I am not quite that paranoid.

26 Dec 1996 Received 'How to Cook a Vulture'.  What a Christmas present from myself for my family!  I figure this is worth $900 a month in extra wages no longer being withheld.  What could I do with that?  I could give $300 per month to charities in my community and make a real difference!  I could save more for my retirement, and not have to look to bankrupting my children paying my Socialist Insecurity!  I could invest into gold and silver United States legal tender, and protect my emergency fund from inflation.

Note'Vultures' improperly tells you to declare yourself a Non-Resident Alien.  This is most definately not what you want to do.  The rest of the information is good, and I have yet to find another source for it.

27 Dec 1996
    to
30 Dec 1996
I worked literally night and day on researching and composing the documents to change my withholding
(I have been on vacation since 15 Dec).  I am ready to go in to work and file the W-8, when lo and behold the first setback:  In the General Instructions on the back of the W-8, I find this:
Note: If you are a nonresident alien individual married to a U.S. citizen or resident and have made an election under section 6013(g) or (h), you are treated as a U.S.resident and may not use form W-8.
IRC 6013 has do do with married persons filing jointly. After looking it over carefully, as long as Cindy files "Married filing Separately", then there is no problem.

31 Dec 1996 I went to the office to file my substitute W-8.  I thought that the person in Payroll was a Notary, but she was not.  I went to my bank and had two copies notarized, and went back to the office.  After getting a receipt for the W-8's, I was told that they would be forwarded to the main office in Dayton, and if they had any questions, they would call me. 

 1 Jan 1997 I took the day off.

 2 Jan 1997 I went to the local voter registration office to rescind my voter registration.  They had a form!  I filled it out and added a note that they should be sure to remove my SIN from their files.  Then I asked how long before it would take effect, so I could re-register.

They were incredulous!  They asked if I was just changing my address, and I answered, No.  I told them that I realized I was not a U.S. citizen and that I was in the process of rescinding my SIN.  They said that they would not be able to re-register me without a SIN, that it was required.  I asked them to show me this law.  They had the proper statute handy and I read it to them:  "Individuals registering to vote must supply proper identification; their legal name; residence address; Social Security Number, if any; ..."  They agreed from this that a SIN was NOT required.

I also asked if I could register without marking the check box for "U.S. citizen".  They said yes, but that I would be signing the form under penalty of perjury that I was a U.S. citizen.  I showed them the text, and it said that I was swearing under oath that I am a citizen of the United States. 

I explained that I intended to change the small "c" to a large "C" in citizen, and to add the words "of America" to the oath and sign that 'Without prejudice to my inalienable rights, and reserving all of my inalienable rights, UCC 1-207, and UCC 1-103.6.'  They said that should not be a problem, and I left whistling a happy tune.

 3 Jan 1997 I got my 1040 package from the IRS today.  I kidded with Cindy that I would be glad to help her do the taxes this year if she was really, really nice to me.  I noticed that the forms Order Blank on page 39 does not have any of the forms I need to file as a non-resident alien.  After all, I will need to file for a refund to get back my withholding from 1996.  I called 1-800-TAX-FORM and ordered the following forms and publications:
  • Form W-7 - Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
  • Form 1040NR - U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return
  • Form 2555 - Foreign Earned Income
  • Instr 2555 - Instructions for Form 2555
  • Form 9465 - Installment Agreement Request
  • Publication 519 - Publication not mentioned in 1040 Forms and Instructions
    More on this later.

Note:  The crux of Subtitle A (Income tax) of Title 26 (I.R.C.) is that the only "person liable" for the tax is the "Withholding Agent" (section 1446).  Since all of the language states that the "person liable" for the tax is "required to file" a return, only a citizen who is a withholding agent is required to file a return.
Are you a withholding agent?

10 Jan 1997 I have yet to receive my copy of 'Vultures in Eagles Clothing', although my credit card has been charged the entire amount.  I was not notified that there would be a delay in the original shipment.  Repeated calls to their voice mail have not been returned.  I guess I am going to have to return what I have received from We The People and demand a refund.

I found this great site!  This material seems to be much more complete and understandable than any other I have seen to date.  I went ahead and ordered the entire package. 

Sorry, but this link seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth.  If you have information as to where it went, please email me.

Note:  This package is well worth what I paid.  You do, however, need to customize out the references to declaring yourself a non-resident alien.

12 Jan 1997 After three telephone calls to my company's parent corporation, they finally returned my call.  The young man who called said that they would be able to stop the Federal Income Tax withholding, but would not be able to stop my FICA or HDI.  He stated that the company which performs the accounting and payment for payroll, A.D.P., does not have the ability to remove Social Security Numbers, and so could not stop this withholding.  He said that if they do not have a SIN, then I cannot be paid.  I asked who his supervisor was, called her, and left voice mail that this situation was not acceptable. 

13 Jan 1997 I got a call from my parent company's tax department.  He told me that he was not going to honor my W-8 and said he refused to stop any withholding.  I told him that this was not acceptable and that I would appreciate a written reply to my request.  I do not think he is going to comply with my request. 

14 Jan 1997 This package I got from !SOLUTIONS! is terrific.  It includes samples of all of the forms and a disk which has these forms in text format.  

I hurried to put together a substitute W-4 and some supplementary forms to send along with it.  The letter I wrote to the tax department should bear fruit.

15 Jan 1997
    to
30 Jan 1997
I have been working to get the names and addresses for all of the government officials who think they might have "jurisdiction" over me.  I need them so that I can send off a global affidavit defining my status for all to see and warning them that I will not stand for any of their "colorable" law; and that I will sue any government official who attempts to color me with their law. 

22 Jan 1997 I went in to my local voter registrar's office and asked if she could check to see if my earlier registration had been rescinded.  She told me it had been done the day I had filled out the rescission form.  I thanked her for her efficiency and asked if I could now register to vote.  I let her fill out the form, as she seemed to not want me to mess her form all up with my amendments.  She then handed it to me for my signature.  I changed the small 'c' in '...citizen of the United States' to a capital 'C', and added 'of America' above it.  I noted that she did not enter in a SIN, nor did she check the U.S. citizen box.  I noticed that she had printed in 'KS' for state of birth, and told her that I was not born in the federal territory of 'KS' that I was born in Kansas, and asked her to change it.  She did so.  I wrote 'Without Prejudice UCC 1-207' above the signature line and signed it.  She then administered the oath.  I said 'of America' at the proper place and she seemed satisfied.  I am once again a Citizen with the power to affect my government.

31 Jan 1997 I got my last half January paycheck today and they are still withholding.  I know they got my last mailing, as I have the return receipt dated 21 January 1997.  Another setback?  I will wait until mid-February and fry that fish then.

I am getting tired of writing my new form of address, and so have ordered two rubber stamps which I can use to stamp all the official mail I am going to send out next week.

I received my "benefits statement" from the Social Security Administration today.  I have been taxed over $50,000 over the last 25 years!  I will mail off the rescission of my signature on my Social Security Application and demand a refund of these monies when I send off my Declaration of Independence next Wednesday.

 4 Feb 1997 I have prepared all of my forms and have gotten some certified mail receipts and return receipt cards from the U.S.P.S.  I figure I will need about 40 of them. 

When I got home, I found that 'Vultures in Eagles Clothing' had finally arrived!  And only 2 months after I ordered it.  It did, however, have someone's story in it whose situation is similar to mine.  The Patriot actually enlisted the help of the IRS!  I adapted the letter for my purposes, and will send a copy of this to the IRS along with a copy of the original W-8.

Note:  This letter has never been replied to by the I.R.S.  I wonder where they bury these.

I also wrote this letter to Mr. Siscoe and enclosed the IRS letter along with it.

 5 Feb 1997 Today is my Independence Day!

I took my originals over to the copy center and made:

32 of the Declaration of Sovereignty and Independence.  This will be mailed to the service list I have been accumulating.  I took two friends of mine to lunch and had them Common Law witness my signature on these.  We had a Freedom Party!

8 copies of my Social Security Application rescission and request for refund.  I sent this to 4 principles from the service list (including the two Attorneys General) as well as to Newt Gingrich (Speaker of the House), The Federal Reserve Bank, Inc., the Department of Health and Human Services, and to the Social Security Administrator.

3 copies of a notice of Revocation of signature on IRS forms filed in the past to the Local, District, and Regional IRS Directors.

4 Copies of a supporting Declaration, and an Amendment to be filed in my Individual Master File, sent to the District and Regional Directors, and to the District Disclosure Officer and to the IRS Service Center.

 7 Feb 1997 This is now just a waiting game.
I wait for them to reply so I can continue.
I wait for them to not reply and acquiesce to my demands.
In the meantime, I will keep track of the proof of service.

28 Feb 1997 My first government response.
Today I received a letter from the General Registrar denying my Application for Voter Registration. 
Finally, I get to test my Sovereignty.  Here is my PETITION FOR APPEAL.
I have to file it within ten days.  I put out a call to all Patriots to help me further prepare it.

 1 Mar 1997
    to
 9 Mar 1997
Over the last 10 days, I have been working diligently to perfect my Appeal.  I have received various kinds of help from various groups. 

Let me tell you about the various theories I have found.

One thinks that this country is only free for the progeny of the original "We the People...", meaning only the White people in America.  I had to reject this, because I firmly believe that all natural born state Citizens are eligible to reclaim their birthright.  This would have to include any progeny of any immigrant group.  This same group believes we are still living under martial law from the Civil War, and that the Buck Act of 1940, just codified it.  I agree that we are living within a federal jurisdiction so long as we do not directly challenge it.   But I postulate that we can also live within the republic if we so choose. 

I have found several groups which want to withdraw from society, and build a free society in the midst of all this corruption we find ourselves in.  Although this is noble, I still think that it is still OUR right to live our lives under whatever form of government we choose.  And we do not even need everyone else to come along.  If we assert our rights under the Constitution, and demand a Constitutional jurisdiction whenever hauled into court, I think we can prevail.

Another thinks that you "color" yourself with statutory law by registering to vote.  I discard this as every state Citizen is guaranteed not only the right to vote, but the right to vote under a republican (NOT the PARTY!) form of government.  I firmly believe that if all who could reclaim their birthright did so, and became a force to be reconned with, we could FORCE the government to allow us to live under the Constitution once again.

10 Mar 1997 Today, I filed my appeal.
It is chancery docket number 97-57 in the Circuit Court for the City of Charlottesville.  I want to thank Paul Mitchell, Robert Wangrud, and the folks from the Liberty Round Table.  I want to especially thank Rusty Lee, with whom I sparred and came to realize my true intent in this Odyssey:
To find the way to make this country free again.
Not for myself, but for my children.


23 Mar 1997 I have been watching the construction in progress of the Free World Order site.  There is a lot of very good information here.

This link took me to Save-a-Patriot.  Highly recommended.
I ordered Save-a-Patriot's Employer Termination of W-4 agreement for F$30.

28 Mar 1997 Receive the package from R-SAFE (Save-a-Patriot).  This package is a very comprehensive and useful set of documents to get your employer to stop withholding.  I retyped the forms, inserting my specific information.  Unfortunately, I will be unable to mail it until I return from a 50-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail I begin tomorrow.

 7 Apr 1997 Mailed off the package to Tim Siscoe (does he even read this stuff?).  I gave him a generous 10 business days to reply with the statutory authority to continue withholding.  I also copied my manager and the General Manager of the company.

13 Apr 1997 I kept my promise to Cindy and helped her fill out her income tax returns.  We originally gave her all of the itemized deductions, but this lowered her purported adjusted gross income below zero.  She filed as single, so I would not have to put a Socialist Insecurity Number or any other taxpayer ID number on the return for myself.  She thinks this will call less attention to her return.  We decided that she should use the standard deduction for a single person, and she claimed the twins as exemptions, but left my older son off.  This way he can keep from using his Socialist Insecurity number if he wishes.

14 Apr 1997 Through information found through Save-a-Patriot, I found that the Socialist Insecurity rescission is not effective unless I notify the Secretary of the Treasury.  This makes sense since who else would have the money to refund from the original fraudlent collections?  Today, I mailed off this letter to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Also, I wanted to ensure that my credit union was appraised of this situation.  I cannot afford to lose any funds due to an improper Notice of Levy, so I wrote the President of the credit union this letter.

15 Apr 1997 I mailed Cindy's returns using certified mail, return receipt requested.
You can guess whether or not I filed a return.  Hint:  Am I a person liable and so required to file?

21 Apr 1997 I have waited and waited for action on my Petition for Appeal of Denial of Virginia Voter Registration.  I wrote the following letter and hand delivered it to the Clerk of Court.  I asked him to sign and date a copy as a receipt, and you should have seen him jump back!  It was as though I had asked him to sign a resignation of his cushy job!

22 Apr 1997 I got some tapes in the mail from Save-a-Patriot.  They try to debunk all of the "14th Amendment", "U.C.C.", and "common law courts", material I have been looking over.  I am not sure what to go with.  Obviously, there are two sets of laws for citizens, as Congress has been busting the 2nd Amendment for years now.  Ditto for the 4th Amendment to combat the "War on Drugs".  If all of the laws apply, even to state Citizens, then how does Congress get away with this?  There is some very good information about the IRC here, and all of it demonstrably exorcizes the IRC demons.  These guys even have Larry Becraft with them!

23 Apr 1997 What's that about the "sqeaky wheel?"  I received notice today that the Voter Registration hearing has been scheduled for 7 May 1997

28 Apr 1997 Today I received a reply from the Credit Union regarding the constructive notice I sent last week.  They were not very enamoured about my position.

29 Apr 1997 I sent this letter in reply to the Credit Union, and called my mortgage company and my timeshare mortgage company to stop their automatic payments from my account.  I also wrote to the payroll department to tell them that tomorrow's check will be the last automatic deposit.  I will henceforth conduct my business in federal reserve accounting unit devices (F.R.A.U.D.) and Postal Money Order.

 2 May 1997 I went in to speak to the Human Resources director today at the office.  I wanted to sound him out as to whether or not I could be terminated over filing a civil suit to recover "property taken without due process."  He said that he had a message from the Legal Department regarding my last salvo of filings.
He said that there would be a written answer soon.  Dare I hope? 

Also, I filed this motion to treat the Registrar's answer (still forthcoming I assume) via the Commonwealth's Attorney, as "taken as confession" along with the Order for voiding the Registrar's Letter of Revocation of Voter Registration.  This means that as the Registrar has not answered my petition within the requisite 21 days (Virginia Court Rule 2:12), that they not be allowed to file any pleadings or appear, and treat this as if they do not dispute my facts.  I have already contracted a court reporter, so I will post the transcript of the trial later.

 7 May 1997 My case was heard today.
I lost my case, but have learned alot.
I learned that one should be careful about applying the Privacy Act, P.L. 93-579 {5 CRF 522(a)}.   There is a grandfather clause which permits the states to require an SSN if the State law which required it was enacted prior to some date in the early 70's.  (I will look this up and include it later)
I learned that I get farther along if I follow procedures.  I could have won but made a mistake.
Essentially, here's what happened.
My daughter was playing a varsity soccer match at another high school, and I wept the entire way to the field.  I put myself together and prepared to face the world.  I was OK until they played the National Anthem.  You see, I normally sing it.  I am the only person on the planet that I know who does.
I could not form the words.

 8 May 1997 I was so broken up, I could not go to work.  I called the office and told my manager that I was "sick at heart."  She said, "Oh, you must have lost your case."
I worked all day on this Supplemental Objection to Order.  I will consult with a friend of mine who was an attorney, and make sure I follow proper procedures to get this reheard locally, or get it fixed up to appeal to the Virginia state supreme Court.

11 May 1997 I got a this reply letter from the credit union.  They do not care to discuss the law, and actually threatened to cut off all accounts excepting the savings account.

13 May 1997 A small victory against the Statists!
My son needed a photo ID for a trip to Toronto.
Yes Virginia, there is no SSN requirement for a "special photo id".
This is a victory for patriots!

23 May 1997 Mr. Holcomb of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles see the light.
His letter promises to set things right within his department.

 8 Jun 1997 WOW!  I got a reply from the tax department at Reed-Elsevier! 
What took them so long to get this back to me?  It is dated 22 May, but I received it only today.  I was very concerned about the part which said that they are going to start withholding at the single - zero exemption rate.  OUCH!

 9 Jun 1997 I called Mr. Fontaine and then sent off this second salvo.

27 Jun 1997 Mr. Fontaine has replied by attempting to turn the tables on me by citing "the written law".  Unfortunately, I am away in New Mexico hiking with with my two sons and seven other Boy Scouts through the beautiful mountains of Philmont Scout Ranch.

11 Jun 1997 When I returned from New Mexico, I could not wait to sink my teeth into Mr. Fontaine's letter.  Here is my reply.

 1 Aug 1997 The clock keeps ticking, and I have had no reply from Mr. Fontaine, so I sent him this reminder.

25 Aug 1997 Mr Fontaine sends me his long-awaited reply.

 8 Sep 1997 Here is my FINAL NOTICE and DEMAND for Mr. Fontaine

20 Oct 1997 I received my first official (looking) correspondence from the I.R.S.
They want to know where my 1040 is.
"Aren't you going to file?"  "Bad, bad things can happen if you don't file..."

I sent copies of this to Save-a-Patriot Fellowship, and within days they sent out a return salvo.

06 Nov 1997 I received what people normally receive from the IRS when they have no record of a return:   The CP-515 computer-generated letter.

I sent copies of this to Save-a-Patriot Fellowship, and within days they sent out a return salvo.

26 Nov 1997 I received the followup to the IRS CP-515:  The CP-518 computer-generated letter.

I sent copies of this to Save-a-Patriot Fellowship, and here is their reply.

06 Dec 1997 I received this very curious letter from the IRS office in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, although the envelope in which it was sent had a return address and postmark from Jacksonville, Florida.

I sent copies of this to Save-a-Patriot Fellowship, and will report the response when I receive it.

17 Dec 1997 I received the dreaded NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY from the District Director's office in Richmond.  This is not supposed to be done unless I request it, or until after the conference we demanded to appeal the "examination".

I sent copies of this to Save-a-Patriot Fellowship, and will report the response when I receive it.

 2 Feb 1998 I went to the bank to cash my paycheck and ran into trouble.
Here is how I handled it.
To be continued...


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