Not A Joke
Happy Fool's day… I only wish this was a joke:
Thanks, Senator Harry Reid… so… what you're saying is that as long as we do exactly what we're told to do, whatever “choice” we make is voluntary? That's great logic. I can see why you're a Senator! I'll be sure to remember that I'm voluntarily signing over 30% of my income on the 15th.. that should make it easier.
“Humor” aside… It's important to remember that every government mandate of every flavor is backed up with force AND violence….. BY DEFINITION! This is by necessity, obviously. No government can function if you can just say “no” and they have no recourse… It's patently false and utterly insulting for a government official to state that our tax system is voluntary. A quick google search yields plenty of counter evidence.. here's a good one.
It is true that the IRS frequently states that it relies on the “voluntary compliance” of taxpayers. But anyone who relies on that to say that the income tax is voluntary is confusing two different things: the duty to pay the tax and the method of enforcing that duty relied upon by the IRS.
It seems like this aught to be common knowledge to one of the 100 US Senators… maybe we should have a test or something… No Senator Left Behind.