After 2 years of research on his own time and at his own expense, while daily performing his criminal investigation duties, Joe gathered and tested enough evidence to support at least a preliminary conclusion not only that (1) the IRS was administering and enforcing the income tax laws beyond the parameters of the laws passed by Congress and signed by the President and (2) beyond the parameters laid down by the U.S. Supreme Court but also that (3) the IRS’s own internal procedures, manuals and literature itself indicated the IRS was knowingly deceiving the American public about the scope of its true income tax authority.
Joe attempted to get answers to these and other questions directly from his IRS supervisors and later by contacting U.S. Department of Justice officials as well as traveling numerous times to Washington, D.C. with other concerned citizens to contact executive, legislative and judicial branch officials directly.
Instead of receiving answers to his sincerely conceived and formulated questions and concerns from his IRS supervisors, they instead refused to answer him and encouraged him to resign. Joe did resign from the IRS on February 25th, 1999 after delivering a blistering resignation letter addressed to the IRS Commissioner.
After resigning from the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Joe joined with Robert "Bob" Schulz, founder of the We The People Foundation For Constitutional Education, as well as other concerned former IRS agents, lawyers, CPAs, medical doctors and law-abiding, hard-working Americans from every state, to directly seek redress of grievances relating to the federal income tax system. Bob Schulz spent thousands of hours of his own time spearheading an effort to get answers from the government officials responsible for the administration and enforcement of the federal income tax system. These efforts, most frequently convened in Washington, D.C., utilized full page ads in national newspapers, protests, meetings with officials in each of the three branches of the federal government, a hunger fast, and an attempted congressional hearing.
The IRS and the U.S. Department of Justice retaliated against Joe in several ways but the most egregious attack was orchestrating a federal indictment criminally charging Joe with 4 federal felonies. The indictment had a devastating impact on his family and caused great strain and suspicion in the Banister family's network of friends, parishioners and acquaintances, so much so that Joe felt compelled to write a letter to the parents of his younger son's elementary school classmates. Joe and the defense team he assembled knew the charges were bogus but nevertheless federal prosecutors are notorious for getting convictions regardless of the merits of their case. After an incredible court battle at the federal courthouse in Sacramento, California, Joe was deservedly acquitted of all charges.
Even jurors who were interviewed after the trial expressed incredulity that federal prosecutors would even bring such a case to trial, that the focus of the case was Joe's credibility and belief in the truthfulness of his actions and said they didn't find any dishonesty or deceitfulness in Joe's conduct as portrayed in the prosecution's case. One juror commented, "I looked at the case and asked myself, what the hell is going on here - there's no case!" and the other commented,
"I think the government's evidence actually worked against them."
Why is the federal government so driven to discredit and silence Joe, even to the point of bringing bogus criminal charges against him? Read on for a summary of facts the federal government would prefer the American people never learn.
Internal IRS charts and department explanations reveal an interesting chain of command for typical IRS departments having contact with the public. Why is IRS authority for Americans living and working abroad explicitly described yet silent on authority for Americans living and working in the Unites States Of America?
Learn MoreThe American People Have Been Deceived As To What "Income" Is - The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled dozens of times that the term “income” has a specific constitutional meaning, which is quite different from the average American's understanding of the term "Income."
Learn MoreFederal tax laws follow a distinctive pattern: a tax is imposed and a person is designated as the responsible party to pay the tax that is imposed. Being designated in the law as the person responsible for paying a particular tax imposed is called being made liable for the tax. This dual tax imposition and tax liability pattern is followed over and over again in federal tax law, yet ordinary Americans living and working in the United States of America have never been made liable for the federal income tax. What is the reason, then, that in the more than 100 years since the 16th Amendment was conceived, Congress has had plenty of time and opportunity to pass a law and send it to the President's desk making the average American living and working in the United States liable to pay the federal income tax and yet no such law is found in the Internal Revenue Code? If being liable for the federal income tax is not is not a critical legal component of owing the federal income tax, why has the IRS made sure to state in the Form 1040 Instruction booklet and elsewhere since the 1970s that Americans must file a return or statement with the IRS for “any tax you are liable for”?
Learn MoreAll pages on this site are copyrighted by Joseph Banister.
Disclaimer All information regarding the Federal Income Tax is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be applied to your individual tax situation without doing your own independent research and consulting with your legal counsel and/or tax professional. This website is not an official government website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with any government agency. The views and opinions expressed on this site are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of any government entity. The use of government badges, logos, or seals on this site is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any official status. The individual featured on this website is a former government agent and is no longer an active employee of any government agency.
