Traficant - why he went down

for the first time I heard his name yesterday, so i did a little digging and below is what I found. He wanted to take out the IRS, so they threw him in jail, I havent researched anything about his case, but my gut tells me thats what happened. Now hes out, i wonder what he will do?

HEADLINE: H.R. 390 - "Burden of Proof upon I.R.S."

On January 4th, 1995 Congressman Traficant (D-Ohio) introduced H.R.390, whose forerunner was H.R. 3261. This could be the most important bill in the 104th session. As of April 7th, H.R. 390 has 268 congressional cosponsors, which is enough to pass it out of the House sending it on to the Senate. Right now the bill needs to get out of hearings, unchanged, and to the floor for a vote. Keep reading and find out why!

It takes an immense amount of courage to introduce a bill of this nature, as the people of America know, "the IRS will get you." Congressman Traficant has personally experienced the wrath of the IRS when he was prosecuted criminally in the mid 1980s. He was acquitted, yet he was left with a large haunting tax bill. This is why. "Tax cases are different from all other types of prosecution in that the criminal enforcement of tax laws is a delicate carefully nurtured showpiece, whose principal function it is to use the approximate 2,000 annual tax prosecutions to maximize deterrent advantage for the more than 100,000,000 taxpayers who finance Government through the voluntary compliance system," Quote from IRS to The Committee on Taxation, General Accounting Office, Washington DC (January 5, 1981).

Most people in America don't understand how difficult an IRS summary proceeding can be, until it happens to them. James Traficant learned by experience and now firmly believes that no American should have to endure such suffering at the hands of the IRS, or any other government agency. Most people say, "Oh it can't be that bad," yet when the IRS destroys your family, reputation, and career, or leaves you to find someway to exist on 104 dollars a week, you will come to the reality that, H.R. 390 definitely needs to become the law of the land. There have been many reported cases of people who have committed suicide, had heart attacks, and nervous break downs, over problems with the IRS, one is then forced to ask, does this tax system appear to be for the good of the people?

What changes does H.R. 390 make in the law? Let us review some of Congressman Traficant's quotes from a press release,

"For too long, Internal Revenue Service employees have operated beyond the intent of the law to collect revenues with little or no recourse for the taxpayer. The sad truth is, many Americans fear their own government, and that is not right. To prevent further abuse of the law, H.R. 390 establishes three safeguards to give the taxpayer added protection.

"Once the IRS decides that a taxpayer has made an error in filing his or her return, there is little recourse. Even if guilt is not proven, the IRS has a multitude of ways to pressure taxpayers to succumb to the agents' wishes. To make matters more difficult, the taxpayer must follow a labyrinth of procedures to prove to the IRS that he or she is innocent of any wrongdoing. This is due to a basic tenet of the American justice system that a defendant is guilty until proven innocent in tax disputes. To correct this inequity in our tax system, H.R. 390 states that any time a tax case involves an alleged fraudulent act by the taxpayer, the burden of proof is on the IRS to provide evidence of wrongdoing.

"H.R. 390 also provides recourse to the taxpayers that have been treated unfairly by the IRS and its agents. Currently, if any officer or employee of the IRS recklessly or intentionally disregards taxpayers' rights, such taxpayers may bring a civil action for damages against the United States. The IRS is liable to the plaintiff for up to $100,000; however, my bill raises this limit to $1,000,000. This amount represents a much greater deterrent and fairly compensates those whose lives have been unjustly ravaged.

"Just as the Internal Revenue Service is liable for any wrongdoing that disregards taxpayers' rights, IRS employees must be held to the same level of integrity and should pay a significant penalty if they break the law. Unquestionably, IRS agents have significant powers that can ruin countless lives, and they must be held accountable for these abhorrent acts. Therefore, my bill allows the court system to assess a monetary penalty to those agents that are found to disregard taxpayers' rights."

CONGRESSMAN TRAFICANT – “TIME TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK”

Congressional Record, Vol. 140, No. 7, Washington, Wed. February 2, 1994: Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, the IRS recently wrongfully accused over 100,000 honest taxpayers of cheating. They said, “No big deal; it was a computer mistake. We apologize.” Maybe in this case I can agree. But, ladies and gentleman, here is the law: When the IRS points an accusatory finger at an American taxpayer, the American taxpayer is guilty and must prove themselves innocent. Unbelievable, disgusting as it is. And the American people keep asking Congress, “How can you allow this, Congress?” My bill, says that when the IRS points an accusatory finger, they have the burden of proof. I say, “Congress, it is time for Congress to give the IRS the finger for a change. It is time to take the country back.”

Those who have experienced the IRS wrath can be very proud of Congressman Traficant. At a time when he could have just ignored us and our problems with the Internal Revenue Service, he did not, Traficant is a true Statesman! Then to top it off, he made extra good on his May 1994 promise and has given us renewed hope by the reintroduction of H.R. 390, with the Burden of Proof and IRC 6001 Amendment. This indeed is extremely well received by the Citizens of America, considering the IRS burden of proof consequence and the constant refusal by the IRS to supply the needed information on the statutes and regulations. Under agency law, IRS § 7801(a) and § 7802(a) gives the IRS primary jurisdiction for information and rulings, which imposes the taxes upon us, only they can answer questions, yet they refuse, leaving the citizens to guess at the law. If we work together, we can solve these past and present IRS problems by the passage of this bill, time is running out!

I reviewed the H.R. 390 March 27th hearings. Testimony was given by attorneys and accountants, who were not in favor of H.R. 390, why? Because it makes less work for them! H.R. 390 is a Citizens bill, which will annually save us millions of dollars in legal fees. If you wish to support this bill, write your Congressman now!
* End of News Release *

104th CONGRESS
1st SESSION H.R. 390

To amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to provide that the burden
of proof shall be on the secretary of the Treasury in all tax cases,
and for other purposes.

________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 4, 1995
Mr. TRAFICANT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means

________________________________________

A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to provide that the burden of proof shall be on the Secretary of the treasury in all tax cases, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in congress assembled,
SECTION 1. BURDEN OF PROOF.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—Chapter 77 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to miscellaneous provi-
sions) is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow-
ing new section:
 

"SEC. 7524. BURDEN OF PROOF.
"Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, in
the case of any court proceeding, the burden of proof with
respect to all issues shall be upon the Secretary."
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for chapter 77 of such Code is amended by adding at the
end thereof the following new item:

"Sec. 7524. Burden of Proof."

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 2. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY REQUIRED TO
SPECIFY, ON REQUEST, REGULATIONS IMPLE- MENTING SPECIFIC TAXES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6001 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 (relating to notice or regulations re-
quiring records, statements, and specific returns) is
amended by inserting "(a) IN GENERAL.—" at the begin-
ning of the first sentence and by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
"(b) REQUESTS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF IMPLE-MENTING REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall identify in
writing the specific kind or type of tax, and its specific
implementing regulations within 14 days, upon the written
request from any person made liable for the payment of
any tax under this title."

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (a) of
section 6001 of such Code, as redesignated by subsection
(a), is amended—
(1) by striking "any tax" in the first sentence
and inserting "any kind or type of tax", and
(2) by striking "he may require" in the second
sentence and inserting "he shall require".
SEC. 3. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON RECOVERY OF CIVIL DAM-
AGES FOR UNAUTHORIZED COLLECTION AC-
TIONS; EXCLUSION OF SUCH DAMAGES FROM
INCOME.
(a) INCREASE IN LIMIT.—Subsection (b) of section
7433 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to
damages) is amended by striking "$100,000" and insert-
ing "$1,000,000".
(b) EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.—Section 7433 of
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
"(e) EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES FROM INCOME.—
Damages awarded under this section shall be excluded
from gross income under this title."
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to actions by officers or employees

4

of the Internal Revenue Service after the date of the en-
actment of this Act.