Tax protester constitutional arguments are assertions that the imposition of the federal
income tax violates the
United States Constitution. These kinds of
tax protester arguments are distinguished from related
statutory arguments and
conspiracy arguments, which presuppose the constitutionality of the income tax. Although the most frequent Constitutional arguments are directed towards the
validity and effect of the Sixteenth Amendment, arguments exist that the income tax violates some other provision of the Constitution; or that some other provision, that would prevent the assessment of the income tax, was ratified but wrongfully excluded from the Constitution. Other constitutional amendment arguments have been raised by tax protesters. Some argue that imposition of the income tax violates the
First Amendment freedom of speech and
freedom of religion. Protesters argue that the income tax violates the
Fifth Amendment right against
self-incrimination, the
Takings Clause, or the right that no person shall be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". Tax protesters have argued that income taxes impose
involuntary servitude in violation of the
Thirteenth Amendment. Some tax protesters argue that Americans are citizens of the individual states as opposed to citizens of the United States, as the
Fourteenth Amendment was not properly ratified. Another argument is a missing amendment to the Constitution, known as the
Titles of Nobility Amendment, which precedes the current Thirteenth Amendment. Another argument raised is that because the federal income tax is
progressive, the discriminations and inequalities created by the tax should render the tax unconstitutional. These arguments have been rejected by the courts. The authority of the federal government has been challenged by protesters, arguing that they should be immune from federal income taxation because they are
sovereign individuals or natural individuals, have not requested a privilege or benefit from the government, or are outside the "federal zone" (
D.C. and various federal enclaves such as military bases). Neither the
U.S. Supreme Court nor any other federal court has ruled that an income tax imposed under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is unconstitutional. Under the Supreme Court ruling in
Cheek v. United States, a defendant in a
tax evasion prosecution who has made arguments that the federal income tax laws are unconstitutional may have the arguments turned against him (or her). Such arguments, even if based on honestly held beliefs, may constitute evidence that helps the prosecutor prove
willfulness, one of the elements of tax evasion.
The following are images from various freedom of speech-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 2Map showing U.S. states where
anti-BDS legislation has passed, is pending, or has failed as of November 2023 (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 3De Schreeuw (The Scream) is a memorial commemorating
Theo van Gogh and a symbol of the freedom of speech. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 4In
Panegyricae orationes septem (1596), Henric van Cuyck, a Dutch Bishop, defended the need for
censorship and argued that
Johannes Gutenberg's printing press had resulted in a world infected by "pernicious lies"—so van Cuyck singled out the
Talmud and the
Qur'an, and the writings of
Martin Luther,
Jean Calvin and
Erasmus of Rotterdam. (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 6This 1688 edition of
Jacobus de Voragine's
Golden Legend (1260) was censored according to the
Index Librorum Expurgatorum of 1707, which listed the specific passages of books already in circulation that required censorship. (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 7Article 299's prosecution have surged during
Erdogan's presidency. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 8Permanent Free Speech Wall in
Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 10Moscow municipal deputy
Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to 7 years in prison under Russia's
war censorship laws for his
anti-war statements in 2022. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 11First page of
John Milton's 1644 edition of
Areopagitica, in which he argued forcefully against the
Licensing Order of 1643 (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 12A map of countries which have lèse-majesté laws as of January 2023 (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 13World map highlighting countries with legislation criminalising
Holocaust denial as of 2025
Countries where Holocaust denial is illegal
Countries where Holocaust denial is illegal when threatening or inciting hatred, discrimination, or violence, or where legality is ambiguous
(from
Freedom of speech)
Image 14A protest outside the
Saudi Arabian Embassy in London against detention of Saudi blogger
Raif Badawi, 2017 (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 15Local issues are often the subject of free speech. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 16The
Bill of Rights 1689 grants the
parliamentary privilege for freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in
Parliament and is still in effect. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 17Title page of
Index Librorum Prohibitorum, or
List of Prohibited Books (Venice, 1564) (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 18Orthodox priest Libor Halík with a group of followers. Halík has been chanting daily for over five years against abortion via megaphone in front of a maternity hospital in
Brno,
Moravia. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 19A map of nations which have
Lèse-majesté laws as of January 2023 (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 20Orator at London's
Speakers' Corner, 1974 (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 21Protesters exercise freedom of speech to hold a vigil in front of the Zimbabwean Embassy in London, 2005. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 22An "unexpurgated" edition of
Lady Chatterley's Lover (1959) (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 23In Brazil,
freedom of assembly and expression are Constitutional rights. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 24Punk band
Visací zámek which composed a popular song "
The President Is a Faggot" about
Václav Klaus, 2003–2013 Czech President (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 25Russian opposition politician
Ilya Yashin was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for discussing the
Bucha massacre in Ukraine on a
YouTube stream. (from
Freedom of speech by country)
Image 26The
Free Speech Flag was created during the
AACS encryption key controversy as "a symbol to show support for personal freedoms". (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 27George Orwell statue at the headquarters of the
BBC. A defence of free speech in an open society, the wall behind the statue is inscribed with the words "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear", words from
George Orwell's proposed preface to
Animal Farm (1945). (from
Freedom of speech)
Image 29Restriction of apostasy by country (2020) (from
Freedom of speech)
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