The issue of income tax continues to hound Mitt Romney’s campaign. Last Thursday he decided to deal with the issue head on. He declared that paying taxes was in his view a violation of his constitutional and religious rights. He further noted that from time to time he has paid taxes but it more in the spirit of philanthropy and not as taxes which he strongly opposes.
Mitt Romney claims that he contributes a substantial amount of money to the Mormon church and therefore he should not have to pay taxes because it is against his religious beliefs. He emphasized that the First Amendment of the constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” According to Mr Romney, it is therefore clear that he should not have to pay taxes. He disagrees with the Supreme Court’s assertion that a person’s religious beliefs provide no basis for refusing to pay taxes.
Mitt Romney noted that in addition to the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution states that a person shall not be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Once again Mr Romney does not agree with the Supreme Court because it is not able to recognize the importance of the Fifth Amendment.
Futhermore, the 13th Amendment prohibits slavery (as well as the imposition of involuntary servitude). Paying taxes in Mitt Romney’s view is forced servitude although the courts have consistently found that paying taxes is not considered forced servitude.
IRS has however informed Mr Romney that it does provide payment plans for taxpayers who find themselves significantly impaired financially. Mr Romney has been advised to use one of the IRS payment plans.
