America: Freedom to Fascism is a 2006 film Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the United States and Canada in 2006. The top ten films of 2006, by worldwide gross in $USD, as well as the US & Canada, UK, and Australia grosses, are as follows: by Aaron Russo Aaron Russo was an American entertainment businessman, filmmaker, libertarian political activist, and a 9/11 truth activist. He was best-known for producing Trading Places, Wise Guys, and The Rose. Later in life he created the documentaries Mad as Hell, which calls into question the current state of governmental affairs and America: Freedom to, which alleges among a variety of claims that income tax is illegal.
This documentary covers many subjects, including: the Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and the interpretation and enforcement of the IRC (Internal Revenue Code) (IRS), the income tax The federal government of the United States imposes a progressive tax on the taxable income of individuals, partnerships, companies, corporations, trusts, decedents' estates, and certain bankruptcy estates. Some state and municipal governments also impose income taxes. The first Federal income tax was imposed during the Civil War, then again in, Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created in 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, and was largely a response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907. Over time, the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System have expanded and its structure, national ID There is no true national identity card in the United States of America, in the sense that there is no federal agency with nationwide jurisdiction that directly issues such cards to all American citizens. All legislative attempts to create one have failed due to tenacious opposition from liberal and conservative politicians alike, who regard the cards (REAL ID Act The REAL ID Act of 2005 is U.S. federal law that imposes certain security, authentication, and issuance procedures standards for the state driver's licenses and state ID cards, for them to be accepted by the federal government for "official purposes", as defined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Currently, the Secretary of Homeland), human-implanted RFID Radio-frequency identification is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader tags (Spychips), Diebold electronic voting machines,[1] globalization Globalization describes a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of communication, transportation, and trade. The term is sometimes used to refer specifically to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign, Big Brother Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, explaining that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists, criminals, or political subversives and to maintain social control, taser weapons abuse, and the alleged use of terrorism by government as a means to diminish the citizens' rights.
The film's claims about the illegality of the income tax in the United States have been critiqued as factually incorrect by some reviewers.[2] The film has, however, developed a strong following.
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Federal Reserve System issues and interviews in the film
The film spends a fair amount of time examining the Federal Reserve System, including its genesis and functions. The film asserts that the Federal Reserve System is a system of privately held, for profit corporations, not a government agency, and was commissioned to print fiat money The term derives from the Latin fiat, meaning "let it be done", as the money is established by government decree. Where fiat money is used as currency, the term fiat currency is used. Today, most national currencies are fiat currencies, including the US dollar, the euro, and all other reserve currencies, and have been since the Nixon on behalf of the federal government, at a fee ultimately paid for by the personal income tax (through service on bond interest). The film also refers to the fact that the United States dollar is not backed by gold, and claims that this means the dollar has no real backing other than future income tax payments. Consequently, the film proposes, Federal Reserve Notes represent debt instead of wealth.
According to the film, the Federal Reserve System operates by manipulation of what is sometimes referred to as the business cycle The term business cycle refers to economy-wide fluctuations in production or economic activity over several months or years. These fluctuations occur around a long-term growth trend, and typically involve shifts over time between periods of relatively rapid economic growth (expansion or boom), and periods of relative stagnation or decline ( of economic expansion and retraction by putting new notes into circulation to increase the ease of obtaining credit, which devalues the currency, then compounds inflation by increasing interest (prime) rates. This manipulation, according to the film, is responsible for a 96% devaluation of American currency since it was made possible to increasingly sever the link with gold backing by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The film says that this process of creating new money and adding it to the money supply is known as debasement and is a cause of inflation. In this way, the film asserts that the Federal Reserve System simultaneously controls the supply of money and its value.
The central thesis of the film may be that this monetary policy is the strongest form of governance that has ever existed, and is central to the unconstitutional, global power ambitions of the interests that supposedly control the Federal Reserve System.
The film also asserts that the private interests it claims are controlling the Federal Reserve System have been present for generations. According to the film, however, most Americans are kept ignorant of how the Federal Reserve operates through actions of corrupt politicians and an increasingly centralized media. By using what the film calls legalistic and economic "mumbo-jumbo” terms such as 'monetizing the debt' or ‘adjusting monetary policy for increased fluidity of credit’, these interests, according to the film, conceal the true actions of the Fed behind veils of legitimacy.
The argument made in the film is that there is no reason why the Federal Reserve System should have a monopoly on the U.S. money supply. The film asserts that, “America got along just fine before the Federal Reserve came into existence” (which, in the film maker's view, leads to the question of why the Federal Reserve System was created).
The film contends that the U.S. Congress has no control or oversight over the Fed, and hence has no control over the value of U.S. money. The film argues that Congressional control over the value of money is required by Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. The phrase in question (clause 5) states that the United States Congress shall have the power "To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin..."
The film includes a call to action to abolish the Federal Reserve. In 2007, the Boston Globe The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993. Its chief print rival is the Boston Herald. In 2009–2010 the Globe's average weekday circulation fell to 232,432, down from 302,638, or 23.2%. Sunday circulation fell 18.8% to 378,949 stated that Congressman Ron Paul Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician and Republican Congressman for the 14th congressional district of Texas. Paul is a member of the Liberty Caucus of Republican congressmen which aims to limit the size and scope of the federal government, and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, and, "says he doesn't agree with all the film's arguments, but he says the film had 'a huge impact' on the support his campaign is drawing"[3], a reference to Paul's presidential bid in 2007 and 2008.
Federal income tax issues and interviews in the film
Through interviews with various individuals including former IRS agents, Russo sets forth the tax protester argument Tax protester arguments are a number of objections raised by individuals who deny that a person has a legal obligation to pay a tax for which the United States government has determined that person is liable that, "there is no law requiring an income tax", and that the personal income tax is illegally enforced to support the activities of the Federal Reserve System.
One of the listed stars of the film, Irwin Schiff Irwin A. Schiff is a prominent figure in the tax protester movement. Schiff is known for writing and promoting literature that claims the United States income tax is applied incorrectly. He has lost several civil cases against the federal government and has a record of multiple convictions for various federal tax crimes. Schiff is serving a 13-, was sentenced on February 24, 2006 to 13 years and 7 months in prison for tax evasion and ordered to pay over $4.2 million in restitution.[4] In pre-sentencing documents filed with the court, Schiff's lawyers had argued that he had a mental disorder related to his beliefs about taxation.[5] Initially, the film portrays Mr. Schiff as a tax expert, though his qualifications and those of many other individuals in the film are not mentioned. Later in the film, Russo reveals that Schiff has gone to jail.
Mr. Schiff appears in the film for another reason as well. The filmmaker lampoons Judge Kent Dawson's Kent J. Dawson is a United States District Court Judge in the District of Nevada, having been appointed to that position by President Bill Clinton on April 6, 2000, confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2000, and receiving his commission on May 31, 2000. Dawson's appointment, along with that of Roger Hunt, filled two seats created by 113 reaction to Schiff's defense. The film alleges that the judge "denied Irwin the ability to prove to a jury that there was no law requiring Americans to file an income tax return. He denied Irwin the right to attempt to prove to a jury there was no law . . . by stating, 'I will not allow the law in my courtroom.'" At 0:48:28 of the film, Mr. Russo introduces the judge and his statement.
Under the U.S. legal system, the general rule (with exceptions) is that neither side in a civil or criminal case is allowed to try to prove to the jury what the law is. For example, in a murder case the defendant is not generally allowed to persuade the jury that there is no law against murder, or to try to interpret the law for the jury. Likewise, the prosecution is not allowed to try to persuade the jury about what the law is, or how it should be interpreted. Disagreements about what the law is are argued by both sides before the judge, who then makes a ruling. Prior to jury deliberations, the judge, and only the judge, instructs the jury Jury instructions are the set of legal rules that jurors should follow when the jury is deciding a civil or criminal case. Jury instructions are given to the jury by the judge, who usually reads them aloud to the jury. They are often the subject of discussion by attorneys on both sides in the case and the judge in order to make sure their on the law.[6]
Another listed star, Vernice Kuglin, was acquitted in her criminal trial for tax evasion in August 2003.[7] This means she was not found guilty of a willful intent to evade income taxes. (A conviction for tax evasion requires, among other things, proof by the government that the defendant engaged in one or more affirmative acts of misleading the government or of hiding income.) Kuglin's acquittal did not relieve her of liability for the taxes.[8] Kuglin entered a settlement with the government in 2004 in which she agreed to pay over $500,000 in taxes and penalties.[9] On April 30, 2007, the Memphis Daily News reported that Kuglin's Federal tax problems continued with the filing of a notice of Federal tax lien in the amount of $188,025. The Memphis newspaper also stated that Kuglin has "given up her fight against paying taxes, according to a Sept. 10, 2004, Commercial Appeal story."[10]
The preview clip for the film includes assertions contradicted by official government publications regarding the activities and nature of such institutions as the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve System[11]
Constitutional Arguments
Fifth Amendment
Russo's argument using the Fifth Amendment The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215. For instance, grand juries and the phrase "due process" both trace their origin to the goes as follows:
- Premise 1: The government can criminally prosecute someone and put one in jail for information one puts on one's 1040 tax form.
- Premise 2: The fifth amendment says one does not have to do something that incriminates oneself.
- Conclusion: Since filing a 1040 incriminates oneself, filing a 1040 therefore violates one's fifth amendment rights.
Though the second premise is not completely correct, the main source of error lies in the first premise. If one truthfully reports one's income, one does not incriminate oneself in the commission of a crime.[12] [13]However, falsely reporting one's income is itself the commission of a crime. Put another way, the fifth amendment protects one from incriminating oneself if testifying truthfully will incriminate oneself in the commission of a crime. It does not offer a provision for lying.[14]
The fifth amendment does, however, allow oneself to withhold the source of the income if doing so will incriminate oneself in the commission of a crime.[15] One must still truthfully report the amount of the income.
Sixteenth Amendment
The film refers to both article 1 section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which grants Congress the right to impose taxes, and disputes the legitimacy of the Sixteenth Amendment The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on Census results. This amendment exempted income taxes from the constitutional requirements regarding direct taxes, after income taxes on rents, dividends, and interest were ruled to be direct (see Tax protester Sixteenth Amendment arguments Tax protester Sixteenth Amendment arguments are assertions that the imposition of the U.S. federal income tax is illegal because the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was never properly ratified, or that the amendment provides no power to tax income. Proper ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment is disputed by tax protesters), which removes any apportionment requirement.
Other issues related to taxes
Some of the premises of the film include:
- The Federal Reserve System is unconstitutional and has maxed out the national debt Government debt is money (or credit) owed by any level of government; either central government, federal government, municipal government or local government. The annual government deficit, however, refers to the difference between government receipts and spending and bankrupted Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a business or corporate debtor in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring. In the majority of cases, however, bankruptcy is initiated by the United States government.
- Federal income taxes were imposed in response to, or as part of, the plan implementing the Federal Reserve System.
- Federal income taxes are unconstitutional or otherwise legally invalid.
- The use of the Federal income tax to counter the economic effects of the Federal Reserve System is futile.
The filmmaker's personal views on taxes
As of late July 2006, Aaron Russo's biography on his website for the film stated: "The film is an exposé of the Internal Revenue Service, and proves conclusively there is no law requiring an American citizen to pay a direct unapportioned Tax on their labor." [9][16]
The New York Times article of July 31, 2006 states that when Mr. Russo asked IRS spokesman Anthony Burke (who according to the article was credited by Russo in the film) for the law requiring payment of income taxes on wages and was provided a link to various documents including title 26 of the United States Code The United States Code is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal law of the United States. It contains 50 titles and is published every six years by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives (the Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code is the main body of domestic statutory tax law of the United States organized topically, including laws covering the income tax (see Income tax in the United States), payroll taxes, gift taxes, estate taxes and statutory excise taxes. The Internal Revenue Code is published as Title 26 of the United States Code (USC), and), filmmaker Russo denied that title 26 was the law, contending that it consisted only of IRS "regulations" and had not been enacted by Congress. The article reports that in an interview in late July 2006, Russo claimed he was confident on this point. In the United States "statutes" are enacted by Congress, and "regulations" are promulgated by the executive branch of government to implement the statutes. The statutes are found in the United States Code; and the regulations are found in the Code of Federal Regulations The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. The CFR is published by the Office of the Federal Register, an agency of the. The Treasury regulations to which Mr. Russo may have been referring are found at title 26 ("Internal Revenue") of the Code of Federal Regulations The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. The CFR is published by the Office of the Federal Register, an agency of the [10], not title 26 of the United States Code.[17] The argument that the Internal Revenue Code is not law, the argument that the Internal Revenue Code is not "positive law," and variations of these arguments, have been officially identified as legally frivolous Federal tax return positions for purposes of the $5,000 frivolous tax return penalty imposed under Internal Revenue Code section 6702(a).[18]
The article also discloses that Russo had over $2 million of tax liens A tax lien is a lien imposed by law upon a property to secure the payment of taxes. A tax lien may be imposed for delinquent taxes owed on real property or personal property, or as a result of failure to pay income taxes or other taxes filed against him by the Internal Revenue Service, the state of California, and the state of New York for unpaid taxes. In an interview with the New York Times; however, Russo refused to discuss the liens, saying they were not relevant to his film.[19]
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A U.S. Government Accountability Office report says Planned Parenthood Federation of America cannot find some $1.3 billion given to it by the federal government from 2002 through 2008. . ... Aaron Russo - . America. : . Freedom To Fascism. ...
