History A tax protester, in the United States, is a person who denies that he or she owes a tax based on the belief that the constitution, statutes, or regulations do not empower the government to impose, assess or collect the tax. The tax protester may have no dispute with how the government spends its revenue. This differentiates a tax protester from a America: Freedom to Fascism America: Freedom to Fascism is a 2006 film by Aaron Russo, which alleges among a variety of claims that income tax is illegal The Law that Never Was The Law That Never Was: The Fraud of the 16th Amendment and Personal Income Tax is a 1985 book by William J. Benson and Martin J. "Red" Beckman which claims that the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, commonly known as the income tax amendment, was never properly ratified. In 2007, and again in 2009, Benson's Cheek v. United States Cheek v. United States, 498 U.S. 192 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that a tax protester's belief that he was not violating the Federal tax law based on a misunderstanding caused by the complexity of the tax law itself—if a genuine, good faith, actually held belief—would be a valid defense to charges of tax evasion,
Notable tax protesters 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- Richard Michael Simkanin Richard Michael Simkanin is a tax protester serving a prison sentence after having been convicted on twenty-nine counts of United States federal tax crimes Robert Clarkson Robert Barnwell Clarkson was an American tax protester in South Carolina. Clarkson graduated in 1969 from Clemson University with a bachelor of arts degree in economics. He served as a platoon leader in the Vietnam War. Clarkson graduated from South Carolina Law School in 1974 · Tom Cryer Tommy K. Cryer, also known as Tom Cryer , is an attorney in Shreveport, Louisiana who was charged with and later acquitted of willful failure to file U.S. Federal income tax returns in a timely fashion Vivien Kellems Vivien Kellems, was a Connecticut industrialist who fought the U.S. federal government for over 25 years over withholding under 26 USC §3402, and other aspects of income tax in the United States. She was also a fervent supporter of voting reform and the Equal Rights Amendment Wayne C. Bentson Bentson operated Western Information Network and the Bentson Group until May 1997. He represented himself as a tax expert and told his clients that they did not need to pay federal income tax Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. He has starred in numerous action-adventures, thrillers, and dramatic feature films and is well known for his role as Blade in the Blade trilogy. Snipes formed a production company titled Amen-Ra Films in 1991 and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to develop projects for
Australia There are many forms of taxation in Australia. Individuals and companies in Australia may be required to pay taxes or charges to all levels of government: local, state, and federal governments. Taxes are collected to pay for public services and transfer payments • British Virgin Islands Taxation in the British Virgin Islands is simple by comparative standards; photocopies of all of the tax laws of the British Virgin Islands would together amount to about 200 pages of paper. Taxation in the British Virgin Islands is mostly notable for what is not subject to taxation. The British Virgin Islands has: Canada The level of Taxation in Canada is average among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Approximately 70% of the Canadian government's income comes from taxation, the rest from tariffs, fees, and investments.[citation needed] • China Taxes provide the most important revenue source for the Government of the People's Republic of China. As the most important source of fiscal revenue, tax is a key economic player of macro-economic regulation, and greatly affects China's economic and social development. With the changes made since the 1994 tax reform, China has preliminarily set up • Colombia Taxation in Colombia is determined by the Congress of Colombia, the Departments of Colombia Assemblies and the Municipalities of Colombia councils, which determine what kind of taxes can be levied and which rates can be applied France Taxation in France is determined by the yearly budget vote by the French Parliament, which determines which kinds of taxes can be levied and which rates can be applied • Germany Taxes in Germany—being a Federal Republic—are levied by the Federation , the States (Länder) as well as the Municipalities (Gemeinden). Many direct and indirect taxes exist, whereof income tax and VAT are the most relevant. The German word for tax is die Steuer which originates from the Old High German word stiura meaning help. It should not • Hong Kong Categories: Taxation in Hong Kong | Hong Kong legislation | India Taxes in India are levied by the Central Government and the State Governments. Some minor taxes are also levied by the local authorities such the Municipality or the Local Council • Indonesia Indonesian taxation is based on Article 23A of UUD 1945 , where tax is an enforceable contribution exposed on all Indonesian citizens, foreign nationals and residents who have resided for 120 cumulative days within a twelve month period. Indonesia has a stratification of taxation including Income Tax, Local Tax (Pajak Daerah) and Central • Ireland The system of taxation in the Republic of Ireland is broadly similar to the system of taxation in the United Kingdom Netherlands Some of the most important taxes are that of the income tax , the wage withholding tax (Wet op de loonbelasting 1964), the value added tax (Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968) and the corporate tax (Wet op de vennootschapsbelasting 1969) • New Zealand Taxation in New Zealand is collected at a national level by the Inland Revenue Department on behalf of the Government of New Zealand. National taxes are levied on personal and business income, as well as on the supply of goods and services. There is no capital gains tax, although certain "gains" such as profits on the sale of patent Peru The income tax in Peru is collected by the Superintendencia Nacional de Administración Tributaria, best known as SUNAT. This country uses a system of progressive taxation on personal income, and a flat rate tax on business income • Russia The Russian Tax Code is the primary tax law for the Russian Federation. The Code was created, adopted and implemented in three stages. Part One, enacted July 31, 1998, also referred to as the General Part, regulates relationships among taxpayers, tax agents, tax-collecting authorities and legislators: tax audit procedures, resolution of disputes • Singapore Individual income tax in Singapore forms part of two main sources of income tax in Singapore, the other being corporate taxes on companies. Payable on an annual basis, it is currently based on the progressive tax system , with taxes ranging from 0% to 20% since Year of Assessment 2007. The Year of Assessment (YA) is based on the calendar year Switzerland Taxes in Switzerland are levied by the Swiss Confederation, the cantons and the municipalities. Switzerland is sometimes considered a tax haven due to its general low rate of taxation, its political stability as well as the various tax exemptions or reductions available to Swiss companies doing business abroad, or foreign persons resident in • Tanzania In Tanzania the Income Tax Act, 2004 came into effect in July 2004. This act restructured the income tax system in line with modern requirements and repealed the previous Income Tax Act, 1973. Tax is levied on income from employment, income from business and income from investment. Taxable persons include entities and individuals. An entity can be Thailand • United Kingdom Taxation in the United Kingdom may involve payments to a minimum of two different levels of government: The central government and local government. Central government revenues come primarily from income tax, National Insurance contributions, value added tax, corporation tax and fuel duty. Local government revenues come primarily from grants from United States Taxation in the United States is a complex system which may involve payment to many different levels of government and many methods of taxation. United States taxation includes local government, possibly including one or more of municipal, township, district and county governments. It also includes regional entities such as school and utility, and • European Union Value added tax is similar to a sales tax. It is a tax on the estimated market value added to a product or material at each stage of its manufacture or distribution, ultimately passed on to the consumer. Maurice Lauré, Joint Director of the French Tax Authority, the Direction générale des impôts, was first to introduce VAT on April 10, 1954,
Tax rates around the world Comparison of tax rates around the world is difficult and somewhat subjective. Tax laws in most countries are extremely complex, and tax burden falls differently on different groups in each country and sub-national unit. The lists below give an indication by rank of some raw indicators Tax revenue as % of GDP This article lists countries by total tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product for the listed countries. Three sources are used, one for each column. The tax percentage for each country listed in the sources has been added to the chart
Homestead exemption is a legal regime designed to protect the value of the homes of residents from property taxes Property tax, or millage tax, is an ad valorem tax that an owner is required to pay on the value of the property being taxed. Property tax can be defined as "generally, tax imposed by municipalities upon owners of real property within their jurisdiction based on the value of such property." There are three species or types of property:, creditors A creditor is a party that has a claim to the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption (usually enforced by contract) that the second party will return an equivalent property or service. The second, and circumstances arising from the death of the homeowner spouse. Laws enacting such protections are found in state A U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of commonwealth rather than state. State citizenship is statutes A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law and the regulations issued by government agencies. Statutes are sometimes referred to as or constitutional A constitution is a set of laws that a set of people have made and agreed upon for government—often codified as a written document—that enumerates and limits the powers and functions of a political entity. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is. In the case of countries and autonomous regions of federal countries the provisions which exist in many states in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language.
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Features
Homestead exemption laws typically have three primary features:
- They prevent the forced sale A Forced Sale of Real Estate is an action taken in a civil court forcing the owners to sell the property at issue and divide the profits. The profits are divided, generally under a reliance damages theory, that would best restore the owners to the position they would have been in had the contract never been entered into of a home to meet the demands of creditors A creditor is a party that has a claim to the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption (usually enforced by contract) that the second party will return an equivalent property or service. The second;
- They provide the surviving spouse A widow is a woman whose spouse has died. A man whose spouse has died is a widower. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or viduity. The adjective is widowed with shelter;
- They provide an exemption from property taxes Property tax, or millage tax, is an ad valorem tax that an owner is required to pay on the value of the property being taxed. Property tax can be defined as "generally, tax imposed by municipalities upon owners of real property within their jurisdiction based on the value of such property." There are three species or types of property: which can be applied to a home.
For purposes of these statutes, a homestead is the one primary residence of a person, and no other exemption can be claimed on any other property anywhere, even outside the boundaries of the jurisdiction where the exemption is claimed.
In some states, homestead protection is automatic. In many states, however, the homeowner must file a claim for homestead exemption with the state, and will not receive the protections of the law until this has been done. Furthermore, the protection can be lost if the homeowner abandons the protected property by taking up primary residence elsewhere.
In most cases, homestead exemptions do not apply to forced sales to satisfy mortgages, mechanics liens, or sales to pay property taxes.
Immunity from forced sale
Different jurisdictions provide different degrees of protection under homestead exemption laws. Some only protect property up to a certain value, while others are limited by acreage limitations. If homesteads exceeds these limits creditors may still force the sale while the homesteader may keep a certain amount of the proceeds of the sale.
California - Protects up to $75,000 for single people, $100,000 for married couples, and $175,000 for people over 65 or legally disabled.
Texas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma have some of the broadest homestead protections in the U.S., in terms of the value of property that can be protected.
Texas's homestead exemption has no dollar value limit and has a 10 acres (40,000 m2) exemption limit for homesteads inside of a municipality (urban homestead) and 100 acres (0.40 km2) for those outside of a municipality (rural homestead). The rural acre allotment is doubled for a family: 200 acres (0.81 km2) can be shielded from creditors in Texas for a rural homestead. Both the Kansas and Oklahoma exemptions protect 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land of any value outside of a municipality's corporate limits and 1-acre (4,000 m2) of land of any value within a municipality's corporate limits. Most homestead exemptions cover the land including fixtures and improvements to it, such as buildings, timber, and landscaping.
New Mexico has a $60,000 exemption.[1] Alaska has a $54,000 exemption.
In most instances, the exemptions do not protect against the value of a loan made in order to purchase the home (purchase money security interest).
In the majority of states, the real dollar value of "protection" provided by these laws has diminished as exemption dollar amounts are seldom adjusted for inflation. The protective intent of such laws, with some notable exceptions stated above, has been eroded in most states.
Property tax exemption
A homestead exemption is most often only on a fixed monetary amount, such as the first 50,000 dollars of the assessed value. The remainder is taxed at the normal rate. In this case, a home valued at 150,000 would then only be taxed on 100,000; a home valued at 75,000 would only be taxed on 25,000.
The exemption is generally intended to make the property tax a progressive tax. In some places, the exemption is paid for with a local or state (or equivalent unit) sales tax.
The homestead exemption sales tax (HEST) in some places has been criticized for not exempting groceries, thus the poor end up paying some of their food money to subsidize those who can already afford their own homes. Since the poor typically rent, neither they nor their landlords get an exemption in return either, on the other hand the exemption for the elderly often means the difference between staying or being forced out of homes they worked all their lives for.
Examples
- California - Exempts the first $7,000 of residential homestead from property taxes.
- Georgia - Allows a 1% HEST, but it is only done in a few counties. None exempt groceries, but all must exempt prescription drugs.
- Oklahoma - Allows a $1000 deduction of the assessed valuation if owners file for homestead exemption with the local county clerk. This is about $75 to $125 of savings per year.
- Texas - Allows a deduction equal to 20% of house value. Additional exemptions are available for county taxes, people over 65 and people who are disabled.[2]
- Florida homestead exemption - Allows a $50,000 exemption for the value of property which is assessed a property tax. Furthermore, increases in assessment shall not exceed the lower of: a) 3% f assessed value from prior year; or b) percentage change in CPI.[3]
- Boulder, Colorado - Allows a 50% deduction for up to the first $200,000 (so $100,000 exemption) for seniors (over age 65) who have lived in their property for ten consecutive years.
- Louisiana Homestead Exemption - Exempts the first $75,000[citation needed] of residential homestead from local property taxes.
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Other States, follow the link: http://www.lawchek.net/resources/forms/que/homestead.htm
Notes
- ^ See NMSA 1978, Section 42-10-9.
- ^ Combs, Texas Property Tax Code 2006 Edition, Sec. 11.13 - Residence Homestead
- ^ http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/limitations.html
References
- Combs, Susan. Texas Property Tax Code 2006 Edition Retrieved 22 May 2007.
External links
Categories: Taxation in the United States | Legal terms | Real property law | Real estate in the United States
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Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:37:15 GMT+00:00
Statesman Journal It would carve out a homestead exemption , allowing a property-tax break for homes occupied by owners 65 and older. Sizemore qualified a record seven ...
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Claim He Has Benefitted From $2000 in Undue Tax Benefits According to a press release issued by the Bill Flores For Congress organization, Rob Curnock has benefitted since 2006 from a . homestead exemption. on a house where he does not ...
Q. Bought my house in June of 2007 in Fulton County GA so I am eligible but just cannot get through on phone. Downloaded Homestead exemption for but do I need to take downtown or can I take it to Tax assesors office in Alpharetta?
Asked by nancy b - Mon Mar 3 12:58:17 2008 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments
A. In Texas you can just mail the form in. It should say at the bottom of the form where the form needs to go, but I imagine you can just mail it.
Answered by Mr Chris - Mon Mar 3 13:02:33 2008
