Plaintiff Alleges Tax Code "Establishes a Religion of 'Taxism' and a 'Systematic Theology of THEIRS'"
From Wednesday's decision by Judge Audrey Fleissig (E.D. Mo.) in Hinds v. Trump:
Self-represented Plaintiff Terry Lee Hinds filed a complaint in this matter titled "Petition For [Judicial] Review, Judgment or Decree and for all Writs Necessary or Appropriate to this Case as well Issue Writs Agreeable to Usages & Principles of Law." The complaint comprises 249 pages and 1,226 paragraphs, and it is substantially similar to a lawsuit he previously filed, which this Court dismissed in 2017. In this lawsuit, like the last one, Plaintiff generally alleges that the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") establishes a religion and, as such, violates the First Amendment's Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses….
In his current complaint, Plaintiff reiterates many of the same allegations raised in Hinds I. Specifically, he alleges that the Code establishes a religion of "taxism" and a "Systematic Theology of THEIRS," and that Internal Revenue System ("IRS") functions such as auditing, issuing refunds, and approving credits all create a religious relationship between the taxpayer and the government. Plaintiff believes that these facts demonstrate Defendants acting in their official capacities violated Plaintiff's religious freedom rights under the First Amendment….
The court unsurprisingly rejected the claim, mostly on sovereign immunity grounds and statutory grounds, but it also noted:
Courts have long held that "religious belief in conflict with the payment of taxes affords no basis for resisting the tax." United States v. Lee (1982). Courts have likewise found the federal tax system constitutional under the Establishment Clause. See, e.g., Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Bd. of Equalization of Cal. (1990). Further, "equity jurisdiction does not otherwise exist" here to bring Plaintiff within the [Anti-Injunction Act's] exception because Plaintiff has adequate remedies at law, including paying his liability and suing for a refund.
For these reasons, the Eighth Circuit as well as other circuit courts of appeal have routinely found similar constitutional challenges to tax assessments barred by sovereign immunity, the [Declaratory Judgment Act], and the [Anti-Injunction Act]….
And here I wanted to hear more about taxism.