- Joseph Banister, a former Internal Revenue Service agent
who testified on behalf of convicted Bedford tax protester Richard Simkanin,
has been banned from representing clients before the federal agency.
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- Banister, a certified public accountant, has counseled
his clients that they are not required to file federal income tax returns
based on his research of federal income tax laws.
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- Simkanin, 59, was convicted last week in Fort Worth federal
court on 29 counts of violating federal income tax laws. Prosecutors said
he failed to withhold $139,000 in taxes from employees' wages and fraudulently
sought $235,000 in tax refunds.
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- Banister testified that he shared Simkanin's concerns
about the constitutionality of the nation's tax laws and said he gave Simkanin
advice about his case before the IRS.
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- An administrative law judge in Washington, D.C., made
his ruling in late December after the IRS' Office of Professional Responsibility
filed a complaint. The IRS announced the judge's decision Monday.
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- "The very significant problem with Banister's advice
to his clients is that it is absolutely wrong," Judge William Moran
wrote. "In fact, Banister's assertions have been addressed by so many
federal courts that they are no longer afforded the dignity of repeating
the explanations as to why the claims are meritless."
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- Banister points out to followers in the so-called tax
honesty movement that he used to be a criminal investigator for the IRS.
He could not be reached to comment.
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- Robert Barnes of Milwaukee, an attorney for Banister,
said the judge's decision will be appealed. He said the judge did not allow
Banister to present adequate evidence to defend himself.
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- "This entire procedure was retaliatory," Barnes
said. "They are trying to go after him any which way they can. ...
But he was unwilling to change his principles or gag himself, which is
what the government wants him to do."
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- Banister is part of a growing anti-tax movement within
the United States whose followers argue that the income tax laws don't
apply to them. Beyond refusing to pay their taxes, they also use advertising
and Web sites to promote their beliefs.
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- Banister was accused of telling two taxpayers that they
were not required to file federal income tax returns because the 16th Amendment,
which gives Congress the power to levy taxes, was not properly ratified.
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- Over the years, the courts have rejected that argument.
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- Banister was also accused of not filing personal income
tax returns from 1999 to 2002. The administrative judge wrote that Banister
did not rebut the official IRS records showing the returns were never filed.
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- "The IRS is charged with enforcement of the tax
laws, and where they see abuse or patterns of abuse, the agency will crack
down on that," said Phil Beasley, an IRS spokesman in Dallas. "We
are working with the judicial system in order to stop the spread of various
scams and schemes and practices."
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- Robert Bernhoft, the lawyer representing Banister at
his December hearing, said that banning Banister would be "draconian"
and that what the government wanted to do was stop him from his "zealous
advocacy" against the IRS.
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- But Moran wrote that Banister's actions are "about
a tax practitioner who demands that the government follow his interpretation
of the law."
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- http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/7698270.htm
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