What the most feared government agency?

If you are reading these pages you probably can at least guess the answer to this question, right?

Yes, our beloved "Infernal Revenue Service" - you noticed my little intentional spelling error, didn't you? Sometimes it amazes me what difference one little letter can make. But don't let me digress.

This article wants to give you a very brief outline about this site, and its purpose.

Let me throw some outrageous statement on the table: Driving a car is more dangerous than dealing with the IRS.

No Way! you might say. But do you know how many people die in car accidents? - It's somewhere in the area of 50,000 to 100,000!

You already get an idea where I am heading, right?

The numbers of deaths caused by the IRS, I have, are a bit older - 1994 - but I am sure not too much has changed, and if so, then probably more to the better. About 3500! And those are not real deaths, these are initiated criminal investigations - the IRS's death grip. Most of those investigations are for misdemeanors for willful failure to file that dreaded 1040. Even if the IRS would succeed in all those cases to get convictions - and which they increasingly don't - this is a comparatively small number when seen opposite the 50,000 deaths by car.

Now look at the severity. That car crash is pretty final, but being in the slammer is easily recoverable, even though probably very uncomfortable and inconvenient. But dieing in a car crash is rather uncomfortable and inconvenient as well.

Obviously the government does not want you to see it that way. They WANT you to be scared and don't look at the reality. It's the same situation as with the school bully. He has only power because all the kids are afraid of him. If only two or three kids would gang up on that bully he would be done with.

With the IRS it's even easier. There are always the hand-out oriented people who need the IRS because they want the government to give them something, from jobs to welfare, so we can not expect for all people to immediately stop filing tax returns. But let's assume fifty percent of all of us would just have a beer at April 15 instead of running around like a head-less chicken, scrambling to get our confession to the post office.

What could they do? - Nothing!

Yes, they probably would hang some - not literally (but then again who knows what they would do when cornered) but the chances the one on the gallows would be you is slim, very slim. Much slimmer, in fact, than dieing in a car crash during the following year.

I have to inject a little disclaimer here - obviously. I do not suggest that you stop filing your tax return. That would be something like practicing law without a license or performing a miracle without being god, and I don't want to do that. I personally believe that the tax laws as written are all fine and dandy, but they just don't apply to me - similarly as the the California traffic rules don't apply in Munich, Germany.

But this is a determination that everybody has to make for himself. There is plenty of information out there on the internet. A lot of it false, unfortunately. It took me a while to weed though a lot of mis-information until I found the writing of Otto Skinner, which made a lot of sense without promising a silver bullet. Due to medical problems Mr. Skinner is pretty much out of business, but there are a few who promote similarly clean and even more advanced research and information. The best in this regard is Dave Champion's Nontaxpayer.org.

We are eagerly awaiting Mr. Champion's book that, according to latest information, is soon to be released.

Now all this should put us totally at ease, we do what our conscience tells us after we have done the research, and if that tells us that we don't need to fill that form 1040 and write any checks to Uncle Sam, then we don't. Unfortunately there is that unfounded fear still strong in us - just like the Force was strong in Anakin Skywalker. Sorry, I had to throw this in, I just love star wars.

This is where NoFearIRS comes in. We will approach this fear from the more spiritual or mental side. I, Merlin, your humble author, have studied many philosophical, spiritual and mental areas and condensed it down to practices and exercises that will take care of that unfounded fear.

I can not promise you - even though it will most likely happen - that the the IRS will leave you alone, but even if they come, without that fear you will just do the necessary steps to handle that problem. Let's go back to our comparison with cars and car crashes. If you are not afraid of things you encounter on the road, like this big rock that come down the mountain and is now in the middle of the road, you will just steer around it. The driver, who is scared of that rock will most likely end up trying to occupy the same space as the rock or try to find out how his car fits into the ditch, because his fear will mesmerize and freeze him.

What do you think is better?