Pleading the Fifth
Have you ever thought about filing an income tax return in relation to the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution? Here’s what it says:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
The portion that is relevant to our discussion is “nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself”. If you are involved in a court case with the Internal Revenue Service, what is the primary testimony/witness that the IRS will bring forth? That’s right; the tax return that you signed. There are only two possible relations of the Fifth Amendment in regards to tax returns.
Either the Fifth Amendment applies because filing a return is compelled, or the Fifth Amendment does not apply because filing a return is voluntary.
If an individual is indicted and taken to trial by the government, he cannot be required to testify against himself. The government must have enough information before the indictment to convict the individual without his own testimony.
If you would like to conduct further research on this subject, I recommend Why No One is Required to File Tax Returns by William Conklin. I am indebted to his excellent work on this topic as well as his court cases with the IRS.
