Some interesting observations regarding the attack on the IRS building….

Man who crashed plane into Austin IRS building part of decades-long line of tax protesters

Joseph Stack’s methods were unthinkable — he is accused of ramming a plane into an Internal Revenue Service building in Texas — but his views on taxation follow a long line of protesters who believe tax laws don’t apply to them.

While their numbers aren’t large, according to experts, their arguments are so enticing that the IRS has published a guide to debunk their claims. In 2008, the Justice Department was concerned enough to start the “National Tax Defier Initiative” to better coordinate prosecutions.
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Stack’s writings suggest he was part of a loosely organized movement that stretches back to at least the 1950s. Some believe the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to levy income taxes, was not legally ratified; it was ratified in 1913.

Others believe that paying taxes is purely voluntary. Still others believe in fictional loopholes that would exempt large groups of Americans from paying taxes if they were only in on the secret.

Believers aren’t limited to anti-government militia members living off the land out West. Stack was a 53-year-old software engineer in Austin. Other followers include movie star Wesley Snipes and a decorated police detective in the nation’s capital.

“They’re fairly prevalent,” said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups. “We’ve had a right wing tax protest movement going back several decades now. They were very hot in the 1990s, but they are very much still out there.”

I think this description fits pretty well. This guy had a long history of tax problems and it really seems like he was getting some bad ideas and advice on how to avoid paying taxes. I also think it’s important to note that he was not a poor “everyman” type. His hobby was flying planes and he seemed to have plenty of money for that, yet somehow was unable to pay his tax bills.