Why the Income Tax is Evil

Frank Chodorov, a prominent libertarian theorist, argued that all government intervention is detrimental, with the income tax being a particularly harmful form of evil. In his 1954 book, The Income Tax: Root of All Evil, Chodorov contended that the ability of the federal government to tax incomes, granted by the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913, was the fundamental cause of numerous laws and governmental practices that infringe upon individual rights. He believed this power had nearly eradicated the concept of natural rights, leading to a government that sees itself as the source of rights rather than a protector of them—a significant departure from the vision of the Founding Fathers.

Chodorov maintained that the income tax is “evil” because it fundamentally denies the principle of private property. He argued that unlike other taxes, income and inheritance taxes assert that citizens’ earnings are not exclusively their own. Instead, the government’s claim to these earnings precedes the individual’s. In other words, if the government’s needs grow, they take it from you. But they care not about your family’s needs may grow.

To be truthful, Chodorov is not entirely correct in that, the government taxes you in other forms by giving it different names. Then, local governments can add their taxes and increases it as “their needs” grow, such as property tax, sales tax, permits required, etc.

He explained this “devastating argument” by stating that the government effectively tells citizens:

 “Your earnings are not exclusively your own; we have a claim on them, and our claim precedes yours.”

 “We will allow you to keep some of it, because we recognize your need, not your right.”

 “Whatever we grant you for yourself is for us to decide.”

Chodorov pointed to the income tax report as proof, noting that the government arbitrarily dictates how much income individuals can retain for living expenses, business needs, family maintenance, and medical costs. After granting these exemptions, the government then decides what percentage of the remaining income it will appropriate. This percentage, he observed, could be—and has been—increased over time, while exemptions could be—and have been—lowered.

Ultimately, Chodorov concluded that the amount of an individual’s earnings they could retain was determined by the needs of the government, not by their right to property. The Sixteenth Amendment, he argued, placed the right to decide the disposition of an individual’s property squarely with the government.

Under a Christian government that follows God’s laws, there would be no income tax. There would be a tithe on those in certain industries. The reason why the government would need no taxes is, that there would be no private banks like we have today. The government would ISSUE money into circulation based on the GDP where it will remain (base on the goods and services produced in the nation). The money would not be loaned into circulation nor would there be any interest/usury attached to it. A whole book can be written and has been written on this. Sermons have been given on this very topic.

The money saved, would be huge. Prosperity would reign like never before. It would make Donald Trump’s DOGE saved peanuts compared how much could be saved by doing it God’s way. And with Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” he just made it worse with an additional $5 TRILLION in debt.

Hopefully, enough has been said for you to grasp the advantages of this.