The Assertion: American citizens are not required by the laws to pay income taxes

Tax protesters always argue that there is no legislation requiring people to pay income taxes. As the end of the tax year is coming to an end, however, some social media users are sharing videos about the claims that Americans have no legal obligation to pay taxes.

According to the video, which appears to have been created on TikTok, Americans are not required by law to pay income taxes. More than 3,000 people shared one version of the film that was published on Facebook on November 19. Three individuals described as former Internal Revenue Service agents are interviewed in the video.

The original TikTok video from November 19 received over 100,000 likes. The assertion has been circulated on Facebook and Instagram in various forms.

The Tiktok video owner stated in the video that he was surprised that the highly trained and decorated former IRS agents told him that there was no law requiring American citizens to pay income tax on their labor.

However, the claim is untrue. Reported from the official sources, the 16th Amendment grants the Congress the authority to collect federal income taxes. The IRS has been given the authority to enforce these tax regulations, and individuals who fail to file their taxes face severe penalties.

The Facebook user who shared the post was contacted by USA TODAY for the comment, but the TikTok user was unable to be reached. The video clip is from Aaron Russo’s 2006 documentary “America: Freedom to Fascism.” According to the movie’s description, it examines conspiracies across the IRS, digital vote-casting machines, Big Brother, and the alleged use of terrorism with the aid of US authorities.

According to our research, the claim that there are no laws forcing American people to pay income taxes is false. There are laws that require Americans to pay income taxes. The 16th Amendment empowers Congress to levy federal income taxes.