Bill Conklin

[Number Six]

There is a profile on Mr. Conklin, but apparently no enforcement action in his case. His MO? Send postal money orders in excess of $1000 for consultation and services. I suppose he has been able to help some desperate people who get scared away by tax attorneys and the steep fees they tend to charge.

[Judge Roy Bean]

Is this the "profile" you're referring to?"

http://www.quatlosers.com/bill_conklin.htm

[Number Six]

That's very informative as a profile. But where is the data on enforcement action currently underway in his case, aside from old court cases? Also, what is the story with Otto Skinner? Has there been any enforcement action taken for his illegal tax protesting?

[Demosthenes]

I thought that Skinner and Conklin faded into obscurity years ago.

[Number Six]

I called his operation--it's still active, and his site is current, while Otto's has not been updated. Some of these tps become more cautious in their advice, not wanting to have to go back to court. So they rely on their First Amendment right to free speech and try to get paid in hard to track funds. I would guess that Mr. Conklin is making into the six figures.

[The Operative]

I thought that Skinner and Conklin faded into obscurity years ago.

After looking over Conklin's website, I believe that it is time the IRS and/or the DOJ look at Bill Conklin again. He claims that there is no law that makes a person liable to pay income taxes unless that person volunteers or voluntarily files at 1040 with the IRS. He also claims that if there were such a statute, that it would be unconstitutional.

[Famspear]

There was an unconfirmed report from last summer that Otto Skinner had passed away:

Otto Skinner was the bright light amongst many of the gurus out there promising tax freedom. It is sad that he has left this plane of existence not too long ago. Before he had left I would have just sent you to his web site and told you to get his books and newsletters and study the principles. But shortly after his passing the web site was gone, and there are only a few of his books available at horrendous prices as used books on Amazon.

--from:

http://www.nofearirs.com/

(See the post by "Administrator" on August 23, 2009, way down near the bottom of the page.)

[Number Six]

Poor Otto; he reportly smoked like a chimney--he needed a work out and health program. Like a lot of the anti-government types he probably rarely listened to the advise of others to get out of the bubble of paranoia. I spoke with him a couple of times and he was quite impressed with David Cay Johston's "Perfectly Legal" book and asked me if I had read it. Yes, and I ordered his "Loophole" book, which was hard to read, like many of these do it yourself "freedom" books.

[Pottapaug1938]

I thought that Skinner and Conklin faded into obscurity years ago.

After looking over Conklin's website, I believe that it is time the IRS and/or the DOJ look at Bill Conklin again. He claims that there is no law that makes a person liable to pay income taxes unless that person volunteers or voluntarily files at 1040 with the IRS. He also claims that if there were such a statute, that it would be unconstitutional.

Wow -- what an original thought.... I'm sure that, unlike the thousands of dimwits who have gone down in frivpen flames, Conklin is SURE to be successful.

[Number Six]

What bothers me about people like Bill Conklin, is that he is perpetuating fallacies that when followed cause a lot of unnecessary suffering. Many non-filers would owe little in taxes if they filed with all their legal deductions. But by playing a high stakes game of "chicken", the relatively low income worker goes from small lies and deceptions to bigger and bigger ones, with tax, legal and other problems.

I called him up and he explained some of the desperate situations he gets: One involved a wife calling up because her husband was freaking out from the notices he was getting--she was afraid he was going to kill himself. If he can undo the mischief of the more reckless of the tax protestors that we are familiar with, good. But do it legally, by saying that he files his taxes and recommends that you do to.

Maybe Tax Masters and Roni Deutch and the other heavy advertisers are doing a decent job. Conklin points out some useful things on his website, like how unlikely it is that an offer in compromise will be accepted. I have heard cases of tax attorneys whittling down taxes due to a small percentage of the original assessent. But these are the exceptions. Let's say someone calls up one of the many professionals and some of these "paralegals" after not filing for a number of years. Some will give the right advice at a fair price, some will gouge the customer, and some will tie the customer in knots with an adversarial approach to the agency.