Irwin Schiff

As a result of these judicial rulings Schiff was in a hospital prison serving a sentence of 162 months (13.5 years) at the time of his death.

In connection with his business, he was involved in a tax shelter in which he became the victim of a Ponzi scheme in which he lost money belonging to him and his clients.

[6] In 1968, he testified[7] before the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency in opposition to the removal of gold backing from Federal Reserve Notes.

[12] Another argument made by Schiff on his web site is: "On the [Form] 1040 itself... you report 'zero' income regardless of how much you received in: wages, commissions, interest, alimony, capital gains or from operating a business.

[21] According to his son, Peter Schiff, "my father was most known for his staunch opposition to the federal income tax, for which the US government labeled him a 'tax protester.'

Instead of disclosing income, he included assertions of various constitutional rights on the forms, claiming essentially that under the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Thirteenth Amendments he would not be an "involuntary serf" of the U.S. government.

On April 12, 1978, Schiff appeared on the NBC television program The Tomorrow Show with host Tom Snyder, arguing his views on Federal income taxes.

Six days after his appearance on The Tomorrow Show, Schiff was charged with willful failure to file tax returns for the years 1974 and 1975.

[7] At the Court of Appeals, the admission of the videotape was ruled unduly prejudicial, the conviction was overturned, and the case was remanded for a new trial.

[citation needed] In June 2004, a Federal court ruled that Schiff was liable for over $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest for the years 1979 through 1985.

That was characterized by some of his opponents as a claim that those beliefs were the product of a delusion or even insanity and that Schiff had willingly allowed his defense counsel to raise such an argument.

Schiff responded to these claims and stated that the diminished capacity defense was an attempt to prevent the judge from rendering a summary judgment and instead allow a jury trial.

[27] Schiff, in his statement on the matter, asserted that the judge erred in not putting this question to the jury and insisted that "(1) no one is required to pay income taxes; (2) the entire federal judiciary is involved in a monumental, criminal conspiracy to collect income taxes in violation of law."

[29][failed verification] In the book, Schiff contended that the income tax system and Internal Revenue Service were illegal.

[42] One of Schiff's co-defendants, Lawrence Cohen, was sentenced on February 3, 2006 to 33 months in prison and was ordered to pay $480,000 in restitution.

[45] On February 23, 2006, Cynthia Neun, another co-defendant, was sentenced to 68 months in prison and was ordered to pay over $1.1 million in restitution.

[citation needed] Other individuals who have been convicted of federal tax crimes after following Irwin Schiff include Warren J. Burdett;[49] Christopher and Pamela Harrison;[50] Scott D. Haynes;[51] Kenneth Heath;[52] Joseph Letscher;[53] David Middleton;[54] Robert L. Mosel;[55] James C. Payne;[56] David G. Pflum;[57] and Steven A.