LEGAL ACTION

Liberty Tree investigations and research form the basis for legal action to both assert and defend taxpayer rights. Presently we have identified several matters that may result in legal action to support taxpayer rights. The possible actions are described below.

Legal action takes time and money. Please support us by donating to Liberty Tree. We also ask that you pledge a portion of any refund that results from our legal actions that are initiated based on our efforts. Therefore, in addition to an immediate contribution, we ask that you consider pledging a contribution of 5% of any funds you receive.

The Fourth Amendment prohibits "unreasonable...seizure" of assets.  Certain tax and governance structures discriminate against taxpayers in a manner that constitutes an "unreasonable seizure". These jurisdictions require a minority of voters to fund the government while the majority pay no tax or a de minimus portion of tax. This inequity must be cured by court ordered reforms to public governance.

Tax structures that require automatic increases in tax rates on private property - regardless of government budgetary need are unconstitutional takings of private property because non-payment by property owners will result in government seizure of the property.  Automatic tax increases incentivizes government inefficiency, expansion of government staff and expansion of government mission - all in an attempt to justify the increase in budget.  This injustice must be cured by a change to the way taxes are computed and a refund of the tax over-charge. We estimate that as much as $20 billion should be refunded to NYC taxpayers as a result of this unconstitutional mechanism. The evidence of taxpayer abuse is overwhelming. Over 30 years of data shows that taxes have automatically be raised every year. Although property assessments are supposed to be based on a portion of market value - the assessments increased every year - even during the financial crisis when property values declined.