POLICY POSITIONS

Our mission is to advocate for taxpayers. We are non-partisan and independent. We do not care about Blue (Republican) or Red (Democrat) - we only care about Green (taxpayer money).

We examine all issues from the perspective of fairness to taxpayers. We call out those who degrade taxpayer rights and highlight those who promote taxpayer rights.

We believe in the following six principles:

1. "No Taxation Without Representation" is a core principle of the revolution that Established this Country and is, therefore, a founding principle
2. Taxpayers fund the government and there is no legitimate government without taxpayers
3. Those who are anti-taxpayer are essentially counter-revolutionaries because they act against one of this nation's founding principles
4. Taxpayer rights have been diluted to the point that taxpayers are disenfranchised in many jurisdictions. Taxpayers are disenfranchised when those who pay little or no tax have the full power to elect representatives and thereby control the budgetary priorities. They have effectively stolen the taxpayer's checkbook.
5. Reforms in governance are necessary to restore taxpayer voice in how their money is spent by their government. 
6. Government is servant of the people - not the master of the people. Governments that fail to uphold taxpayer rights lose their legitimacy.
7. Taxpayer rights are aligned with holders of government debt. Both such parties prefer fiscal prudence. In fact, government debt is an indirect tax because taxpayers or their estates or their children will ultimately have to pay.

Below is a list of major actions that Liberty Tree of America is taking in support of taxpayer rights.

Taxpayers make up only 1/3rd of all voters in many jurisdictions. This creates an unfair and unconstitutional situation whereby those who pay no taxes (or nearly none) effectively elect our representatives. Candidates for office know very well that taxpayer votes are diluted and they pander to those who pay no tax. The result is the politicians make big promises to non-taxpayers and expect taxpayers to write the check.

This situation is intolerable. Taxpayers fund the government and they must have voice in how their dollars are spent and a voice in any tax increase. Otherwise, those who pay no tax will have a blank check.

We demand a Taxpayer Oversight Board (TOB) be instituted to protect taxpayers in those jurisdications where more than 75% of the individual tax burden is borne by less than 49% of the taxpayers.  The TOB will be composed of actual taxpayers who paid at least $500 in taxes (income or property tax) in the prior year to the jurisdiction and the number of board  members will be mathematically determined such that it represents the total taxpayers at a 99% confidence level with an error of no more than 6%. The system of selection is called sortion and it is the best method for ensuring the views of the group are expressed and it avoids the principal-agent issues (such as conflicts of interest and money-in-politics) that often distract elected official from properly representing constituents.

See White Paper: Taxpayer Voting Rights - Dilution and Disenfranchisement and Solutions

Elected Officials that ave a disdain for taxpayers and taxpayer rights have no place in a government. This country fought a war for independence and a core principle was "no taxation without representation." Our ancestors died to free us from such tyranny. Those counterrevolutionaries that seek to restore such tyranny would have been tarred and feathered and run out of town by the patriots of yesteryear. 

Mayor DeBlasio has talked or raising taxes to get us out of the budget mess he created and Covid exacerbated.  He sees taxpayers as suckers who will pay to cover up his mismanagement. But taxpayers will not pay another dime without government reforms that ensure this disaster will never happen again.

New Yorkers live in a one party state and a one party country. One party controls government with little or no opposition. Taxpayers lose in a one party system because there is minimal accountability. We need a Taxpayer Oversight Board (TOB) to protect taxpayer rights. One a TOB is agreed upon, we van talk about tax increases.

Action Items:

1. Petition for Mayor DeBlasio's Resignation or Removal from Office
2. Petition to Change the NY City Charter to Create A Taxpayer Oversignt Board (TOB)
3. Tax Boycott Committee - Formed to advise on Taxpayer action
4. Whistleblower Hotline - Collecting information on bias against taxpayers

Some taxing jurisdictions have created tax schemes to automatically raise taxes with no input from elected officials and taxpayers. This is often applied to property taxes whereby the tax increases based on an assumed increase in the value of the underlying property. These schemes are unconstitutional taking of property and an abuse of taxpayer rights.

We are preparing to file a complaint in court on behalf of taxpayers, as a class, seeking a substantial refund for taxpayers. We expect the first filing will be against New York City where a refund of up to $20 billion may be owed to property taxpayers.

Action Items.

1. Preparing Complaint to file in court
2. Seeking Contributions to fund legal case
3. Negotiate with Tax Authorities for settlement that avoids costly and time consuming court case - saving taxpayer money from wasteful government spending.

Nationally, 25% of taxpayers pay 86% of the individual federal tax burden. Furthermore, 50% contribute only 3% to the federal tax revenue. This means that more than half of all votes are cast by people who contribute an insignificant amount to federal revenues. 

The result are dozens of Congressional representatives who are elected by people who are biased in favor of federal spending because they benefit from it at no cost. No wonder Congress has lost control of spending and therefore created a budget deficit so large it that has indebted future generations. Politicians know this. That's why they adopt expensive programs that help them get elected while paying lip-service to fiscal restraint. They care more about re-election than they do about taxpayers. And they know the majority of voters in their district pay little or no taxes. They are happy to use taxpayer checkbooks to fund programs that help with their re-election.

Every citizen and everyone who holds US Treasury bonds should support Liberty Tree in reforming the Federal taxing and spending system.

The Federal government will have to raise taxes - if for no other reason other than to pay off the Covid debt. Taxpayers and Treasury Bond holders must now DEMAND accountability and reform. Tell your Senator and your Representative that you support Liberty Tree's proposal for a Federal Taxpayer Oversight Board (FTOB) with power to veto congressional budgets. The FTOB will be composed of actual taxpayers - not people to are agents for taxpayers. See a description in the white paper.

 See White Paper: Taxpayer Voting Rights - Dilution and Disenfranchisement and Solutions 

Action Items:

1. Notify Elected Officials
2. Sign White House Petition 
3. Propose Constitutional Amendment for Federal Taxpayer Oversight Board (FTOB)

Liberty Tree of America actively supports taxpayer rights. Unlike other taxpayer advocates - we don't just do research. We take action. It is no longer possible to be a passive advocate for taxpayers as their rights, in fact our nation's founding principles, are abused and violated. It's time for all taxpayer to take a stand and to take action. 

We welcome you to go to the ACTION tab of our website to see how Liberty Tree takes action for taxpayers.  Please support us by volunteering, contributing and/or signing one or more petitions.