Joe Banister Uncovers IRS 1040 Scam

Joseph R. Banister, a former IRS Criminal Investigation Division special agent, has once again blown the whistle on an the IRS fraudulently collecting federal income tax from Americans through a scheme he calls the "1040A scam." After resigning in 1999, Banister spent over 25 years exposing what he alleges is systemic IRS fraud, including the manipulation of internal computer systems to assess taxes, penalties, and interest against individuals who have not voluntarily filed tax returns. Banister argues that IRS notices referencing "Form 1040A" in cases where no such form was filed serve as evidence of this fraud, as the agency falsely inputs data to create tax liabilities. Banister asserts that most Americans are not legally required to file federal income tax returns or pay income tax, citing the absence of a law imposing liability on the average American since 1916. He points to the IRS’s own publications, which state that only those liable for a tax must file a return, and notes that federal law primarily imposes income tax liability on non-resident aliens and foreign corporations. The 1916 Supreme Court decision in Brushaber v. Union Pacific R. Co. limited the scope of the 16th Amendment, ensuring that subsequent tax laws excluded average Americans from liability, a structure Banister claims was intentional to maintain constitutional compliance. The "1040A scam" involves the IRS allegedly inputting fraudulent codes into its computer systems, specifically referencing Form 1040A, to create the appearance that individuals requested the IRS to calculate their tax liability. Banister provides evidence from his own 2002 case, where IRS notices and Individual Master File (IMF) transcripts referenced a Form 1040A he never filed. He explains that the IRS uses the unique feature of Form 1040A, which allows filers to request tax calculations by the IRS, to justify fraudulent assessments. This pattern, he claims, has been repeated against millions of Americans, even after Form 1040A was discontinued in 2018, with notices morphing to reference a non-existent "Form 1040-A." Banister calls for further investigation into the IRS’s archaic computer systems, which he believes are maintained to perpetuate this fraud. He suggests that the IRS’s reliance on outdated technology and reluctance to provide IMF transcripts via FOIA requests conceal the scam’s mechanics. Banister urges Elon Musk, President Trump, and the DOGE fraud hunters to probe the IRS’s internal programming for evidence of fraudulent data manipulation. Comparing the 1040A scam to other alleged government deceptions, Banister argues that the IRS’s actions fit a broader pattern of misleading the public, defrauding Americans of trillions over decades.