Date:  19 Jan 93 12:43:17 CDT
From: p-hurley1@tamu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.society.privacy
Subject:  Re: Litigation, SSN and IRS
Reply-To: p-hurley1@tamu.edu
Organization: Computer Privacy Digest
X-Submissions-To: comp-privacy@pica.army.mil
X-Administrivia-To: comp-privacy-request@pica.army.mil
X-Computer-Privacy-Digest: Volume 2, Issue 009, Message 8 of 10

It appears that perhaps this information has once again become
pertinent to the comp.privacy newsgroup. I assume I am sending this
to the correct address. Again, this is for your use to post if you
deem necessary.

Up until a year ago, I had not been claiming my children older than 1
year as dependents because I refuse to get them a SSN. A year ago, I
found out that the President of the Home School Legal Defense
Association (Michael Farris) tried to sue the IRS over its
requirement of SSN's for children. I wrote requesting to be included
in any class action that might be planned. I received three letters
in response. I reproduce the salient one here for your use if you see
fit.

The letter is on letterhead of the Christian Justice Fund:

Dear Friends,

    This letter is to advise you of the options regarding the filing
of your income tax return in light of your desire to avoid obtaining
a Social Security number for your children.
    First of all, everyone should realize that because of a certain
judge's ruling, it is procedurally impossible for us all to join
together in one suit. It is also impossible for us to do a separate
lawsuit for each of the families. We do not have enough resources,
not do I have enough time. We are going to pursue one or perhaps two
lawsuits to set a precedent for all families.
    As an attorney, I cannot tell you to violate the law. However, I
can tell you the probable consequences of different courses of
action. All of these options assume that you do not obtain a Social
Security number for your children.
    1.  You can file your return and not claim your children as
dependents. This is totally safe. However, this costs you a
substantial amount of money *and* will not put you in a good position
to challenge the legality of this requirement.
    2.  You can file your return and claim your children. If you do
this, simply leave the sections regarding Social Security numbers
blank. This positions you to challenge the IRS requirement. These are
the risks:  1) You could receive a penalty of either $5 or $50 per
child; 2) Your dependency deduction could be disallowed; 3) You could
be audited and required to prove that the child is truly your
dependent; or 4) You could be criminally prosecuted.
    Everyone that I have talked to (including attorneys for the
Justice Department) agree that criminal prosecution is extremely
unlikely. The most likely outcome is #3.
    3.  You can file your return, claim your children, and submit a
$5 penalty per child with your return. I would not recommend this
option. However, see #4 which follows.
    4.  If you receive a notice assessing a $5 penalty, pay it. We
then have you in a position to sue for a refund of the $5 and test
the legality of the rule.
    It is my opinion that a challenge to this law cannot be mounted
unless a number of families choose option #2. There is a strong
likelihood that the IRS will only require us to prove dependency. If
this is the case, no lawsuit will be required. Also, we may choose
not to proceed if they simply assess $5 penalties.
    I hope this answers your questions. Please _write_ if you have
further questions.
                                Sincerely,
                                Michael P. Farris
Philip Hurley               "It is absurd to say that you are
T.A.E.X.                    especially advancing freedom when you only
Computer Technology         use free thought to destroy free will."
(409) 845-9689                              -- Chesterton
p-hurley1@tamu.edu             I, too, disclaim.