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Definitions

Legal versus lawful (is there a difference?)

Taxpayer (are you a taxpayer?)

United States and State

Miscellaneous definitions

Legal versus lawful (is there a difference?)

Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition says the following:

Lawful:

Legal: warranted or authorized by the law; having the qualifications prescribed by law; not contrary to nor forbidden by the law; not illegal.

Legal:

1. Conforming to the law; according to law; required or permitted by law; not forbidden or discountenanced by law; good and effectual in law; of or pertaining to the law; lawful.

They seem to be the same, but I have been told that something can be illegal but still lawful.  How can this be?  Let's see what Black's says, in an explanatory paragraph that accompanies the definition of "lawful":

The principal distinction between the terms "lawful" and "legal" is that the former contemplates the substance of law, the latter the form of law.  To say of an act that it is "lawful" implies that it is authorized, sanctioned, or at any rate not forbidden by law.  To say that it is "legal" implies that it is done or performed in accordance with the forms and usages of law, or in a technical manner.[]  For example, a contract or will, executed without the required formalities, might be said to be invalid or illegal, but could not be described as unlawful.  Further, the word "lawful" more clearly implies an ethical content than does "legal".  The latter goes no further than to denote compliance, with positive, technical, or formal rules; while the former usually imports a moral substance or ethical permissibility.

A good example that I was given many moons ago from a source I forget is the act of abortion.  Abortion can be made legal; that is, with regard to man's laws, it is a permissible act.  However, it is (and will always be) unlawful, because it violates God's law, which, also known as the Common Law, Natural Law, or Fundamental Law, reigns supreme over man's laws.  Remember - God the Creator is the ultimate sovereign, and He is the source of our unalienable rights.  Those rights are not given by a constitution - they are protected by a constitution.

Taxpayer (are you a taxpayer?)

Most of the I.R.S. publications refer to citizens as taxpayers.  I.R.S. letters are addressed "Dear taxpayer";  politicians talk about the costs of their newest, biggest, most expensive boondoggle being footed by the taxpayers.  Why can't they refer to us as citizens?  Calling us taxpayers is somewhat denigrating, but perhaps they should just call us serfs or slaves, since that is what we have become, giving away half of our earnings each year.

When in doubt or even when not about the government's meaning of a term, look it up.  You say the word in question is one that everybody knows the definition of, like "state"?  Look it up!  Oftentimes the government's definition of a word is not the everyday dictionary definition.  So, what is a taxpayer, for purposes of Title 26 of the United States Code (the Internal Revenue Code).  Flip back to page 9,351 and find Section 7701(a)(14):

To find out what "subject to" means here, we have to go elsewhere.  Here's what Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth edition, has as a definition for "Subject to":

Subject to: "

Liable, subordinate, ... ; governed or affected by... [emphasis added]"

Since "subject to" for legal purposes means "liable", and none of us is liable, none of us is subject to the federal income tax, and therefore none of us is a taxpayer with regard to the federal income tax.  The next time a letter comes from the I.R.S. with the demeaning "Dear Taxpayer" salutation, you might decide to waste some time (!) in your reply pointing out in a sentence or two that you are NOT a taxpayer.  I suppose you could even use that as a basis for your entire return message, pointing out that you are taking no action with regard to their correspondence because it was addressed to a taxpayer, which you are not.

United States and State

Two more terms that we're all familiar with.  But, what do they carry as meanings in the context of the tax laws?

Go review the discussion on the meaning of "includes" on my Feedback page.  When you use this link, the Feedback page will be presented in a separate browser window, so you can easily flip back and forth while you review the definitions above.  Read again the definitions above.  "United States" includes (is) the States and the District of Columbia, and "State" includes (is) the District of Columbia.  Consolidated, "State" is defined as D.C., and "United States" = "State" = D.C.

How can this be?  What does it mean?  For sections of "this title" that use but don't explicitly define "State", the definition is as found here in §7701(a)(10), which is the District of Columbia.  You will probably find that this makes perfect sense, as the Congress only has exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the federal zone, which is primarily the District of Columbia.

And you thought you knew what a state was!

Some more on "includes" (25 April 2001) from a Vin Suprynowicz column of January 8, 2001:

Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1917 alimony decision in Gould vs. Gould, 245 US 151, ruled: "In the interpretation of statutes levying taxes it is the established rule not to extend their provisions by implication beyond the clear import of the language used, or to enlarge their operation so as to embrace matters not specifically pointed out. In case of doubt, they are construed most strongly against the government and in favor of the citizen."

This means that, for instance, the word "includes" in a tax law is a "term of limitation" -- it means "includes only."

Miscellaneous definitions

In doing some research on terms relevant to oaths of citizenship, I looked both in Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary and in Black's Law Dictionary.  I've included the definitions below from both volumes, to compare and contrast.

Republic:

1. A commonwealth; a state in which the exercise of the sovereign power is lodged in representatives elected by the people.  In modern usage, it differs from a democracy or democratic state, in which the people exercise the powers of sovereignty in person.  Yet the democracies of Greece are often called republics.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

A commonwealth; that form of government in which the administration of affairs is open to all the citizens.  In another sense, it signifies the state, independently of its form of government.  Blacks' Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

Affirmation:

4. A solemn declaration made under the penalties of perjury, by persons who conscientiously decline taking an oath; which affirmation is in law equivalent to testimony given under oath.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary)

A solemn and formal declaration or asseveration that an affidavit is true, that the witness will tell the truth, etc.; this being substituted for an oath in certain cases.  A solemn religious asseveration in the nature of an oath.  Blacks' Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

Oath:

A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed.  The appeal to God in an oath, implies that the person imprecates his vengeance and renounces his favor if the declaration is false, or if the declaration is a promise, the person invokes the vengeance of God if he should fail to fulfill it.  A false oath is called perjury.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

An affirmation of truth of a statement, which renders one willfully asserting untrue statements punishable for perjury.  An outward pledge by the person taking it that his attestation or promise is made under an immediate sense of responsibility to God.  In its broadest sense, the term is used to include all forms of attestation by which a party signifies that he is bound in conscience to perform the act faithfully and truly.  In a more restricted sense, it excludes all those forms of attestation or promise which are not accompanied by an imprecation.  Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

Commonwealth:

An established form of government, or civil polity; or more generally, a state; a body politic, consisting of a certain portion of men united by compact or tacit agreement, under one form of government and system of laws.  This term is applied to the government of Great Britain, which is of a mixed character, and to other governments which are considered as free or popular, but rarely or improperly, to an absolute government.  A commonwealth is properly a free state; a popular or representative government; a republic; as the commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The word signifies strictly, the common good or happiness; and hence, the form of government supposed best to secure the public good.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

It generally designates, when so employed, a republican frame of government, of a jural society (or state) possessing powers of self-government in respect of its immediate concerns, but forming an integral part of a larger government (or nation).  In this latter sense, it is the official title of several of the United States (as Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Kentucky), and would be appropriate to them all.  Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

State:

5. A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people united under one government, whatever may be the form of the government.  More usually the word signifies a political body governed by representatives; a commonwealth; as the States of Greece; the States of America.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

A people permanently occupying a fixed territory bound together by common-law habits and custom into one body politic exercising, through the medium of an organized government, independent sovereignty and control over all persons and things within its boundaries, capable of making war and peace and of entering into international relations with other communities of the globe.  The section of territory occupied by one of the United States.  One of the component commonwealths or states of the United States of America.  Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

Citizen:

1. The native of a city, or an inhabitant who enjoys the freedom and privileges of the city in which he resides; the freeman of a city, as distinguished from a foreigner, or one not entitled to its franchises.  4. In a general sense, a native or permanent resident in a city or country; as the citizens of London or Philadelphia, the citizens of the United States.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

One who, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, or of a particular state, is a member of the political community, owing allegiance and being entitled to the enjoyment of full civil rights.  Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

Domicil:

An abode or mansion; a place of permanent residence, either of an individual or family; a residence, animo manendi [with intention to remain].  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

Domicile:

A person's legal home.  That place where a man has his true, fixed, and permanent home and principal establishment, and to which whenever he is absent he has the intention of returning (Smith v. Smith, 206 Pa. Super. 310)  A person may have more than one residence but only one domicile.  The legal domicile of a person is important since it, rather than the actual residence, often controls the jurisdiction of the taxing authorities and determines where a person may exercise the privilege of voting and other legal rights and privileges.  Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

For those who constantly spout that Amendment II of the Constitution for the united States says we only have the right to keep and bear arms when we're part of a state-run military body, here's the definition of militia from the time when the Constitution was written:

Militia:

The body of soldiers in a state enrolled for discipline, but not engaged in actual service except in emergencies; as distinguished from regular troops, whose sole occupation is war or military service.  The militia of a country are the able bodied men organized into companies, regiments and brigades, with officers of all grades, and required by law to attend military exercises on certain days only, but at other times left to pursue their usual occupations.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

For those who are familiar with the two types of taxes allowed by the Constitution for the united States, but aren't sure just what is being referred to in the constitutional provision regarding indirect taxes found in Article I Section 8 Clause 1, which reads:

Art. I Sec. 8 Clause 1
    The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties,
Imposts and Excises, [...]; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall
be uniform throughout the United States.  Elementary Catechism on the
Constitution of the United States

Duties:

Duties are sums of money, which must be paid by persons who bring goods of any kind from another country, into the United States, and which are in proportion to the quantity or value of such goods.  It is paid at certain places called Custom-houses, and is sent from these to the Treasury of the United States.  Elementary Catechism on the Constitution of the United States

Duty:

7. Tax, toll, impost, or customs; excise; any sum of money required by government to be paid on the importation, exportation, or consumption of goods.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

Imposts:

Imposts are sums of money which must be paid to the Government, by persons owning vessels, which enter the harbors of the United States, in proportion to the size of the vessels.  An Impost is a duty on vessels.  Elementary Catechism on the Constitution of the United States

Impost:

1. Any tax or tribute imposed by authority; particularly, a duty or tax laid by government on goods imported, and paid or secured by the importer at the time of importation.  Imposts are also called customs.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

Excises:

Excises are sums of money which must be paid to the Government, by persons who make certain articles within the United States, in proportion to the quantity or value of the articles manufactured.  Elementary Catechism on the Constitution of the United States

An inland duty or impost, laid on commodities consumed, or on the retail, which is the last stage before consumption; as an excise on coffee, soap, candles, which a person consumes in his family.  But many articles are excised at the manufactories, as spirit at the distillery, printed silks and linens at the printer's, etc.  Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary