Tax Lawyers, Tax Defiance, and the Ethics of Casual Conversation

Abstract:     
This Essay addresses the increasingly common social situation in which tax lawyers are confronted with tax protester arguments and similar anti-tax system comments. This Essay seeks to place these conversations in a greater context of tax policy and ethical considerations, urging tax lawyers not to walk away from the conversations but rather to engage with hopes of educating the public, improving the law, and protecting the interests of the vast majority of Americans who pay their share of the price of civilization and expect others to do the same.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 33

Keywords: tax, ethics, professional responsibility, tax protestor, tax defier, robust professionalism, tax evasion, tax gap, civic virtue, tea party, taxation without representation, tax reform, sixteenth amendment, Aaron Russo

JEL Classification: H26, K34

Accepted Paper Series