We are well into another tax filing season, and the Internal Revenue Service is practicing one of its yearly rituals, which is addressing a vast amount of colorful arguments that people give as a reason why they aren't obligated to file a tax return.

With the advent of the internet, "tax myths" have been circulated through the World Wide Web and now it seems as though they have become notorious. Despite the fact that tax myths continue to explode every tax season, the IRS says that they are all phony.

The crux of one argument is the idea that the law describes the tax system as "voluntary." Following this logic, nobody really has to pay taxes. But in IRS language, voluntary means a system that initially allows taxpayers to determine the amount of tax on their own, rather than have the government figure out the tax for them from the outset.

An adorable  trick that people try with the IRS is to send in a return showing no income and no tax liability. But often, they attach a W-2 form, actually asking for a refund of the tax on their income that was withheld throughout the year.

Some people will not file a return because they believe that the IRS is obligated by law to create a return for individuals who don't file. Unfortunately for these people, this is not true. The IRS says that they are only allowed to file a return, but it does not require it to. Others argue that tips, wages, and the like are not income. But unfortunately for these people, gross income means ALL income from any source and also includes compensation for services.

Other taxpayers make the cute argument that they have rejected citizenship in the U.S. and instead have chosen state citizenship, thus absolving them of their civic duty. The IRS comes back with a slam. The Fourteenth Amendment in the Constitution says that all people who are naturalized in the US are citizens of the US and of the State where they reside. The lesson that you should walk away with here is this: don't mess with the IRS! Happy Tax Season!