By KEN ROULEAU

It was nice to see a letter of support for Dr. Bob McGinn (“McGinn kudos”) in last week’s Driftwood.

The income tax challenge he took on is a lonely one, and the letter was correct to point out he is a kind, thoughtful person with integrity.

The bigger point, however, was missed: that he’s right. I believe the federal Income Tax Act was, is and will ever be unconstitutional and illegal. It has been so for 92 years now. Just because time has passed doesn’t make it right.

It’s unconstitutional because Canada’s Constitution designates very specific and exclusive powers to provinces and federal jurisdictions — and they may never transfer or assume powers not given. Provinces have the exclusive right to tax directly (income or sales tax) and the fed has every other mode of taxation.

It’s illegal because of the court cases, judiciary decisions, Privy Council cases and official documents from premiers conferences, Parliament records (Hansard), financial agreements and statements by politicians going back to pre-Confederation. Proof the fed has no right to direct tax can be read right up to the enacting of the Temporary War Income Tax, which was passed under controversy in 1917.

Post-WWII Supreme Courts and tax challenges have also affirmed this, yet lower courts, media and all politicians deny and ignore its truth.

Bob McGinn’s tax challenge based on the “natural person” argument is a technically difficult challenge that goes after the heart of law and its imposing effects on real people, not legal entities. Unfortunately, it is rarely successful in court.

The direct challenge to federal income tax based on its unconstitutionality is far more solid a case and has been successfully argued in Canadian courts for 50 years, yet barely any Canadians know this.

There is another legal argument against the federal tax, along the lines of “conscientious objection” to where the taxes are spent. The fed spends Canadian taxpayers’ money on ignoring domestic and international law around prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, they allow Canadians to be sent to Syria for torture. They do business with dictators and subsidize corporations that destroy the environment and abuse human rights. Why should we give our money to that, legitimizing its crimes? In good conscience, how can we?

I’ve heard it said that we need to pay federal income tax to “contribute to society,” yet most of the revenue collected from federal tax goes to bankers to pay interest on the national debt, not on roads, hospitals or schools.

We have a fraudulent federal tax because our government illegally gave away its right to issue the nation’s money. To pay for the new bankers debt, government imposed an income tax. It’s happened the same in many countries, and is as illegal there as here. The fraud is huge and always wrong. Inform yourself.

Many thanks to Bob McGinn for having the courage and knowledge to challenge illegal acts and shady laws. Whether we know it or not, you do this challenge for all of us.

The writer is a Salt Spring resident and past local and provincial political candidate.