Federal action over anti-tax book draws many opponents

Jace Radke

Friday, May 2, 2003 | 9:59 a.m.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada has been joined by publishing groups and the American Library Association in protesting an order by a federal judge that restricts a local tax critic from selling one of his books.

A brief filed in U.S. District Court Thursday by the ACLU states that the order is a prior restraint, but attorneys for the tax division of the Department of Justice say that parts of the book are commercial speech and not protected by the First Amendment.

Irwin Schiff, a 75-year-old tax critic who is under investigation by the IRS on allegations that he and his associates conduct seminars and sell materials designed to help customers evade federal taxes, is under a temporary restraining order that stops him from selling "The Federal Mafia."

The book rails against the tax system, but also contains a section that the government alleges provides step-by-step instructions for filling out income tax returns falsely, listing no income and no tax due.

The government is asking U.S. District Judge Lloyd George to make the temporary restraining order a preliminary injunction, while the ACLU argues that the banning of a book is a prior restraint.

"The Supreme Court has long distinguished between a prior restraint, where the government limits or even bans speech before it has the chance to be expressed," the ACLU's brief states.

Joining the ACLU and the American Library Association in the brief are the Association of American Publishers, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Freedom to Read Foundation and the Pen American Center, an association of over 2,600 literary writers.

Tax division attorney Evan Davis has argued that parts of Schiff's book are commercial speech and further a scheme that has led to more than $56 million in lost taxes in the past three years.

The defendants "have brazenly directed and assisted their customers in assaulting the tax system and attempting to bilk the federal government out of millions of tax dollars through Schiff's bogus 'zero income' tax scheme," according to a brief filed by the government Thursday.

No criminal charges have been filed against Schiff or his associates, Cynthia Neun and Lawrence Cohen, but Schiff's business, Freedom Books, was the target of an IRS raid in February.

If George grants an injunction, Schiff and his associates will continue to be barred from preparing tax returns or selling materials that specifically advise people to break the law.

A hearing has not yet been set on the matter.