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Sitting at the witness stand, with large books of federal regulations and the tax code in front of her, Jackson said she could not find any section of the tax code that held her liable for income taxes.
"I'd done a lot of research and I was just about sure," she testified. "I did not have to file an income tax return."
During cross-examination, assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Langway read Section 1 of the tax code to Jackson, who is married. A tax is imposed on "every married individual," Langway read, asking Jackson how she could not be an individual.
"I couldn't find the definition of 'individual,' " Jackson replied.
Lowell H. Becraft Jr., one of Jackson's attorneys, told jurors they should not convict her of willfully disobeying the law because Jackson
had a "good faith" reason to believe she did not have to file taxes. He reminded the jury Jackson attended Tuskegee University in Alabama and the University of Georgia, raised a family and lived the life of an ordinary American.
"You may have never heard of this before," Becraft said. "To you, it may sound wild. It may sound crazy. ... But
she believes she's not required to file tax returns."
Langway called Jackson's reasoning "cockamamie" and "absurd."
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution article
So it seems her defense was not that income taxes are illegal, but that she believes she doesn't have to pay them.