Last edited Sun Aug 24, 2025, 10:50 PM - Edit history (5)
Each state could then use that revenue to peacefully and legally, service and support their own law enforcement needs. Otherwise, we will become and remain the oppressed financial supporters of a police state. That is not what Noam Chomsky meant by "Manufacturing Consent."
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Withholding Federal Tax Revenue Streams:
Excise Taxes (product-specific, collected upstream)
a. Gasoline & Diesel
Normal flow:
Collected at refinery/import terminal by IRS → built into wholesale price.
Choke point:
State could demand tax payments flow to a state escrow from refiners/terminals.
Reality check:
Federal liability attaches at point of removal; IRS can seize/refine licenses revoked.
b. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF)
Normal flow:
Collected from manufacturers/importers before distribution.
Choke point:
State could block shipments unless excise paid into a state trust.
Reality check:
These are federally licensed industries; refusal would result in federal seizure.
c. Aviation Fuel & Ticket Taxes
Normal flow:
Airlines collect from passengers (ticket taxes, security fees) → remit to IRS.
Choke point:
State could order airlines operating in its airports to remit to state first.
Reality check:
Interstate commerce rules give federal government override.
d. Import Tariffs (Customs Duties)
Normal flow:
Collected at U.S. ports of entry by CBP (federal officers).
Choke point:
States have no role here unless they physically blocked federal customs operations.
Reality check:
This would look like South Carolinas 1832 Nullification Crisis at ports.
For income, payroll, corporate taxes: choke point = employer/corporation remittance step.
For excise taxes: choke point = upstream producers/import terminals.
For tariffs/duties: choke point = ports/customs houses.
For estate/gift: choke point = estate settlement/banks.
Mechanically, the only way a state could hold back federal tax is by forcing businesses, employers, banks, or terminals to pay into a state escrow account instead of the IRS. Everything else flows directly between taxpayer and federal government.