It's quite amazing how many people hold unusual interpretations of the law. Here's a article on some of the more mainstream theories about taxes, with the most common one found in conspiracy circles, that you don't need to pay your taxes at all.
http://moneyning.com/tax/debunking-3-myths-about-paying-taxes
http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=159932,00.html
Actor Wesley Snipes fell for this myth, after falling for some bad advice:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/30/wesley-snipes-tax-adviser-found-guilty-again/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_and_Elaine_Brown
http://moneyning.com/tax/debunking-3-myths-about-paying-taxes
The IRS has a detailed article covering many of these myths:Myth #1: You Aren’t Legally Bound to Pay TaxesOne of the most popular myths about paying taxes is that you don’t actually have to. Unfortunately, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, the highest law of the land, says otherwise. It is legal for the government to levy income taxes, and you have to pay them.
Some of the confusion (intended or otherwise by those who would like to avoid paying taxes) arises from language that has been used in the past, referring to “voluntary assessment and payment.” Many officials have been quite clear in explaining that “voluntary” means that your figure out what you owe and then volunteer the information and the payment without the government coming to get it from you. Of course, if you decide not to volunteer the information, the IRS is likely to come and get it from you anyway. And maybe throw you in jail.
Read more at: http://moneyning.com/tax/debunking-3-myths-about-paying-taxes
http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=159932,00.html
Actor Wesley Snipes fell for this myth, after falling for some bad advice:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/30/wesley-snipes-tax-adviser-found-guilty-again/
And occasionally people take this to extremes of action:Snipes had sought to avoid taxes by, among other things, using three bogus checks to pay $14 million in taxes and filing an amended tax return altered to state that he filed under "no" penalty of perjury. He later claimed to be a tax denier, meaning that he was not subject to tax based on a number of what have been found to be frivolous arguments. Snipes was said to have joined the movement in 1999 when he realized that he owed more than $2 million in federal income taxes. He subsequently sought out Eddie Kahn, who had previously served jail time in the 1980s for tax evasion, to do a seminar in his home. After that seminar (and paying Kahn a fee), Snipes refused to pay any more taxes to the U.S. government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_and_Elaine_Brown
and VERY odd interpretations of the law:Edward Lewis Brown (born 1942) and his wife, Elaine Alice Brown (born c. 1940), residents of the state of New Hampshire, gained national news media attention in early 2007 for not paying the U.S. federal income tax and refusing to surrender to federal government agents after having been convicted of tax crimes.[1] After the conviction and sentencing, a long, armed standoff with federal law enforcement authorities at their New Hampshire residence ended with the arrest of Edward and Elaine Brown on October 4, 2007.[2][3][4] In July 2009, while serving their sentences for the tax crimes, the Browns were found guilty by a federal district court jury of additional criminal charges arising from their conduct during the standoff.
The Browns filed numerous pre-trial motions, contending (among other things) that the United States is owned by Paine Webber and that "the most powerful court in America is not the United States Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania."[58] According to the Concord Monitor, the Browns filed "about 30 motions, expressing views that their case is governed by commercial law, that they are not the people named in the indictment, that the federal government has no authority and that they can resolve all charges with 'promissory notes' for billions of dollars."[16] The Browns also claimed: "The U.S. has not had a Treasury since 1921"; "The United States does not have any employees because there is no longer a United States"; "There are no judicial courts in America and there has not been since 1789"; "There have not been any Judges in America since 1789"; "The Revolutionary War was a fraud"; "America is a British colony"; "Britain is owned by the Vatican"; and "A 1040 form [Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return] is for tribute paid to Britain".[59]