What do you think?
Rate this book
Income Tax: The Root of All Evil
Frank Chodorov was an extraordinary thinker and writer, and hugely influential in the 1950s. This is his American classic that argues that the income tax, more than any other legislative change in American history, made it possible to violate individual rights that were at the core of the founding.
He argues that income taxes are different from other forms because they deny the right of private property and presume government control over all things. The introduction is by former IRS commissioner J. Bracken Lee.
91 pages, 6" x 9", paperback
He argues that income taxes are different from other forms because they deny the right of private property and presume government control over all things. The introduction is by former IRS commissioner J. Bracken Lee.
91 pages, 6" x 9", paperback
91 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
33 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 17, 2017
This is about why socialism scares the hell out of me.
November 11, 2021
Налог конечно неприятная вещь, но все таки не корень зла, а инструмент. Который используют с разной степенью эффективности. И да, конечно можно и без налога.
June 19, 2025
Well written and brought up interesting points. However he’s a libertarian and I’m very much not, so I have a lot of disagreement with his views on the subject.
February 6, 2017
This book is fantastic at satisfying its purpose: laying out a succinct argument against the United States income tax. Chodorov, writing in the 1950's, describes how the income tax caused the federal government to become a self-sufficient entity. The state governments and much of the citizenry became beholden to the federal government because of its ability to collect substantial sums of money from all over the country and redistribute it back out to favored parties. The Sixteenth Amendment fundamentally changed the structure of the United States from a system of unified states to a provincial system. No longer was power balanced between the states and the federal government; the federal government was clearly more powerful.
Chodorov's writing is just as relevant in 2017 as it was 60 years ago. Tax rates have continued to creep upward and affect more and more of the population. There are more groups beholden to the largess of the federal government than ever before. As a result, it is extremely difficult to envision a repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment. His premise is certainly correct, though. A people cannot be truly free when another entity has first claim on everything the people earn. Visionaries like Chodorov knew the effects the income tax would have. He had already seen the U.S. enter two costly world wars and embark on unprecedented social spending via the New Deal. It is unlikely that all of those things could have been done without the income tax; people would not further traded their liberty for security, as they were so prone to do during the world wars and the Great Depression. There are other root causes of the issues we face today (the creation of the Federal Reserve is one that comes to mind), but it is hard to argue with Chodorov's thesis that the income tax lay at the center of these anti-liberty issues.
This is a quick read (about 100 pages). I recommend it to people who believe that ending the income tax is impossible and/or loony to suggest. Quick introductions like this are necessary for people to introduce themselves to new ideas. Chodorov's prose is easy to read, so this is not a drag to read.
Chodorov's writing is just as relevant in 2017 as it was 60 years ago. Tax rates have continued to creep upward and affect more and more of the population. There are more groups beholden to the largess of the federal government than ever before. As a result, it is extremely difficult to envision a repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment. His premise is certainly correct, though. A people cannot be truly free when another entity has first claim on everything the people earn. Visionaries like Chodorov knew the effects the income tax would have. He had already seen the U.S. enter two costly world wars and embark on unprecedented social spending via the New Deal. It is unlikely that all of those things could have been done without the income tax; people would not further traded their liberty for security, as they were so prone to do during the world wars and the Great Depression. There are other root causes of the issues we face today (the creation of the Federal Reserve is one that comes to mind), but it is hard to argue with Chodorov's thesis that the income tax lay at the center of these anti-liberty issues.
This is a quick read (about 100 pages). I recommend it to people who believe that ending the income tax is impossible and/or loony to suggest. Quick introductions like this are necessary for people to introduce themselves to new ideas. Chodorov's prose is easy to read, so this is not a drag to read.
March 25, 2019
A criminally underrated and unknown book, yet by far the greatest argument for decentralization that I have read. I wonder what the author would have thought of the expansions of state power under LBJ (Chodrov died in '66) as well as the push for housing that government pursued during the 1990s and 2000s. Wonderful read once again!
August 10, 2016
If I could give this book a million stars I would. How enlightening! Such prose! Sheer genius!!!
November 12, 2019
Chodorov has interesting arguments. His thesis is that involuntary taxes such as on property and income are antithetical to the Constitutional rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness; that failure to pay will result in government seizure, ultimately at the point of a gun; that such force reveals ownership is actually held by the state, not by private individuals; that a person who does not truly possess and have the right to use his property and the fruit of his labor as he or she sees fit does not truly hold the right to his own life, to his own liberty, and to his own pursuit of happiness.
Since governments do not actually produce anything, they must obtain from the citizenry. How, then, would a government obtain the funds to maintain itself? Money would be gained through taxes/tariffs on commerce, e.g. sales taxes. Such taxation would be entirely voluntary on the part of the citizen. If she doesn't want to pay the tax, she doesn't purchase that item. She is free to shop around for an item that sells for less, incurring a smaller tax, or not to purchase at all. Governments could not incur debts.
The fact is that citizens are taxed involuntarily in so many ways that if property and income taxes were abolished, and sales taxes/tariffs on goods were imposed entirely, citizens would be shocked to their cores, and would oppose them. Better, they suppose, to pay all the hidden taxes - which might actually amount to more - than to see the amount they're paying up-front in the form of sales taxes and tariffs on goods.
Why does he call the income tax the "root of all evil?" Chodorov maintains that the involuntary tax has turned the citizenry into a bunch of liars. Perhaps it's true of many, but not universally. He also maintains that the income tax has turned us into a dependent lot - dependent on government - willing to sacrifice our liberties and self-reliance for the sake of comfort and convenience.
Chodorov's argument was reflected in the Tea Party movement of yesteryear, which proposed a system of voluntary taxation (e.g. national sales tax) that would automatically put the brakes on burgeoning government/bureaucratic growth. That was extremely unpopular with government officials and bureaucrats, and some business leaders who prefer hidden taxes.
Fact is, such a reformation of the taxation system would require a massive upheaval in the thinking of the citizenry, and such upheavals usually only occur as the results of crises. None are on the horizon.
Oh, well.
Since governments do not actually produce anything, they must obtain from the citizenry. How, then, would a government obtain the funds to maintain itself? Money would be gained through taxes/tariffs on commerce, e.g. sales taxes. Such taxation would be entirely voluntary on the part of the citizen. If she doesn't want to pay the tax, she doesn't purchase that item. She is free to shop around for an item that sells for less, incurring a smaller tax, or not to purchase at all. Governments could not incur debts.
The fact is that citizens are taxed involuntarily in so many ways that if property and income taxes were abolished, and sales taxes/tariffs on goods were imposed entirely, citizens would be shocked to their cores, and would oppose them. Better, they suppose, to pay all the hidden taxes - which might actually amount to more - than to see the amount they're paying up-front in the form of sales taxes and tariffs on goods.
Why does he call the income tax the "root of all evil?" Chodorov maintains that the involuntary tax has turned the citizenry into a bunch of liars. Perhaps it's true of many, but not universally. He also maintains that the income tax has turned us into a dependent lot - dependent on government - willing to sacrifice our liberties and self-reliance for the sake of comfort and convenience.
Chodorov's argument was reflected in the Tea Party movement of yesteryear, which proposed a system of voluntary taxation (e.g. national sales tax) that would automatically put the brakes on burgeoning government/bureaucratic growth. That was extremely unpopular with government officials and bureaucrats, and some business leaders who prefer hidden taxes.
Fact is, such a reformation of the taxation system would require a massive upheaval in the thinking of the citizenry, and such upheavals usually only occur as the results of crises. None are on the horizon.
Oh, well.
September 21, 2020
Anyone who read this book and came away thinking that it made good points must have had their brain worked over by sandpaper.
The book begins, and essentially ends by claiming that, and get this, You have a right to life, therefore You have a right to live, therefore You have a right to stuff to live Your life with, therefore any taxation is an infringement on Your fundamental rights since it takes away Your stuff. That's the level of intellectual sophistication We're dealing with here folks.
Along the way of setting out this argument, there are other flashes of brilliance such as "hey they are taxing You at the moment for 20%, next thing You know it will be 100!" (what a slippery slope that is), "people in the bible killed the taxman and there were on to something", taxation is really a problem for the middle and lower class (which is why We should definitely lower it for the elites and abolish the Estate taxes, and You definitely should not read about regressive taxation and how taxes should be implemented), taxes obviously don't serve a purpose (and don't tire Your poor little brain about it), and Socialism is essentially Communism and You aren't a Dirty Red Commie, are You?
Honestly, despite the 1 star review, I recommend reading this with all my heart, just so You can see first-hand how completely vacuous the brains of anyone who buys these dumbass ideas really are.
The book begins, and essentially ends by claiming that, and get this, You have a right to life, therefore You have a right to live, therefore You have a right to stuff to live Your life with, therefore any taxation is an infringement on Your fundamental rights since it takes away Your stuff. That's the level of intellectual sophistication We're dealing with here folks.
Along the way of setting out this argument, there are other flashes of brilliance such as "hey they are taxing You at the moment for 20%, next thing You know it will be 100!" (what a slippery slope that is), "people in the bible killed the taxman and there were on to something", taxation is really a problem for the middle and lower class (which is why We should definitely lower it for the elites and abolish the Estate taxes, and You definitely should not read about regressive taxation and how taxes should be implemented), taxes obviously don't serve a purpose (and don't tire Your poor little brain about it), and Socialism is essentially Communism and You aren't a Dirty Red Commie, are You?
Honestly, despite the 1 star review, I recommend reading this with all my heart, just so You can see first-hand how completely vacuous the brains of anyone who buys these dumbass ideas really are.
July 12, 2025
Really elucidating history of the income tax and interesting thesis on how it was the killing blow to federalism in the US. Books like these make me wonder why economic history (which also includes legal history most of the time) is not included in any US history classes as it usually has some of the biggest implications and provides a lot of background for some large historical events like the Civil War.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the first chapter as it is a weird bridging of the Bible and the morality of the income tax which I wasn't nearly as strong or as engaging as the rest of the book
I wasn't the biggest fan of the first chapter as it is a weird bridging of the Bible and the morality of the income tax which I wasn't nearly as strong or as engaging as the rest of the book
February 21, 2019
Although one wishes a 1954 book on the income tax would no longer be relevant, the intervening years and the full range of tax “reforms” have not undone Chodorov’s original analysis or his recommendations. And not only relevant, "Income Tax: The Root of All Evil" is a delight to read, a propose full of energy and grace.
Read the full review here: https://www.whynotlibertarianism.com/...
Read the full review here: https://www.whynotlibertarianism.com/...
March 30, 2023
A short book that must be read
This book pulls back the curtain to reveal the full implications of allowing the government to have the privilege of collecting income tax. Dealing with government overreach into the lives of private citizens isn’t complete until the 16th amendment is repealed. It was also startling to think that this book was written in 1954, as is the dangers it predicts are clearly upon us nearly 70 years later.
This book pulls back the curtain to reveal the full implications of allowing the government to have the privilege of collecting income tax. Dealing with government overreach into the lives of private citizens isn’t complete until the 16th amendment is repealed. It was also startling to think that this book was written in 1954, as is the dangers it predicts are clearly upon us nearly 70 years later.
May 17, 2023
Chodorov gets his point across by detailing the consequences that stem from the existence of an income tax. The word "evil" is very much justified as the actions enabled by the introduction of the income tax have led to immense suffering & horrors beyond imagination in the 20th century &, unfortunately, beyond.
May 23, 2023
I never thought I would give a book on taxes 5 stars....
Before this book the year 1913 didn't have any particular significance to me, but now I believe it was the beginning of the end for the U.S.
Before this book the year 1913 didn't have any particular significance to me, but now I believe it was the beginning of the end for the U.S.
July 28, 2017
Chodorov Ahead of His Time
Every word written by Chodorov is as relevant today as it was the time of its writing. He was truly visionary.
Every word written by Chodorov is as relevant today as it was the time of its writing. He was truly visionary.
April 15, 2013
Much of what I've been experiencing and reading lately, with my Cyprus Bank account frozen while I worried that a good portion of it might be confiscated by the government; the excesses of the financial industry and the failure of the US Justice Department to prosecute wrong-doers in that industry; the healthcare industry and its ludicrous chargemaster price schemes; it occurs to me that in all these instances, governments at the national level are responsible for their complicity in propagating that kind of behavior. I've lost faith and have much less trust in these institutions now. Naturally, I feel less inclined to entrust the government and banks with my money. The banking issue is another matter, but what can I do if I don't trust the government to conduct itself honorably with the money I give it via taxes? What is my recourse? Actually, the government TAKES the money people owe in taxes every month through employer withholdings or automatically through everyone's electricity bills as is the case here in Greece at the moment. So the federal government doesn't trust us to pay what we owe in taxes, preferring instead to take it directly from the employer who pays us, or through our electric bills, basically bypassing our consent altogether. So what incentive do we then have to trust the federal government if it treats us this way? In Greece, there is zero trust. In the US, where propaganda is perhaps much more effective, there may be a higher degree of trust although I'm not in the best position to comment on that having been abroad most of the last 8 years. But I know money plays too large a role in lobbying & politics to think that our votes can really make the difference we need to change the federal system. I agree with Chodorov that a state, through its governor and legislature, must lead the charge to repeal the 16th amendment in the United States using the State's rights argument. There's no way to make the income tax fair, and to continue this ridiculous dance as if we can is a charade that leads to more loopholes, more pork barrel politics, bigger & bigger government, and bigger, "better", more frequent bailouts.
Our society needs to reconsider how the federal government is financed-- how we allow it to obtain its revenue. There are other ways besides the income tax. Republican Governor Bobby Jindal in Louisiana recently proposed eliminating state income taxes as of January 2014. Other states function without an income tax. If states can do it, then surely it must be possible for the federal government to get it done. There needs to be greater competition in the market for taxes, and the federal income tax gives the federal government a monopoly to "legally" confiscate the property of its citizens. I write "legally" because what's "legal" amounts to words on a piece of paper. When those words are not backed by the force of a sound and legitimate moral claim or argument, then it is the right, the duty of those at whom the law is directed to do what they can to make that law null and void. In this case, as argued convincingly in the book, it is the 16th amendment that must be expunged.
Our society needs to reconsider how the federal government is financed-- how we allow it to obtain its revenue. There are other ways besides the income tax. Republican Governor Bobby Jindal in Louisiana recently proposed eliminating state income taxes as of January 2014. Other states function without an income tax. If states can do it, then surely it must be possible for the federal government to get it done. There needs to be greater competition in the market for taxes, and the federal income tax gives the federal government a monopoly to "legally" confiscate the property of its citizens. I write "legally" because what's "legal" amounts to words on a piece of paper. When those words are not backed by the force of a sound and legitimate moral claim or argument, then it is the right, the duty of those at whom the law is directed to do what they can to make that law null and void. In this case, as argued convincingly in the book, it is the 16th amendment that must be expunged.
March 8, 2016
Read this I beg you.
I had never even heard of Frank Chodorov before reading this book, but I am an instant fan. Other big name economists grab all the headlines: Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, etc., but they are not nearly as enjoyable or easy to read. Chodorov writes with the simplicity, permanent relevance, and clarity of Bastiat, and that is the highest compliment I know how to give. Every American should read this to be shaken awake to the growing injustice to which we have become accustomed. Read this, I beg you.
"Who wants freedom? In the circumstances, those who put a value on freedom, who know that the loss of interest in freedom is the sure mark of national and individual decadence, are in deep despair. Many, too many, have resigned themselves to what they call the inevitable." Frank Chodorov
I had never even heard of Frank Chodorov before reading this book, but I am an instant fan. Other big name economists grab all the headlines: Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, etc., but they are not nearly as enjoyable or easy to read. Chodorov writes with the simplicity, permanent relevance, and clarity of Bastiat, and that is the highest compliment I know how to give. Every American should read this to be shaken awake to the growing injustice to which we have become accustomed. Read this, I beg you.
"Who wants freedom? In the circumstances, those who put a value on freedom, who know that the loss of interest in freedom is the sure mark of national and individual decadence, are in deep despair. Many, too many, have resigned themselves to what they call the inevitable." Frank Chodorov
February 21, 2015
Great read, articulate and entertaining.
Even more prescient today than when it was written, I recommend this book to anyone concerned with the expansion of government and the contraction of freedom. Even if you are content with the role of government in your life, this book may open your eyes to the realities of government overreach.
Even more prescient today than when it was written, I recommend this book to anyone concerned with the expansion of government and the contraction of freedom. Even if you are content with the role of government in your life, this book may open your eyes to the realities of government overreach.
June 20, 2011
This book presents a very compelling argument.
November 16, 2015
For a book written in the 1950's, it is still relevant today. Predictions of the problems generated by our loss of right to our property (income) have, unfortunately, come to fruition.
December 10, 2024
Fascinating insights on a topic few question.
October 19, 2024
an introduction to anti-income tax rhetoric from the perspective of a seasoned libertarian. Chodorov’s book is lacking in historical citation but is rich in powerful language.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews