A sovereign citizen who tried to evade municipal taxes using unfounded legal arguments has been torn to shreds by a clever municipal official.
A copy of the government employee’s email response has gone viral on social media for its brutal attack on the sovereign citizen.
It examines the flimsy rationale for sovereign citizens to believe that they, like all other Australians, are exempt from paying council tax.
“I refer to your letter which I received on June 26, 2024,” the roast begins.
‘Your letter is somewhat confusing.’
The council employee begins by informing the sovereign citizen that the repeated references to the Bible in his letter have no legal relevance.
“On page 1 you refer to the ‘Maxims at Law’ and then provide several Christian biblical references. Australia is a secular nation and biblical references are not considered law,” they write.
The worker then rejects the claim that the sovereign citizen must adhere to ‘a number of things’, including ‘the laws of God as they apply to the Church of England and the Holy See’.
A sovereign citizen who tried to evade municipal taxes by using unfounded legal arguments has been torn to shreds by a clever municipal official (photo)
“I encourage you to research the Reformation and King Henry VIII of England so that you can gain more background information,” they write.
‘Since the Pope refused to annul the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon so that Henry could marry the already pregnant Anne Boleyn, no one is accountable to BOTH the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church.
‘While it is an interesting bit of history, I am not sure what the Anglican Church or the Catholic Holy See have to do with (the council’s fines) in 2024.’
The sovereign citizen was subsequently criticised for calling the Australian Commonwealth a “corporation”.
The official called this ‘nonsense’.
“You claim that the Commonwealth of Australia is a company. It is not. This is a common misconception of people who search the internet for nonsense,” they write.
The employee then mocked the sovereign citizen for copying and pasting portions of an outdated template into his letter to the council.
‘Page 2, you also refer to ‘Her Most Gracious Majesty The Queen’. I am sorry to have to advise you this, but Her Majesty passed away on 8 September 2022. King Charles III is the current monarch of Australia,’ they write.
“I’m afraid this is what happens when you copy things from the Internet without checking them.”
A reference to an unrelated lawsuit between Queensland Rail and a major union has been branded ‘incorrect’ by the council officer.
“On page 2 you use a quote from HCA 11, 2015 and then you improperly use case law to extrapolate to a point that was not intended at all,” they write.
“I don’t understand why you’re using this to argue that you shouldn’t have to pay property taxes to your local government.”
A copy of the official’s email response (pictured) has gone viral on X, due to the brutal attack on the sovereign citizen
The council officer then checks the monarch’s bizarre interpretation of Section 109 of the Australian Constitution.
“On page 4 you state that Article 109 ‘declares void any new law in all local government laws created by the state since 1900,’ they write.
‘Section 109 of the Australian Constitution really only refers to the problems of inconsistency that can arise in a federation. No state may have a state law that is inconsistent with or incompatible with a federal law.
‘The NSW Local Government Act does not conflict with any federal law.’
Any attempt to claim that municipal tax is the ‘distribution of goods’ is quickly refuted.
“The rates paid to local councils under the NSW Local Government Act have absolutely nothing to do with any stage in the distribution of goods and therefore this is not relevant case law to your argument,” the employee wrote.
Next, the sovereign citizen is given a brief lesson on land titles and ownership.
“On page 5 you also refer to an old saying that ‘people own their land, all the ground to the center of the earth and all the air above.’ This is actually not correct,” they write.
‘Land titles issued after 1891 limit ownership to 50 feet (15.24 meters) below the surface. Air above is regulated by the State Planning Legislation. In any case, I fail to see the relevance of the point you incorrectly made.’
The council employee concludes his answer to the sovereign citizen with a blunt piece of advice
The council employee concludes his answer with a short and concise piece of advice.
‘Unfortunately, I cannot make out anywhere in your letter why you are approaching the council,’ they conclude.
‘I am genuinely concerned that you are following false leads and dishonest people on the internet. This activity is harmless in itself, but please do not give any of these people your money and always independently check all information you are given.
‘The internet contains the entire history of mankind, our collective knowledge and understanding. Be aware that it also contains nonsense and people who lie and are dishonest.
If you have a problem that you think we as a local authority can actually help you with, please contact us.
The message also included a screenshot of a sovereign citizen asking if anyone had used the ‘exchange law’ to avoid paying their credit card debts on Telegram (pictured)
‘Please note that if you write back incorrect and nonsensical demands that you have copied from the Internet, you will not receive any response in the future.’
The message also included a screenshot of a sovereign citizen asking if anyone had used the “exchange law” to circumvent the payment of credit card debts via Telegram.
“Now in the process of doing it – seeing how it goes,” someone replied. “They’re still sending letters, but extending the time – a little at a time – is really getting stressful.”
“Me too, I lost everything… and I’m trying not to worry about getting arrested as the threatening letters keep coming in,” wrote a second.
What is a sovereign citizen?
Sovereign citizens believe that the government is essentially a big corporation and therefore illegitimate and without jurisdiction over them.
This concept is often explained to frustrated police officers when they are stopped in traffic or for violating some other law.
“I do not consent” is a common phrase used by sovereign citizens when confronted with any form of law enforcement or authority.
Because they firmly believe that their cause is legitimate, they do not mind hiding their identities from the police.