Joseph Banister may be the first and only IRS criminal investigator ever to conduct an off-duty investigation into claims that the federal income tax is fraudulently administered and enforced and to confront top IRS officials about the validity of those claims. The IRS officials confronted only encouraged him to resign, which he did in 1999.
A CPA with a BA in Accounting from San Jose State University, Joe left public accounting in 1993 to join the IRS Criminal Investigative Division. In addition to his duties as IRS CID Special Agent, Mr. Banister was appointed as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Coordinator and Asset Forfeiture Coordinator for the IRS Central California District. He qualified as an expert marksman and assisted with firearms and defensive tactics training.
Realizing that the IRS has no intention of addressing the issues surrounding the validity of income tax enforcement, he knew he had a moral and ethical duty to inform the American people — not only about his investigation, but about the failure of the IRS to rebut his research and its suspicious reluctance to even discuss the matter. He continues to be driven by a desire to inform the public on these vital issues. Joe's website is Freedom above Fortune, and he is host of a once-a-week radio show by the same name.
