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Feds behind use of lien list as "legal notice" Lien language altered;helps IRS COLVILLE (6-30-99 Idaho Observer) --Stevens County residents told county commissioners today why they should change the language in the county's list of more than 2,000 IRS liens against property owners here.   Folks are steamed since the IRS has put liens on enough local properties to affect 19 percent of Stevens County's population of 38,000. If this large population fails to pay, they could be removed from their property at gunpoint.   Leading the protest was Jim Shaver and supporters, who say the state and county is "aiding and abetting the IRS, and that's unconstitutional (Tenth Amendment). Commissioners didn't agree.   Their May 19 letter to Shaver said "The Board and Auditor have read the materials you submitted and consulted with the county's legal advisor. It is our joint decision to change the current Tax Lien Index to a Notice of Lien Index. This change has been implemented." With the county rolling over like puppies to the feds, local residents feel frustrated and helpless. No statements about dumping present Stevens County Commissioners came up during testimony at the Courthouse today. Shaver told the trio the IRS is "The largest business in the world today. It makes Microsoft look like a lemonade stand. The largest business in the world today is to pillage and plunder the American people," Shaver told Stevens County commissioners. Shaver said the IRS, an agency "proven to be illegal and unconstitutional, incessantly terrorizes innocent people in a manner that is totally lawless and dispassionate, has transferred liability for its illegal property seizures to county governments across the country."   He said liability has been placed particularly upon the shoulders of the county auditor and the sheriff, noting that "IRS liens constitute unprosecuted securities frauds." Shaver, who has been studying the IRS' use of this mechanism since the early 1990s, told how the federal collection agency uses county officials' ignorance to create a seemingly "negotiable" instrument out of thin air. The IRS uses the county to obey a state statute (RCW 60.68) that compels a county auditor to file a "notice" of lien in an alphabetical tax lien list.   The IRS then contacts the county auditor and directs him to add a name to the county's lien index. Once a lien has been added to the lien index, an IRS agent can ask for a certified copy of it.   "Then the agent then has the proof (he needs) to go out and pillage and plunder property," said Shaver. According to Shaver, the chummy IRS-county arrangement constitutes a securities fraud.   "The IRS is guilty of nothing because all it did was secure a certified copy of something that was obviously accomplished by the county auditor under state law when the lien was recorded, probably with a phone call," Shaver said. From the certified copy of the lien index, the IRS then creates a (fraudulently derived) Notice of Levy that's presented to the local sheriff. The local sheriff--who also stands for election regularly--is then told to seize a person's property.   The sheriff then, dutifully, seizes the property and arranges to put it up for auction.   "What the sheriff doesn't realize is he's working from a notice. He's working from an unperfected instrument. He's working from a securities fraud," Shaver said. Shaver is committed ending the fraud. To prove to commissioners that IRS tactics are illegal, he explained how county officials should address IRS agents.   "OK, Mr. IRS agent...in the past you have induced us into fraud that we won't be a part of any more. Now, first we'll need your delegation of authority from the secretary of the U.S. Treasury to perform the assessment in the first place.   "Then we want your affidavit, signed and true, correct and complete, under penalty of perjury, that this person owes something and what that amount might be. "I don't think (IRS agents will come around anymore) because the whole thing is a giant scam," said Shaver.   Shaver said the affidavit is important because the county positively identifies the IRS agent, nailing down his home and business addresses in the event the county needs to serve him. After Shaver's presentation, commissioners questioned him.   Shaver's answers apparently were compelling enough to convince Stevens County commissioners that, if IRS agents are going to use the county to create instruments whereby citizens are to have their property taken, the IRS agent will need to place his own freedom and his own assets on the line by submitting an affidavit. Ev Kytonen, a Shaver supporter, said he "hopes fairness and lawfulness someday return to our embattled nation."   "This is just the first in a series of steps we'll take to educate Stevens County government regarding its rights and responsibilities. The county is the most powerful unit of government within our Constitutional Republic," Kytonen said. He said public testimony "is a very important step toward educating county officials as to their true rights and responsibilities, under law, to protect the interests of its citizens from from the tyranny of federal agencies."   Shaver and supporters say they will make a similar presentation to county commissioners anywhere in Washington state.   Yakima County residents who wish to have the group appear at a Commission meeting are urged to call The Idaho Observer, POB 1353, Rathdrum, ID 83858, at (208) 255-2307. The paper will put callers in touch with with Shaver.