In a decision that allows Americans to reflect both on the fact that taxation is not just extortion and theft, but that it also breaches the Fourth Amendment’s promise of privacy against searches without warrants, Judge Mark Pittman, of the U.S. District Court for the Northwest District of Texas, July 10 issued an injunction against enforcement of a federal tax statute that has effectively banned the making of home-distilled moonshine for the last 156 years.
Entitled “Hobby Distillers Association, et al. v. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, et al.” the case revolved around four of the Hobby Distiller’s 1,300 members who filed suit in December against the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the Department of Justice, arguing that the government's “regulation-through-the-tax-code” reach could not extend to activities within a person's home.
