In the 1980s when the Internal Revenue Service put a levy on my bank account and seized my property to the point that I couldn’t pay my bills, their rationale was that I owed $20,000, though I made and was taxed on my income of less than $50,000 for the year in question. I realized then that the tax system is too complicated and impossible for the average person to understand or have access to the thousands of pages of applicable regulations without tax lawyers and accountants on retainer.

For a long time it cost me at least $1,500 per year to prevent a recurrence of these problems but also to understand that, unfortunately, the IRS wasn’t my friend or necessarily there to help me. Certain categories of people are routinely targeted for audit, including doctors and business people like Donald Trump. The assumption seems to be that we are all evil doers.

No one wants to pay more taxes at the state and federal level than the law requires, especially given that we also pay automobile, sales, property, business and a myriad of other taxes, as well as fees for licenses of every description. The allowances for people who don’t take a standard deduction can be phenomenal if one is willing to get professional help in doing the forms. Even Bill Clinton deducted the donation of his used underwear to charity.

There is no law that says a presidential candidate must release his tax returns or can’t be allowed to shield his educational transcripts, as did President Obama. There is a law which prevents the disclosure of tax information without the consent of the filer unless the return is at issue before a public court (which isn’t the same as a public fracas).

Does the New York Times have the right to violate a person’s confidential information? Do we allow presidential candidates to protect their health information depending solely on scripted physician summaries or should such be submitted to a physician review panel as is done in football for concussion protocols? Several presidents tried to continue in office while not being functional and were there in name only. Edith Wilson hid Woodrow Wilson’s severe illness, which led to the 25th Amendment establishing presidential succession in the event of incapacitation of the commander in chief.

The U.S. Constitution only requires three things of presidential candidates: being at least 35 years of age, residing within the nation for 14 years and being a natural born citizen (which is not well defined.

Taxes are a heinous pox to liberty in a free society, yet a necessary evil to pay for the goods and services being demanded by a citizenry insisting upon more services than they are personally willing to finance. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher declared that socialism, which is where we are heading full steam ahead, is only good as long as we don’t run out of other people’s money to finance it.

A democracy must believe in representation where all contribute equally/proportionately, such as a flat tax might do. In allowing all members of society to contribute proportionately, none can then claim special privileges based on the assumption of a larger share of the debt burden. A 25 percent flat tax on income without deductions might knock some sense in our heads about holding up one’s end on the freedom train. We may not have built it, but Lord knows we will pay for it, now or later, for the price of freedom isn’t free.

Dr. Ada M. Fisher of Salisbury is Republican national committeewoman for North Carolina. Contact her at P.O. Box 777, Salisbury, NC 28145 or drfisher@dradamfisher.org.