Does the “Includes and Including” clause mean you are INCLUDED as a taxpayer?

Freedom Law School has shown many times in various ways, directly from the IRC Section 7701 Definitions, that the terms “State” and “United States” only “include” the District of Columbia and the term “trade or business” only “includes” doing the work of the federal government. There are many other definitions in the Internal Revenue Code that rely on the use of the term “includes” to define certain key legal words and phrases.

We have also shown many times that a well-established rule of law the US Supreme Court has affirmed over and over, makes it crystal clear USING STRONG LANGUAGE that, especially in tax laws, anything NOT included is EXCLUDED from definitions.

So what are we to do with the confusing clause the lawyers of Congress added to the “Definitions” section of the Internal Revenue Code that says the use of the term “includes” in a definition “shall NOT be deemed to exclude things otherwise within the meaning of the term defined”? Does this mean all 50 states are “included” in the definition of the term “State”, and therefore the term “United States” “includes” all 50 states and the District of Columbia? Does it mean the term “trade or business” includes all trades and all businesses?

This week’s Freedom Hour presentation will grapple with this apparent contradiction and help you confidently resolve it for yourself once and for all time.