A number of years ago, in one of the classes I was teaching, someone asked me: Do I need a Social Security Number? It was a good question, but if you'd told me at that time that I'd be writing an article on that subject at a later date; much less that I'd be using answers brought into the light because of someone who was there that day, and decided to see for himself if he did need one, I'd have scoffed.
The question that started this was a hypothetical situation where an Amish man wanted to work for a corporation, and was refused because he didn't have a SSN. Would he have any relief in court? I said he did have recourse under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which then lead to the question of who would pay the Social Security tax after he was hired: the Amish man (who didn't have a number and wasn't in the Social Security system) or the corporation (who did have a number and was heavily involved in the system)? The process of sorting these questions out lead to what was really on that student's mind: could he work for a corporation without a SSN? If so, could he rescind his number and become a religious objector after being an employee? Could he be fired, or denied future employment, because he didn't have a number, or rescinded the SSN and waived all rights to any accrued benefits? Did the IRS recognize religious objectors; and does the Social Security Administration (SSA) have a policy for such objectors? Answering those questions that day was a little hard, because they hadn't really been tested in court. Since then, they have been tested, and I can give some hard and fast answers.
First, I should note that this isn't something you just decide to do today, walk in on your boss tomorrow saying that you've decided not to have a SSN, and not get yourself in a big mess. There is a logical series of steps you need to perform (which I won?t go into in this article) and documents you need to have or file. You?ll probably also have a number of hearings before your employer, the SSA, the EEOC, and the Problem Resolution Office. If you're willing to go through all that, you too can work without a SSN.
And, thanks to that student, who stood his course, we also have a judicial and administrative test which enables us to answer the following questions:
1. Is there a law that requires anyone to apply for, request, or consent to the Social Security system and to obtain a number?
Answer: No
2. Does the IRS have a policy for dealing with religious objectors?
Answer: Yes
3. If a person had a number in the past, and subsequently rescinded that number, is there any law compelling him to use that number?
Answer: No
4. Does a waiver of benefits remove all of the objections of the SSA and other governmental agencies
Answer: Yes
5. Does the SSA recognize religious objectors?
Answer: Yes
6. Can employment be denied on the basis of a person's refusal to use a SSN, because he has a religious objection to its use?
Answer: No
7. Can a religious objector cancel his membership in a union and still work for a corporation?
Answer: Yes
8. Does a labor union have a fiduciary responsibility to a religious objector, who not a union member, in collective bargaining negotiations?
Answer: Yes
9. Is someone working for a corporation, regardless of his status as a religious objector, an employee for purposes of determining income tax liability?
Answer: Yes
10. Is there an employee exemption from the income tax?
Answer: We think so, but there is no test case as yet
11. Is there an exemption from Social Security taxes for a worker?
Answer: No
12. Who pays the Social Security tax in such cases?
Answer: The employer and the employee
13. What law prohibits corporations from refusing employment to someone who has no SSN for religious reasons?
Answer: Title 7 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Immigration Reform Act of 1986
14. Can you file an income tax return without a SSN?
Answer: Yes
15. If a corporation fires an employee because of his status as a religious objector, or refuses to hire someone for that same reason, is that considered discrimination?
Answer: Yes
16. Does that also apply to labor unions and/or employment agencies act in a similar fashion?
Answer: Yes
17. Does the 1986 Immigration and Naturalization Act help religious objectors?
Answer: Yes
18. Is the mere use of a SSN considered an acceptance of Social Security benefits?
Answer: Yes
It appears that Congress intended to protect religious objectors in the same way that conscientious objectors have long been protected. However, this is not an invitation to anarchy; we should be careful to obey all the laws enacted by Congress to protect religious objectors in and out of the workplace. Likewise, status as a religious objector does not give one the right to break the tax laws. Over the years, I have seen many who obtain status as a religious objector and consider that status a license to heedlessly trample on the laws, the courts, and government as a whole. This does nothing but create problems for those of us who have obtained status as religious objectors, not for the purposes of trying to get out of paying taxes, but because our truly and sincerely held religious beliefs require that we do not march to the same drummer of society as a whole. I have been reticent to come public with much of the information I have learned over the years because of those who would use it for illegal and/or immoral purposes.
Getting back to our main point, if you have a corporate job, and desire to rid yourself of your SSN, you can keep your job, provided you follow the proper procedures. It is likewise considered legal discrimination to refuse someone employment because they do not have a SSN. And the simple act of not having a SSN is not a magic wand that you can wave in front of IRS agents to make them disappear. If you have corporate employment, with or without a SSN, the odds are that you will owe taxes.
Return to HomepageLast revision: 16 May 2001