Irwin Schiff

Irwin Allen Schiff (February 23, 1928 – October 16, 2015) was an American tax protester known for writing and promoting literature in which he claimed the income tax in the United States is illegal and unconstitutional. Judges in several civil cases ruled in favor of the federal government and against Schiff. As a result of these judicial rulings, Schiff was serving a sentence of at least 13 years for tax crimes at the time of his death. The Federal Bureau of Prisons reported that Schiff died on October 16, 2015. Schiff was the father of businessman and former United States Senate candidate Peter Schiff.

Schiff was born to a Jewish family in New Haven, Connecticut. His parents were immigrants from Poland and his father worked as a carpenter. In 1950, Schiff attended the University of Connecticut where he obtained a B.S. with a double major in Accounting and Economics.

After college, Schiff was in the insurance brokerage business in Connecticut. In connection with his business, he was involved in a tax shelter in which he became the victim of a Ponzi scheme in which he lost money belonging to him and his clients. In 1968, he testified before the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency in opposition to the removal of gold backing from Federal Reserve Notes. In 1976, he published a book entitled The Biggest Con: How the Government is Fleecing You.

Schiff was a candidate for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination in 1996, and he participated in a Libertarian presidential candidates debate in Washington on July 5, 1996.

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