They do it by citing the definition of “Gross Income” given by the U.S. Tax Code, which is roughly “any and all income derived from any source, such as wages...” and ignore that they used the word “income” in the definition for “gross income,” which means they effectively only defined what “gross” means. They add in the example of wages to seal the illusion. Sure, wages would count if you somehow made corporate profit from it, but not in an even trade for labor. The key lies in what was meant by “income” when the tax code was written, and it was commonly agreed that it was to mean “corporate profit.” So not only did it not mean your individual wages (not a corporation, not required to pay income tax), but it was only the profit that was made, which comes after deducting all costs. “Deductions” when you file don’t even work this way, as they cap how much you can claim. Good luck arguing against it in court, as they will just cite previous Supreme Court cases where someone with a similar argument to yours lost. The judges and lawyers know all of this, and they know the loophole, but they are too afraid for their own lives to allow anyone to dismantle what the Fed has created. Others have fought this exact fight, and have died in prison trying to appeal.