How a congressional candidate convinced TikTok they don’t need to pay taxes anymore

An obscure congressional—and former presidential—candidate is racking up millions of views with his new policy proposal that calls for everyone—and he means everyone—to stop paying taxes.

Anthony Hudson, who is running for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, declared that he will not be paying taxes this year in a viral TikTok.

“As long as the government is taking our tax paying dollars and they’re using it to give to illegal immigration,” Hudson said in a viral TikTok, “You’re not gonna use my tax paying dollars to pay for your criminal activity in this country.”

Hudson also said that in order for his plan to work, everyone has to stop paying their taxes. Many commenters said they’re game, with his initial video on the plan racking up 2.5 million views in just under two days.

“You had me at not paying taxes,” a commenter wrote. “Period.”

“I’m in,” another said. “Who’s with me?”

“I didn’t pay last year,” a commenter shared. “And won’t pay this year either.”

Other tenets of Hudson’s platform include closing U.S. borders, supporting the Second Amendment, fighting for parents’ rights, and stopping “the $127 million investment for Electric School Buses.”

In 2023, the Michigan state legislature allocated $125 million to bring electric school buses to the state’s public schools.

In addition to running for president and Congress, Hudson owns a trucking company.

Since August 2022, Hudson has been campaigning on his TikTok account (@Hudson4Congress2K24), where he has over 200,000 followers. He describes himself as a “blue-collar, hard-working American citizen” who wants to see his tax dollars spent on domestic causes.

His videos focus on his policy proposals, and he speaks straight to the camera alongside GIFs of phrases like “better together” and “no taxes.” He speaks over various royalty-free songs and advises viewers to prioritize individual freedom and support their families over obeying tax laws.

“We will make this country an independent country. We have all the resources right here,” Hudson said in his first TikTok announcing his presidential campaign. He dropped out last week and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

“We have our own fuel, our own crops. Bring back manufacturing. We need to get our veterans working. Get our homeless off the street. We need to protect our schools and our borders.”

@hudson4congress2k24 Together we will rise! FOLLOW FOR MORE VIDEOS #hudson2k24 #fyp #fypシ #hudsonforpresident #together #viral #2a #womensrights #equality #politics #wethepeople #forthepeople #fromthepeople #newwave #standwithme #powertothepeople #merica #forourfuture ♬ Get You The Moon – Kina

In his massively viral video, Hudson details his plans and motivations for not paying taxes this year. He said that because the U.S. government is violating the Constitution by funding illegal immigration using American tax dollars, he should no longer be required to pay them. (The Constitution does not mention immigration.)

“In order for this movement [of not paying taxes] to work, everyone needs to get involved,” Hudson said in the video. “They won’t arrest [us] because they won’t have the money to arrest [us]. They can’t come after all of us because we have the numbers.”

He said that he and his family will “lead the charge” of not paying their taxes and “giving into the government’s control, and reassures them that “you won’t get in as much trouble as you think you will.”

@hudson4congress2k24

No taxes!

♬ Thank You for Being You – OctaSounds

And Hudson’s message isn’t only going viral on TikTok, it’s making a splash on X, too. @WallStreetApes, a popular MAGA influencer, shared Hudson’s video and was met with a lot of enthusiasm.

“I have been saying this. The best way to get the attention of the politicians that enough is enough, is to STOP PAYING TAXES. Every state, every citizen,” an X user replied. “Why would you keep paying, knowing they are going to give to an illegal aliens or send it out of the country?”

“Yep. That and add a couple dependents to your W-4 tomorrow. The less they take in the better,” another tweeted. “This will all be over by next tax season anyway. Get out of the dollar folks. The entire world is. Let’s do our part.”

But Anthony Hudson’s boast you won’t get in trouble is ill-founded.

When Americans don’t pay taxes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) charges interest on the taxes they owe. If taxes still aren’t paid, those who are negligent might receive a “Notice of Intent to Levy” that will threaten to claim their assets, bank accounts, and/or part of their paycheck. Beyond subsuming assets and property, the IRS can also ensure that those who don’t pay their taxes are not issued new passports or and can revoke current ones.

Hudson is also fundraising to sue the federal government and IRS via a class-action lawsuit. He asked supporters to message him on Instagram with their names, addresses, phone numbers, and CashApp, PayPal, or Venmo usernames to commit to sending a $25 donation for the suit.

He claims he will sue for up to $30 billion, a paltry sum compared to the $4.9 trillion the IRS takes in each year

“I’m tired of the government robbing Peter to pay Pablo,” Hudson said in a TikTok about the fundraiser. “We’re not done. We’re not even close to being done.”

Hudson’s presidential platform also touched on taxation: He is pushing for overtime and bonus pay to be tax-exempt.

“When you elect me as your next president, here’s what I’m going to do for you,” Hudson said in a 2022 TikTok. “You work more than 40 hours a week, you spend more time away from your family. Your overtime will be 100 percent tax exempt.”

@hudson4congress2k24

♬ Smoked out Phonk – TREVASPURA

Hudson’s other proposed policies don’t fall along party lines. He wants to enforce immigration laws and close U.S. borders, but believes in the Black Lives Matter movement and LGBTQ rights.

“You have the right to choose who you wanna love,” Hudson said in a 2022 TikTok. “Your relationship has nothing to do with me… That’s between you, your partner, and your God—or whoever you believe in.”

That said, he is vehemently against referring to a person’s vagina as their “bonus hole,” a stance he made clear in a 2023 TikTok. A (debunked) conspiracy theory circulated that year that health care professionals were told to refer to a vagina as a “bonus hole” to avoid invalidating transgender and non-binary people.

“The LGBTQ foundation wants people to start using the word bonus hold instead of vagina,” Hudson said in his video, adding for effect: “Vagina, vagina, vagina!”

UPDATE 2/13 8:11am CT: Regarding his plans to not pay his taxes (and hoping that others will do the same), Hudson told the Daily Dot in an interview that the IRS uses fear-mongering to get people to pay taxes—but that taxpayers can fight back. Hudson also says that paying taxes is voluntary. (Americans are required to file an income tax return, doing so is “not voluntary” according to the IRS.)

“We should wake up and stand up to our government. Face them and say you will no longer scare us,” Hudson told the Daily Dot. “If you throw us in jail, now we’re not working and you’re not getting taxes from us anyway. And I’m getting three square meals a day and a roof over my head, which is going to cost you more in the long run than it would be for me to pay my taxes.”

And regarding his bonus hole video, Hudson says that after he posted the TikTok about the conspiracy, he saw that it was debunked.

That said, he “will never go with the woke ideology” and is “100 percent pro women.”

“We’ve all come out have a vagina,” he said. “We’re gonna respect it that way.”

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