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Every few years some guy claims in court that the income tax is illegal. There are guys who publish books advocating that position, laying out precisely which arguments they think are correct and trying to persuade others to join a movement to "legally" not pay taxes.
Not a single court has bought those arguments. In fact, if you read the opinions in those cases, the tone of the judges comes across as patient exasperation. Most of these hucksters end up being guests of the federal taxpayers.
There is an academic debate about whether the 16th amendment really was necessary. The Supreme Court decision that held income taxes unconstitutional was of questionable soundness for a number of reasons, both logical and historical, but that's neither here nor there, because it was the law and it got overridden through the amendment process -- which, by the way, is the proper way to get rid of Supreme Court decisions about the constitution that you don't like.
I don't like paying taxes any more than anyone else does, but there's no question the income tax is legal.
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