Poor Al didn't have good counsel.
I haven't paid a nickel in federal income tax for thirty years, and sleep well.
6012 CFR is a freakin' Hall of Mirrors, full of intentional misdirection and double-speak. It employs Alice in Wonderland "words of art" that have common meanings, but have been redefined strictly for use in the statute to make the untrained and unwary (i.e., virtually everyone) believe that they are that "individual" with a "taxable year" even though the "law" does not remotely apply to them at all.
If you can get a copy, read Dave Champion's "Income Tax: Shattering the Myths" or Otto Skinner's book "The Best Kept Secret: Taxpayer v Non-taxpayer."