When Weslep Snipes was convicted on three counts of criminal failure to file tax returns but not convicted on tax fraud charges, many of the mainstream media put out headlines that were likely misleading to the tax protestor crowd, suggesting that he'd gotten off. When I ran a blog entry about his conviction on the three counts, tax protestors emailed me saying Snipes was their hero, and that he hadn't been convicted of fraud so it proved their position (that the income tax is illegal or that it is to be paid only by non US people) was correct.
So I'm pleased that the judge sentenced Snipes to the maximum--three years in jail and one year of probation, See Rich Phillips, CNN, Snipes Gets the Maximum (updated 4/24/08). Snipes made a payment of $5 million on his back taxes owed (plus penalties and interest)--nearly $17 million, which will be the subject of a civil case.
Snipes said he was sorry for his mistakes, but interestingly never specifically admitted having violated the tax laws. See Wesley Snipes Gets 3-Years for Not Filing Tax Returns, NYTimes, Apr. 24, 2008.
Snipes claimed at his trial that he was an innocent who had been duped by his co-defendants. But he had joined his co-defendant's American Rights Litigators group back in 2000, a group which has a goal thwarting federal income tax collection. See this FOX News.com story from the time of the trial: Carmen Gentile, Bad Financial Advice Behind Snipes Tax Woes, Lawyer Argues, FoxNews.com, Jan. 16, 2008. The tax deniers' arguments are groundless, but they advertise and acquire followers who apparently can successfully convince themselves of any fantasy position in order to keep more money for themselves rather than pay their fair share of taxes to support important government activities. As David Cay Johnston, Wesley Snipes to Go on Trial in Tax Case, Jan. 14, 2008, reported:
Tax deniers maintain that the law only appears to require payment of taxes. All their theories have been rejected by the courts, including the one invoked by Mr. Snipes, which is known as the 861 position, after a section of the federal tax code.
Adherents say a regulation applying the 861 provision does not list wages as taxable, though it does say that “compensation for services” is taxable. The courts have uniformly rejected all such theories, and eight people have been sentenced to prison after not paying taxes based on the 861 argument.
Snipes' failure to file returns covered 1999-2004, during which time he earned $38 million and paid no taxes. Id.
I still find it hard to believe that the jury bought such a defense for someone who has made millions and obviously is no idiot. I suppose the celebrity cult is hard to avoid even in a jury deliberation room. Although the jury in February only convicted Snipes on the three failure to file misdemeanor charges, they thankfully convicted his co-defendants Kahn and Rosile on the felony tax fraud counts. Kahn will serve a 10-year sentence, and Rosile four years. Wesley Snipes Gets 3-Years for Not Filing Tax Returns, NYTimes, Apr. 24, 2008. There's a great bit of dialogue from Kahn's sentencing.
Kahn's Statement to the judge upon sentencing: "For the record, your honor, I don’t accept that.”
Judge's response: “You may not accept it, Mr. Kahn, but you will serve it.” Id.
Any other resolution of this case would have made a mockery of justice. A poor guy who swipes a piece of pizza from a kid in California can go to jail for life under California's ridiculously harsh criminal "three strikes and you're out" law, but wealthy elites who mock the nation's tax laws often get off with nothing but a slap on the wrist, if that. If all they do is pay their back due taxes and interest, even with a penalty, they may come out ahead, under time value of money principles. Snipes deserves jail. It's good that he got what he deserves.
Recent Comments