As if the tax protester had not seen the majority of its vocal proponents go to jail, they can now count a major celebrity among their ranks. Wesley Snipes is facing a possible lengthy prison term for his part in tax evasion and cheating based upon the ridiculus and continually debunked idea that American income taxes apply to only foreign income.According to Scott Maxwell, a journalist with whom Snipes has been in email contact, Snipes referred to a site which praises him for not paying income taxes. The argument from that site and which Snipes is apparently relying on comes from an old tax scam known as the "861 argument". It's similar to the line of reasoning espoused by Dave Champion, when I appeared on his show some months ago. He never actually went into the argument so much as tried to obfuscate the facts with silly references to Rules of Statutory Construction.
The end result of this is easily predicted. Snipes is facing a very real prison term for the criminal phase of his expected indictment. During that trial, prosecutors will have to prove Snipes willfully evaded his tax burden. Even if they do not, the civil case will go forward and I can predict with certainty that Snipes will end up paying a LOT of money in back taxes and penalties.
It's too bad, really. I have always enjoyed Wesley Snipes' movies (yes, even "To Wong Foo", as disturbing as it was). I have always considered him to be a thoughtful and intelligent actor but this stupidity on his part has lowered my opinion considerably. I actually hope the prosecutors are unable to nail him on the criminal charges as I would like to see more movies from him. Either way, his career is in serious jeopardy, all because he fell for an old, debunked, and failed tax evasion scam.
4 comments:
I personally hope they put Snipes under the prison, as a warning to all other tax protesters. :-)
I agree that would certainly send a message. I just despise the possible political fall-out that Snipes is apparently already seeking by playing the ridiculous race card.
I definitely agree with your sentiments re the race card. While racial inequality in criminal justice is still commonplace, and must be stopped, this is not one of those situations. I don't think anyone believes Wesley Snipes is being prosecuted for tax crimes because he is black. If he had been accused of drug crimes, well, the sentiment may be quite different.
I agree completely. As a black man, he should have more respect for the situations of those who genuinely are persecuted or harassed due to their race. By trying to weasel out of what is clearly a problem of his own making, he reduces the validity of those who truly are victims of racism.
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