April 25, 2008

Wesley Snipes sentenced to 3 years in federal prison

Yesterday, April 24, 2008 Wesley Snipes was sentenced to 3 years prison time for the federal misdemeanor charges of failing to file a tax return. His co-defendants, Eddie Kahn of Lake County, Florida and Douglas Rosile of Venice, Florida received 10 years and 4 ½ years respectively

For weeks now I have predicted this result. For ordinary taxpayers, who come in from the cold, before the IRS is interested in prosecuting them, this would have never happened. However, Mr. Snipes continued to make tax protestor arguments to the bitter end. Federal District Judge William Terrell Hodges found it disturbing that Snipes never acknowledged that he committed a crime nor used the word “taxes” and so do I. It tells me that he still doesn’t get it.

I don’t particularly like paying taxes and plan my financial life to minimize my legal obligations to do so. But people like Eddie Kahn and Douglas Rosile prey upon our citizenry’s greed. “You don’t have to pay taxes because, ummmmm, the so and so Amendment of the Constitution was never ratified.” Or, I like this one, “Florida is not really a state because it’s not really here and the cash in my bank account is not really money, it’s Federal Reserve Notes and since they’re not backed by the gold standard anymore it’s not really income.” HuH?

Yeah, folks that makes a lot of sense. How do you think the Federal Government machine funds itself? Tax protestors will tell you through excise taxes. Huh? Excise taxes. Do you even know what that means?

I’ve represented many, many nice folks over the years who fell into the trap of the tax protest movement. Several who bought into Eddie Kahn’s bizarre arguments. They’ve all been accepted back into the tax system and they have their live’s back. It doesn’t look like it’s going to work out all that well for Kahn. Well, I guess you live and learn. Or will he? I doubt it. Another famed protestor, Irwin Schiff, is sitting in federal prison somewhere out West and he’s on his third stint! These guys have nothing left to lose. They’ve already lost the better parts of their lives to the sacrificial alter of the tax protestor movement. I believe that Kahn will continue to write and preach from the prison cell. If he quiets down now, he admits total defeat, loses his limited celebrity and fades into obscurity. I doubt that he will let that happen. He'll keep fighting the good fight.

Listen folks, even if these arguments are correct (I don’t believe they are) are you willing to give up your financial life to be correct? As a tax protestor you have to live in a all cash underground economy. No credit, no real job, total sacrifice. Is that what you’ve worked so hard all your life for?

Earlier this month the Justice Department announced a new program called the National Tax Defier Initiative. Sounds pretty ominous to me. I’ll post more details about it later next week. Don’t you think it might be time to come in from the cold?

I’m sure that I will get plenty of comments on this blog post. You know what? I promise to allow them to run here so that you can see their idiotic arguments. They claim to be able to interpret law yet most have never even set foot on a college campus let alone law school. So there it is tax protestors, or should I call you patriots?