The news has reported that Wesley Snipes (a Martial Artist as well as Actor) may be facing 16 years in prison for tax evasion. Authorities want to arrest him but they can't find him.
Wesley Snipes running from the law?
- Thread starter Tames D
- Start date
Good Heavens, this is true!
He will have a way out. With his income and holdings he surely has an accounting firm do all of his taxes. He will put the blame on them and pay little more than a fine. It is an all to common reality in today's society.
Eternal White Belt
Yellow Belt
I'm surprised it's taken this long to indict him. Snipes filed for an income of 2 mil in a year that he made 19 mil when I was working for the IRS a few years ago. He's apparently fallen in with those morons who believe the IRS has no constitutional authority, therefore they don't need to file income taxes. It takes about a hundred grand to prosecute each of these cases. Guess who pays for that? Yup, the people who do pay their taxes. It's an unnecessary drain on taxpayer money. All these groups, lawyers, seminar speakers, etc. need to be shut down. Maybe Snipes' prosecution will be a warning signal to all those other morons.
And I'm not buying the story that he wasn't aware.
And I'm not buying the story that he wasn't aware.
I hope that it did not sound like I was defending him by making it sound like he was unaware. All I was trying to get at was that he will likely try to pin it on his accountant or some other scapegoat that he can find.
bydand
Senior Master
What will be interesting is how he handles himself when the movie is wrapped up. If he truely belives the government has no right to the tax money and that taxes ARE a fraud, he should jump on the first plane back to have the opportunity to provide a high publicity trial of this "fact." If he pays he back taxes, it will just show he didn't really belive it at all but was just using the talk to cheat on his taxes. I will be looking forward to his reaction as well as his actions.
Since he was in Nambia a while before being indited, I am not sure it can really be considered running for the law, so much as he was filming a movie and sees no reason to come back until he's done filming if he doesn't have too. I haven't seen anything yet that suggests he won't be coming back to deal with the charges, plus I figure he's probably got enough money that he'll be able to buy his way out of jail....
I heard the same thing...that he had joined one of those anti-tax leagues.
Since you seem to be or have been on the inside in this, what do you think about the the following claims...
1. The 16th amendment was not properly ratified and is therefore unconstitutional.
2. The Supreme Court rulings that stated that the 16th amendment gives the government no new powers to tax.
3. The claim that there is no law that compels a US citizen to pay the federal income tax.
And Bydand, I too, am curious to see if he will go to trial and bring up these same points.
I will be curious to see how this plays out. I imagine in the end that he will have to pay and then serve no time.
FearlessFreep
Senior Master
If he truely belives the government has no right to the tax money and that taxes ARE a fraud, he should jump on the first plane back to have the opportunity to provide a high publicity trial of this "fact." If he pays he back taxes, it will just show he didn't really belive it at all but was just using the talk to cheat on his taxes. I will be looking forward to his reaction as well as his actions.
Not really. Just because you think you are morally right, doesn't mean you go looking for a fight. You should pick your battles based on what matters to you, but also pick your battles based on thinking you can win. I think he would be smart enough that even if he thought he was morally or legally correct, stepping into a fight with the US government may be a no-win scenario, and he may not be enough of a crusader to take on that fight for the sake of it
Not really. Just because you think you are morally right, doesn't mean you go looking for a fight. You should pick your battles based on what matters to you, but also pick your battles based on thinking you can win. I think he would be smart enough that even if he thought he was morally or legally correct, stepping into a fight with the US government may be a no-win scenario, and he may not be enough of a crusader to take on that fight for the sake of it
bydand
Senior Master
I am going to disagree with you this time. It could just be the way I was raised, but if you truely belive something, then it is enough to stand up for, win or lose. On a matter of this magnatude if you choose to take this stand, you better be able to back it; especally if you are a high profile figure. Me taking this stand wouldn't get back page in anything but the local newspaper, because the reality of the matter is, I don't make enough to cheat anybody enough to make a good story. Wesley Snipes on the other hand had to know they would pounce on him. Why start down that road if you don't plan on fighting for what you belive is right. As for not being enough of a crusader to take on the fight, he should have made sure the US government wouldn't come looking for one. Poke a big guy enough with a stick and he is going to want to fight, Mr. Snipes has been poking a big guy called the IRS for some time now it sounds like.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #14
I think Wesley will roundhouse kick the government in the... nevermind, I was thinking of Chuck Norris...
Wesley Snipes is not just a greedy thug, he actually got caught up in a tax protest movement which almost had me convinced to do the same back in 2000-2001.
His name is Larkin Rose. The gov't has since convicted him, too, and so his web site is taken down now. But he wrote very persuasivley, using text from the federal law and U.S Code to make a very convincing point that the personal income tax was not written to be applied to wages earned within the United States by American citizens.
Rose even had composed a form letter asking the IRS several pointed questions, along the lines of "Can you show me where in the Law it describes my wages as being taxable" (but of course with much more specific legal language). It had the tone of "I want to follow the law so please explain the law to me and I will comply." This was in fact used successfully in some cases! For example there was a case in Memphis of a Fed Ex pilot who pursued the strategy and a jury did not convict her of tax evasion. Vernice Kuglin was her name, The case is: U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee (Memphis) # 03-CR-20111, USA v. Kuglin.
After that, the IRS seems to have gotten its act together and finally formulated a resposne to Larkin's line of argument: 20 years in jail. Snipes is not the first or last of this group of people to face prosecution. What happens if his money and fame get him a win over the IRS??
Eternal, seeing as you have some "inside info", can you show us where in the law it specifically states that my wages are a taxable source of income? I know the tax law says "from whatever source derived" but IIRC the sources are clearly defined in the law and wages earned by a US citizen inside the US from a US company are not in the list of taxable sources... (this was the gist of the argument used by Rose, Kuglin, Snipes etc and was the core of the questions posed by Kuglin in her letters to the IRS)
His name is Larkin Rose. The gov't has since convicted him, too, and so his web site is taken down now. But he wrote very persuasivley, using text from the federal law and U.S Code to make a very convincing point that the personal income tax was not written to be applied to wages earned within the United States by American citizens.
Rose even had composed a form letter asking the IRS several pointed questions, along the lines of "Can you show me where in the Law it describes my wages as being taxable" (but of course with much more specific legal language). It had the tone of "I want to follow the law so please explain the law to me and I will comply." This was in fact used successfully in some cases! For example there was a case in Memphis of a Fed Ex pilot who pursued the strategy and a jury did not convict her of tax evasion. Vernice Kuglin was her name, The case is: U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee (Memphis) # 03-CR-20111, USA v. Kuglin.
After that, the IRS seems to have gotten its act together and finally formulated a resposne to Larkin's line of argument: 20 years in jail. Snipes is not the first or last of this group of people to face prosecution. What happens if his money and fame get him a win over the IRS??
Eternal, seeing as you have some "inside info", can you show us where in the law it specifically states that my wages are a taxable source of income? I know the tax law says "from whatever source derived" but IIRC the sources are clearly defined in the law and wages earned by a US citizen inside the US from a US company are not in the list of taxable sources... (this was the gist of the argument used by Rose, Kuglin, Snipes etc and was the core of the questions posed by Kuglin in her letters to the IRS)
Blotan Hunka
Master Black Belt
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Well...I heard on the radio today that he is also suspected of filing for returns on taxes he never paid, IMO he's just another Hollywood nutcase.
CoryKS
Senior Master
A man on the run from a dark past...
The government agent sworn to take him in...
Wesley Snipe
Gene Hackman
"The Tax Evader"
Coming to theaters Winter 2006.
/Movie guy voice
The government agent sworn to take him in...
Wesley Snipe
Gene Hackman
"The Tax Evader"
Coming to theaters Winter 2006.
/Movie guy voice
still learning
Senior Master
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Hello, Mr Wesley Snipes is'" NOT ABOVE THE LAW", he knew he had to pay taxes on the millions of dollars he earn.
A good tax lawyer could have help him, reinvest,save money,rather than withhold the money.
He should be setting a "Good example" instead of trying to avoid paying his share of taxes.
Do Not be fool about the right NOT TO PAY.....IF it were true..people like Bill gates /and others would have found a way or law NOT to pay....BE SMART........Yes we all agree the govenment does things we do not all agree on/ waste our taxes/money ....but they also do good things too...Aloha
A good tax lawyer could have help him, reinvest,save money,rather than withhold the money.
He should be setting a "Good example" instead of trying to avoid paying his share of taxes.
Do Not be fool about the right NOT TO PAY.....IF it were true..people like Bill gates /and others would have found a way or law NOT to pay....BE SMART........Yes we all agree the govenment does things we do not all agree on/ waste our taxes/money ....but they also do good things too...Aloha
Eternal White Belt
Yellow Belt
Don't know much inside info, all I know is what the 16th amendment to the Constitution says (posted below). The following link has some annotations on the specifics of the amendment.
All I really need to know is, if you don't pay your taxes, the IRS will prosecute and send you to jail.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment16/
[SIZE=+1]The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. [/SIZE]
