Holing up to evade taxes

Posted Apr 25th 2007 6:04PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Internet, Columns

A 64-year old man and his wife have holed up in their New Hampshire mansion after being sentenced to prison for tax evasion. Ed and Elaine Brown were convicted of concealing over $2 million in income, and sentenced to more than five years in prison. The couple skipped the court date, preferring to remain holed up in their home. The U.S. Marshals have said they will not use force to apprehend the couple, so everything is at a standstill for now. The Browns have apparently stockpiled an enormous quantity of food, and have an official website, MaketheStand.com, which features rambling entries questioning the right of the government to collect taxes:

The government simply says, "you must pay, because we say so," and "if you don't pay, we will throw you in jail and take all that you own."

THIS IS TYRANNY!!! If a law exists that requires the everyday average American working in the private sector in the numerous states to pay an "Income Tax," why can't the government show that law? When asked, they will never tell.

Hmm...This is an interesting case, and could be a precedent-setting one. If the government opts to allow the Browns to live out their days holed up in their mansion, will that mean that anyone who is satisfied to never leave their house won't have to pay taxes?

Call me a spend-thrift, but I'm willing to fork over a hefty chunk of my earnings if it means I can come and go as I please.

Tags: law, Police, taxes

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-25-2007 @ 6:52PM

Lisa said...

Nobody has to pay federal income tax, and can avoid paying taxes legally. It's quite simple: keep your Adjusted Gross Income below certain limits, contribute to an IRA or a workplace retirement savings plan and you won't owe the feds a penny. Thing is, very few people want to live on that small AGI ($15,500 per year for a single person with no dependents). I do it because I'm ornery. I get far more satisfaction out of paying no federal taxes to the current regime than I would from having a larger disposable income and buying stuff.

Still, it means that not paying taxes IS a perfectly legal option IF you are willing to make the sacrifices to do so. Most people don't want to make those sacrifices. I've got no sympathy for them.