Wesley Snipes, the unlikely face of the tax denial movement, has been acquitted of the most serious charges in his tax evasion case. He was found guilty of three of six lesser charges and could face up to three years in prison. He will also have to pay as much as $17 million in back taxes, interest, and penalties.
A jury found him not guilty on two felony charges of fraud and conspiracy, and other charges related to failing to file and pay taxes from 2002 to 2004. However, he was found guilty of failing to file returns or pay taxes from 1999 through 2001.
However his co-defendants, tax advisers, were convicted of the more serious charges, a sign that "I was just listening to my advisers" defense can work.
According to the New York Times, "Instead of prosecuting all offenders, the Justice Department brings cases against well-known individuals, hoping that widespread news coverage will encourage compliance, a policy known as general deterrence. The Snipes prosecution, like the three earlier cases that resulted in full acquittals, appears to have backfired."
The failure to convict Snipes on the most serious charges will probably embolden tax deniers. The feds had been looking to make a strong statement about the importance of paying taxes and appear to have failed miserably.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-03-2008 @ 10:35AM
amishcarjacking said...
RON PAUL MONEY BOMB AT TODAY'S HALF TIME DONATE 42 DOLLARS OR MORE. RON PAUL IS CLIMBING IN THE POLLS HE WON THIRD PLACE IN MAINE YESTERDAY ONLY 2 POINTS BEHIND MCCAIN. RON PAUL WON SECOND IN NEVADA AND LOUISIANA. WE ARE VOTING TO SAVE THE CHILDREN'S FUTURE. GOD BLESS EVERYONE. WWW.RONPAUL2008.COM SPREAD THE WORD AND BECOME A PRECINCT LEADER. GET RID OF THE IRS.
2-03-2008 @ 10:36AM
Bob said...
Snipes will make a deal with the IRS and do no time at all! So what if it cost him millions, he has lot's of money to play with
2-03-2008 @ 4:04PM
cynthia said...
JudyJengo 06:50:19 AM Feb 02 2008 should be ashamed of herself for bragging about the number of designer shoes & handbags she has. I too had that many & decided to concentrate of what's more important. I just don't need it. Commercialism has tried to convince me I do & I'm not going there anymore. I'm concentrating on the needy chilldren in my country. When I'm feeling like buying another desinger handbag I take the money & give it to the needy. When I feel like purchasing yet another pair of shoes I give that money to the needy too. As you get older you start to think about what's really important. I'd much rather put a needy child through college that collect trite things that I don't need anymore......
2-08-2008 @ 10:50AM
Tyler Simpson said...
It's very interesting once we start looking into ourselves... Why do we all so interested in knowing other people's business but not even remotely interested in knowing our own businesses such as: how the tax we pay are spent, to where it was spent, how much was it then and where is the proof and evidence???
Do we really care to know them or we just take the word of gov. and believe them like a bible?
We have the right to know and seek the truth.
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd26.html
2-14-2008 @ 9:18PM
Jeremy said...
It is very interesting that this case that is so important for the IRS is hardly visible in the press.I heard about the Snipes case before the trial but I never heard about his acquittal.The 16th amendment was never passed by the supreme court.There are 3 branches of government for a reason.If we don't respect the rule of law then we stand to loose our democracy.I salute Snipes for standing up for what is right.