RSSActor Wesley Snipes Given 3 Years For Tax Evasion …. Prisoner 57
This time the rich, powerful and elite did not elude justice. Wesley Snipes will soon be learning in prison if “White Men Can Jump” as he was sentenced to a maximum of 3 years on tax evasion.
Snipes was the highest-profile criminal tax target in years, and prosecutors called for a heavy sentence to deter others from trying to obstruct the IRS. The government alleged Snipes made at least $13.8 million for the years in question and owed $2.7 million in back taxes.
Maybe this will be a sign of things to come that people of privilege and wealth cannot evade the law. Now its up to future juries to stop being star struck by people they perceive as important. It looks like Prisoner 57 will be headed off to prison, not a Hollywood set. Think the judge was not upset that Snipes had dodged the fraud charges against him?
Wesley Snipes called on famous friends to vouch for him, highlighted his clean criminal record and even wrote the government $5 million in checks — all in an effort to convince a judge that his conviction on tax charges should cost him nothing more than home detention and some public service announcements.
None of it worked. The “Blade” actor was ordered to do hard time.
Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday for failing to file tax returns, the maximum penalty — and a victory for prosecutors who sought to make an example of the action star. (FOX News)
Luke Mullins of The Collar provides us with some comforting new that all the spin and BS from Hollywood could not save Snipe’s bacon. Hollywood certainly has a distorted definition of character and integrity.
Posted April 25, 2008 by Scared Monkeys Celebrity, Crime, Government, Hollywood, Judicial | 19 comments |
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19 Responses to “Actor Wesley Snipes Given 3 Years For Tax Evasion …. Prisoner 57”
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Well he can be added to the wall of shame with Leona Helmsley.
Pay up…
I wonder what Rev. Wright thinks about this conviction.
Guess maybe the jail time is good overall.
In business I had competitors which I sure felt were not paying on many taxable incomes. Were not paying insurance on more than a core group, in fact most employees did not exist on record. If what many of my employees who had worked fo r them said is true, I suspected it was true. Came a time we could not compete price wise, I retired from that industry and most other things for a while. But I had done well enough, while more than fair to employes — which was my main goal when I originally started years previously. Always have thought, ‘keep the karma good n life is good’. Karma cannot be good if taking in greed and sticking it to everyone else.
I am much of a lone wolf on what I see as the biggest underground economy going. One we, Moms and Pops, judges and juries accept. That of tipping. That which gives the greedy etablishment the ability to dodge responsibilites others who work people cannot. Also a practice which again taxes the decent more than the indecent, those being decent may tip more, the decent may report more of it as income. Anyway, tipping is a sore spot to me, seems only to me, I think it is a practice which is worse than handshaking.
The SNipes thing as you say is sort of for show. Hope it works. Bet we all know somebody in our fringe lives who requests “cash only” or a lower rate if cash if you ask for it. Some leave the owning up to responsibility for the rest of us to burden.
Scared Monkeys, Show me the law that says we have to pay personal income tax. Millions of Americans know that there is no such law.
Wow……some people really are STUCK ON STUPID.
Go ahead, don’t pay the taxes that millions of Americans do pay every year and see what happens.
Once again, another fool trying to get out of Uncle Sam taking his share. It just really bothers me that people take everything we have in this country for granted, then gripe about paying taxes! Nobody likes to, DUH ! Stop being so cheap though and vote for a President who will do his best to put a cap on them and offer incentives and rebates….that means…
NO DEMOCRATS ALLOWED
Tiny
I hear you. That is why I think a National sales tax would work. Tax all spendable CASH. You get every bit of unaccountant for taxable money. Get the drug dealers on the bling and cars. Get the tipees. Get the workers paid off the books. Get the crooked politicans and the kick backs……oh….maybe that’s why we don’t have the national sales tax.
Miss-Underestimated –
The rate would need to be about 30%. The poor would be devastated by such a tax. They pay little to no income tax now and a limited sales tax. Close to 100% of their income goes to necessary goods and services for basic survival while the total tax levy on the wealthy would drop dramatically.
It would be a large tax hike against the poor and middle class and an guarantee of little to zero taxes for the rich (They could just buy their stuff in another country and ship it into the US – tax free).
I’m down (it’s about time the poor & middle class pay their fair share)…but simple ideas seem to never work in the real world.
Tax the corporations heavily that are setting up their business in foreign countries and taking jobs away from the American people….sometimes when I have to call information I don’t even know what the hell they are talking about….!!!!!.
New Girl, You should know about “being stuck on stupid.” You are there. Only US citizens have to pay income tax. A US citizen means legally a citizen of Guam, Puerto Rico or the District of Columbia. They have to pay. Fact #2- Not one penny of income taxes collected has ever gone to the government. Not one penny since 1933 when it began. #3. Income tax is the major plank of the Communist Manifesto.
Bob,
If there is no law that says we do not need to pay taxes then how do you explain Snipe’s conviction?
Paying taxes and what we are paying taxes on are two separate issues.
We the People should be funding some things, however, government has perverted that what should and should not be covered.
#9- Bob- Scared Monkeys eloquently stated my point exactly. I don’t like paying high taxes on everything and should know all about it ( I live in MASS)….I was merely trying to make a point that as Americans, we do have to be accountable for some of our luxuries and priviledges.
I also suggest to you and tons of other people who constantly bitch and complain about the high cost of the States and living here a simple solution— just leave.
I am in no way, shape or form suggesting our Government controls things properly and that our health care system isn’t a mess….yet I am continually amazed that people come from all over the world to attend the best Universities and Colleges here in Boston and fully utilize our health care and specialized care. Let me point out, also- that many of these do it without paying a dime.
personally i’d rather see MY tax $$$ go for something other than housing snipes in prison. give the man a giant fine & let him make more $$$ for the government to tax him on.
what a waste all the way round the board.
The IRS should be abolished. We are slowly
morphing into exactly what our Founding
Forefathers DID NOT WANT US TO BECOME.
Huge oppressive unwieldy govt.
We are becoming
what they were running
to escape.
Tax goods and services, and be done with it.
Taxing the same income
over and over and over,
is just nuts.
—
…txchic
Correct. Fine him out the booty. Why put
Snipes in jail, when there are people who
kill & rape people currently walking around?
(ala Joran Vandersloot & Kalpoes)
We have bigger fish to fry. Certainly there
are other options for punishment?
Putting Snipes in jail is about as effective
as sending Martha Stewart to Camp f’n Cupcake!
Watch out… she made a shank out of her crochet hook & knitting needles. She smuggled it into her cell in her underwear…
Give me a break.
I just think there not a thing wrong with sentencing Snipes to hardlabor. We have them in our own rural county, they clean bar ditches and assist the county commisioners. NO guns held on them, if they run or walk off they will then get hard time. Some of these go to jail at night and some go home, as I understand it from our county commissioner. I could very well be wrong.
Carpe I sure agree with the gov becoming “unwieldly”. I have lived in the rural life my entire life other than military time. SO often now too far up the gov tries to pass one law fits all, city and rural alike. Makes for a lot of anger…city laws on country people, never the other way around. ALso the law far too often itself will push something undesireable in the city out toward country people, strength in numbers of the city, nothing for what is right and wrong.
I once read a good deal about Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Really interesting and brilliant fellow. I think one of the greatest thinkers of all time. He toyed around much as to things we are all speeking. OUr Declaration of Independance certainly influenced by his works: Social Contract or one of his earlier treatices The Discourse on Inequity. I think a famous qoute from JJR is, “Man is free but everywhere in CHains”.
As I finally got to go to college, who could not teach me to spell, late in life, even after having done rough work and business fo r ever so long, I did like English Literature or phil and studying old great thinkers. I did a report on JJR, focusing on what he may have ultimately concluded from his toils in thought. NOthing new to you or the very wise ones here, like most of you I felt he became ever more certain that a gov changes and adapts as its population changes for many reasons…maturity, corruption, disobedeance, or as it numbers grow. Differnet size or distance between shoulders dictating forms of gov also.
For my view over my life span, we have so much ungratefullness and disrespect currently, we must be heading towards major changes in our government. Hope not too many good folks suffer before the bad ones cycle under, come under control. Given we think we know what is good and bad. Ok, we’re sure of it. grins
As a side note to this, I think Obama should withdraw or be withdrawn by the Dem party, as he is doing major damage to sociol rest and the country. Scary stuff
YoYo
I think you are stretching that 30%. The reason the national sales tax is not done, is it will abolish the IRS. Sorry to disagree, but the big spenders would be the hefty payers, not the poor or middle class. As it is now the middle class is floating the boat for the poor and rich. Level the playing field.
Scared Monkeys,
I don’t know enough about the Snipes conviction to comment. There is an expert in the tax laws named Irwin Schiff. He wrote a book stating that there was no law requiring income tax. They tried to make the selling of his book illegal. Then they charged him and jailed him as well. After he was jailed, Schiff said ” I told you it was a Federal Mafia,” I believe that was the name of his book. Judges are corrupt and judges don’t allow evidence at trial. Judges don’t allow you sometimes to defend yourself. The juries can be rigged. Juries can be biased and stupid. Paying income tax is voluntary. There is much on the internet about this. Many people have beaten the IRS in court. But they won’t lose in a high profile case.
Another point about taxes: I have read that ONCE you volunteer to pay taxes–like submitting a tax payment, then if you commit fraud, it is a crime. Leona H. supposedly committed fraud.
HE WILL EMERGE FROM PRISON TO BE KNOWN AS
“WESLEY X “
wesley snipes was railroaded. He brought five million dollars to court which was accepted, he only owed 2.7 millin taxes! What a joke.