THE SKINNY: Pay your taxes. Or don't. But if you don't, expect a knock on the door from Internal Revenue Service, and don't try to argue a loophole in the U.S. tax code as your defense. It doesn't seem to be working for BLADE star Wesley Snipes; in fact, it's a mistake that could land him sixteen years in jail if he's convicted on all eight charges against him.
After banking millions of dollars from BLADE and other films, Snipes took the position that paying U.S. taxes wasn't constitutional. And not helping his case is a long, weird letter the star sent tot he government agency, arguing that efforts to prosecute him would cause "increased collateral risk."
Talk about inviting trouble.
Many have argued (and lost) an obscure section of the tax code that "establishes that foreign sources of income for U.S. citizens are taxable," reports the Associated Press.
But Chris Rizek, a former Treasury Department lawyer, said this: "They string unconnected things together in a way that they're just not intended to be strung together. And the courts have repeatedly said 'No, that's the wrong interpretation, listen to this.' And they just don't listen."
Now the IRS has forced the issue, filing eight charges against Snipes and two others for tax fraud -- one of the biggest criminal cases in IRS history (most are civil cases).
I don't want to see the government make an example of Snipes. If he wins, well, who knows... But really, nobody likes to pay taxes each April. So, unless you have $1 million for a bond to keep you out of jail, don't take a page from his book until the verdict is in.
Well he Will Lose,But "What If He Win's" Tax laws will be change :) GTO
