Wesley Snipes in Jail
April 25, 2008 – 06:50 pmSince we talked about Tax yesterday, I thought I’d bring up another tax story. According to a CNN article, Wesley Snipes, a famous actor for those who don’t recognize the name, was sentence to three years in jail for failing to file his taxes. He was given the maximum penalty of 3 years. You can read the original article here. I can not stress the importance enough of filing your tax return and making sure you file it correctly. According to some sources, the IRS has the right to come after for up to 7 years for taxes you file incorrectly or for lack of filing. Does this mean if the IRS doesn’t catch you within 7 years, you’re free? Not necessarily. Long story short, do your taxes!
2 Responses to “Wesley Snipes in Jail”
interesting, one of my friends hasn’t filed taxes since 2003. He says there is no written law that states you must file income tax, he says it’s a voluntary thing to do. He walked into the H&R Block and ask to see the law which tells us we must file, they couldn’t show him anything in their books. strange eh..
By Keith Surivan on Apr 29, 2008
I came across this argument recently somewhere else as well. It actually references Wesley Snipes doing it because it isn’t written anywhere that he has to pay either. However the counter argument is it’s actually written that you have to abide by the IRS rather than any specific tax law. Your friend may have gotten a tax agent that didn’t know anything or how to answer his query but I can honestly say, if the IRS catches on, he’s in a world of hurt.
Typically if he’s small fries they might not, and if they do, there is two possibilities of what can happen. They send him a letter asking him to pay and he can refuse, or they can send repo men after him and he’s screwed. Worse case scenario he ends up in jail the same way Snipes did. In either case, it’s not a smart gamble.
By Steven on Apr 30, 2008