So you want to cheat on your taxes?

Discussion in 'Wall St. News' started by Pekelo, Mar 28, 2007.

  1. Pekelo

    Pekelo

    The best part is, the IRS won't get anything... :)

    "Washington telecommunications mogul Walter C. Anderson was sentenced yesterday to nine years in prison for failing to pay $200 million in taxes -- but a federal judge ruled the Internal Revenue Service won't be repaid for now because prosecutors botched the plea agreement.

    Anderson, the biggest convicted tax cheat in U.S. history, received the longest punishment ever given in a tax crime case for his admitted effort to hide $365 million in personal income in the 1990s. He avoided paying taxes by using aliases, shell companies, offshore tax havens and secret drop boxes abroad."

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...03/27/AR2007032702122.html?nav=rss_technology

    "Anderson admitted receiving more than $126 million in 1998. That year, he claimed he earned $67,939 on his federal return and paid $495 in taxes."

    An old article describing the eccentric man:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1910-2005Mar25.html
     
  2. "This is a serious crime, and it requires a serious punishment," [U.S. District Judge] Friedman said. "It is taking money from taxpayers."

    The judge has it backwards. The state is taking the money from Anderson, not vice versa. Taxes are theft of the wealth you create - the money you earn is not "stolen" from anyone. Pointing out the failings of a public school system that spends more money on students than any other state in the U.S., yet gets the lowest scores only underlines the incompetence of socialized education.
     
  3. Mvic

    Mvic

    If you are going to try and get away with not paying $200M I find it amusing that he actually bothered to pay $500 in taxes, just filing a return at all was tantamount to him calling the IRS stupid.

    I will never understand the mentality of people who are worth tens if not hundreds of millions and they put themselves in jeopardy for such silly reasons. Can you imagine the hassle that he has to go through because of this and what he had to do to try and hide it all. You only have one life, how much would you pay to have it be a good high quality one over one filled with stress and hassle? My guess is more what most of these people think they are going to save by trying to get away with stuff.
     
  4. If you are going to skip on 200 mil just move to Switzerland, they don't see tax evasion as a crime.