As I've stated many times... I'll xxxx anyone who passes a flat tax into law. Ooops, maybe Richard Hatch owns that one. My family has the best tax lawyer on the planet. I can't go into details, but the average effective tax rate is somewhere around 12%.
As much as I don't like the IRS, they usually give you a couple of notices to pay up sucker, before they move in on you. You can even negotiate a payment plan with them. Hatch decided to be smart and outsmarted himself. I read a book by a former IRS auditor. They were auditing an obviously cheating construction company owner. Then the auditor realized that the company was a frontend for the mob. The mob does lots of bad things, but they are careful about paying taxes on frontend companies. Remember Al Capone? He got caught for tax evasion. So the auditor decided not to pursue the case, because he was sure, that the naive owner would be whacked by the mob, if they find out that he was cheating on his taxes... Pretty good book, I just forgot the title...Well, maybe that was it: http://www.unclefed.com/TxprBoR/JWWade.html
Correct if I'm wrong, but I do not beleive you can be sentenced to prison just for OWING taxes. There has to some sort of fraud involved. I say one year in the pokey for tax evasion (fraud) and 3 years for being stupid.
Yes you can. Well owing taxes is basicly avoding paying it. But I am not a lawyer... Evolution of Tax Evasion sentencing http://articles.chooselaw.com/general/view/Evolution-of-Tax-Evasion-Sentencing.197.html "Offenses and Sentencing The most serious offense is tax evasion, which will get an individual up to $100,000 (corporations $500,000) in fines and up to five years in jail, or both. Not filing would bring a fine of up to $25,000 (corporations $100,000), and up to a year in the pokey. A false return means up to five years incarceration and fine of $100,000 (corporations $500,000). An employer who violates the employment tax laws, including not supplying a withholding statement or filing a false statement, faces up to a year and a $1,000 fine. An attempt to interfere with the tax law could bring up to three years and $5,000 in fines." Well, let's say you made a honest math mistake on your taxfilling, they are not going to put you in jail. But you have to come up with a payment plan or they will size something...
Poor Richard. I feel for him. He was hoping to meet Ken Lay. Screwed twice. (He will learn why they call it the 'pokey')
i think we need more of this. sometimes it's like we need someone with sense (like me) to step in every now and then and just say this or that law/sentence/punishment is bullshit regardless of what some outdated law says..
Yes, you can be sentenced for owing, but it is generally based upon a word game. The guilty finding is derived around the "failure to file a complete and/or accurate return" for the year(s) in question. It is generally left to sit for at least year prior to any action also. That way any curing can also be played with wordwise.
Well, you make my point. No where does it say you can be imprisoned just because you owe money to the IRS. Everything you cited involved breaking a law. If you followed all the rules and ended up owing, they could take everyhting you have but they CAN"T put you in prison. Big difference imo.
Well naturally if you file and your return is honest, you will not go to jail for simple delinquency. How magnanimous!!!