Wesley Snipes pictured with family earlier this month in NYC. ( Photos: Splash News )
Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison and fined up to $5 million on tax evasion charges on Thursday. It was the maximum sentence possible under federal sentencing guidelines. He didn’t have to turn himself in immediately. The judge ruled he could surrender at a later date.
“The law is very clear: People must pay their taxes,” Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman said. “There is no secret formula that eliminates a person’s tax obligations.” [READ MORE]
WAS THE SENTENCING FAIR?
- YEP, HE SHOULD HAVE PAID HIS TAXES! (53%, 3,453 Votes)
- NOPE, THEY WERE WRONG FOR THAT! (31%, 2,008 Votes)
- WHO CARES! (17%, 1,102 Votes)
Total Voters: 6,563
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A couple of things. The IRS wants its money. They’ll let you set up a payment plan. They can garnish your wages. You can hire an attorney for you who might be able to settle for less money than you actually owed. The Feds don’t really want to put you in jail, because then THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR YOU. Someone brought up Willie Nelson. Okay, he paid. Wes has obviously flat out refused to pay the government back taxes.
And please stop all this comparing one crime to the other. Unless its tax evasion to tax evasion, comparisons are just misleading. Seriously. Maybe people should be starting grass roots organizations to look at the sentencing guidelines instead of making ridiculous connections between unrelated crimes and cases.
Attorneys aren’t not prosecuting murderers and child molesters because a tax evader is in court. FYI: Lawyers who try tax cases are NOT the ones who work murders. because of the complexity of our tax code, tax attorneys are a class all by themselves.
Wesley could have petitioned for downward departure from the sentencing guidelines had he cooperated with the feds. He didn’t. He got the max. Stop crying. He wasn’t thinking about his family when he did this dumb mess.
Like #65 said there are lots of ways to keep your money ie. charitable donations or starting a foundation that will lower your taxable income. While I think Bill and Melinda Gates may be really concerned about AIDS in Africa, I think they also might have set up their foundation to get rid of some money. Money that they would otherwise have to pay taxes on. I think the work involved would be worth avoiding being made an example in court.
And I understand all this moorish stuff. I get it. You can refuse to pay taxes. But the government can choose to put your ass in jail. Simple as that.
A sistah would have made sure he got his taxes taken care of.
That’s what he get!!!! and FYI it was DAVID JUSTICE who beat the hell out of Halle not Wesley.
Isnt that something…people are shooting up the place, cops are killing innocent people, people are selling drugs in large amounts..and the majority of them get off, or dont even see a trial…BUT YOU EFF WITH THE GOVERNMENT, DONT PAY UR TAXES N ISH, AND YOU GET THREE YEARS. lol
Goes to show you where your governments priorities lie.
@123 You are absolutely wrong! She said so herself that it was a famous actor who beat the crap out of her but she said that she’ll never reveal his name (Wesley Snipes who is by the way a second degree black belt in Martial Arts).Don’t know where you getting your facts from sweetie.
If I have to pay taxes, everyone should pay taxes!
I think it is extremely sad. Why is that some Black celebs perceive that they suddenly become transparent and exist in a colourless world. Wesley Snipes did not deserve to be sentenced to three years – surely it would have been enough to make him pay the fine and do community service. But what amazes me is that they never seem to get themselves decent legal representation (except for OJ) – when one thinks about all the corporate crime taking place in Wall Street you never hear of these types of sentences. You would think he had been a manager at Enron!
I must say it was interesting to see that when difficult times hit Snipes he seemed cloaked in “Blackness” he found a Black preacher and all the Black friends he could muster (remember at NAACP Michael Jackson). Despite his love of the Asian woman I never see the wife’s family (extended ones too) showing their support – the only colour I see is usually Black. But that’s his problem. Just think back over the last few years to the types of Black people in the public eye who are arrested at the drop of a hat – when their white counterpart is cautioned, imprisioned when whites are given community service etc…Naomi Campbell, Diana Ross, Snoop Dawg etc.
I think it is very sad and I wonder if the likes of those Puff Daddy, ignorant rappers and worthless celebs look upon the judicial system and realise that they might think they have hit the mega heights but the White man sitting at the bar probably sees an enslaved African on the auction block.
It was wrong…you guys should watch the movie ZIETGEIST!!!! Then you will know the truth…
Timothy Franz Geithner (pronounced /ˈɡaɪtnər/; born August 18, 1961) is an American economist, banker, and civil servant. He is the 75th and current United States Secretary of the Treasury, serving under President Barack Obama. He was previously the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Personal tax issues
At the Senate confirmation hearings, it was revealed that Geithner had not paid $35,000 in self-employment taxes for the years 2001–2004.[26] The International Monetary Fund (IMF), an international agency and his employer during the time in question, did not withhold FICA taxes, but instead reimbursed the usual employer responsibility of 50% of these taxes to employees who were subject to the taxes. Geithner had received the reimbursements, and paid the amounts received to the government, but had not paid the other 50% which would normally have been withheld from his pay. This failure to pay was noted during a 2006 audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in which Geithner was assessed additional taxes of $14,847 for the 2003 and 2004 tax years. The statute of limitations had expired for 2001 and 2002, and Geithner did not file amended returns or pay the additional amounts due for those years until after Obama expressed his intent to nominate Geithner to be Secretary of the Treasury.[27][28][29] He also deducted the cost of his children’s sleep-away camp as a dependent care expense, when only expenses for day care are eligible for the deduction.[29] Geithner subsequently paid the IRS the additional taxes owed,[30] and was charged $15,000 interest, but was not fined for late payment.[31]
In a statement to the Senate Finance Committee, Geithner called the tax issues “careless”, “avoidable” and “unintentional” errors, and he said he wanted to “apologize to the committee for putting you in the position of having to spend so much time on these issues”.[30] Geithner testified that he used TurboTax to prepare his 2001 return, but that the tax errors were his own responsibility.[32][33] The Obama campaign stated that Geithner was advised by his accountant that he did not owe any taxes beyond those assessed by the IRS following the 2006 audit.[34] Geithner said at the hearing that he had always believed he was an employee, not a self-employed contractor, while serving at the IMF.[35]
[edit]Confirmation
Geithner is sworn in as Treasury Secretary
On January 26, 2009, the U.S. Senate confirmed Geithner’s appointment by a vote of 60–34.[36][37] Geithner was sworn in as Treasury Secretary by Vice President Joe Biden and witnessed by President Barack Obama.[38]
I guess he said it slipped his mind and that the IRS codes were confusing…. Wesley should have used that one. I hope Geithner can straighten Washington out. If it could happen to him maybe they better rethink what they are doing up there.