Many people feel like they pay more than their fair share in federal income taxes, but it is important to correctly file your taxes on time and pay the amount you owe the IRS to avoid tax problems. As a Tax Attorney I deal with tax protest cases on a fairly regular basis.
Here’s the thing, this defense against paying taxes doesn’t work. It didn’t work for actor Wesley Snipes and it hasn’t worked for the most dedicated of tax protestors over the years, despite being tested in our courts since the 1950′s.
Back in 2006, USA Today pubished an article on tax protestors that they interviewed me for, and subsequently quoted me in as a tax expert. Here’s an excerpt of the story to illustrate a fairly common tax protestor scenario:
“SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Like most Americans, Peter Smith and his wife, Ellyn Stecker, sit down each year to fill out a federal tax form. Then they write a check to the U.S. Treasury for half the sum in the “amount you owe” box.
They are among thousands of Americans who refuse to pay part or all of their federal taxes as a protest against war and military spending. “It takes two things to fight a war: people and money,” says Smith, 67, a retired math and computer science teacher. “I can’t refuse anymore to go, but I certainly can refuse to send the money.”
No one likes to pay taxes, but in the long run when you protest your taxes by not paying the IRS (regardless of the reason) the Federal Government ends up with its share or you end up in trouble.
I’ll sum up this post today by reprinting my quote from the USA Today Article:
“Jeff Fouts, a tax attorney in the Atlanta area, says, “No matter what argument you raise as to the legitimacy of the tax system, you’re going to lose.” – USA Today War on Tax Waged Against Costs of War
Save your protest for a sharply worded letter to your elected officials, or one of many other forms of protected avenues of protest we enjoy in America such as free speech. It has a lot more chance of helping achieve your ends with none of the dire consequences.
Until next time,
Jeffrey I. Fouts, Tax Attorney You can put off your tax problem, or put us to work.
Here’s a bio of sorts. I’m happily married with two kids. I’m a real small town tax lawyer (Ellijay, pop. 1,584) not some fictional marketing character. I represent tax payers before the IRS in all 50 states. I have 18 years experience, thousands of satisfied clients, about 8 critics at last count, and an A+ BBB Rating.
I’m a member in good standing of the bar and have active memberships in courts from Georgia to Washington D.C. My competitors covet my Google ranking but my clients covet my sound counsel. I deal directly with my clients and have a small, tireless staff. You can put off your tax problem, or put us to work.
Have you ever tried to reason with a someone who is emotionally convinced they are right? No amount of logic or evidence can convince them they might be wrong. They remain firmly entrenched in their beliefs.
Some good folks believe that the IRS may be unconstitutional. But it doesn’t matter that they may be incorrect in their views. They’re convinced they are right and it is very difficult to convince them to the contrary.
Even Idaho’s Republican lawmaker Phil Hart believes the IRS is unconstitutional. As a result, he stopped paying his taxes to protest the IRS. Not surprisingly, the IRS wasn’t convinced by his position and they slapped a $300,000 tax lien on him. One would hope that an elected US government official would choose a different method to express his feelings than stop paying taxes, increasing the tax burden on his constituents.
Apparently Mr. Hart felt that it was alright for the people who elected him to pay his salary, benefits and social programs and he should not contribute. (Read the article at KHQ.com)
What’s the lesson here? Taxpayers are free to believe that the IRS and the current system of taxation is unconstitutional, but believing that doesn’t make the IRS go away. The best way to change a system is to work to change the system using legal means, not by breaking the law, or causing the government to come after you.
It doesn’t help you, or change the tax laws, if you damage your financial life by having the IRS come collecting.
If you owe back taxes, you should strongly consider dealing with the IRS – sooner rather than later.
[Image source: Phil Hart Constitutional Income Book]
It seems like everywhere you look there is a new “syndrome”. There’s road rage – which some of us encounter in our daily commutes. There’s retail rage (or shopping rage), which some of us encounter when we have to wait in line at the grocery store. It feels like people are generating new and creative syndromes with every problem.
In the New York Times article, “Late Filing Syndrome”, the article describes the sad plight of a down-and-out person who has not able to pay their tax bill.
Oh, did I say “sad plight of a down-and-out” person? I meant: educated, six-figure-earning political aide Charles J. O’Byrne. O’Byrne claims that he suffers from a very specific form of depression called – are you ready for this? – “late filing syndrome”. Yeah, you read that correctly.
It seems that, just around tax time every year, he falls into a depression that is so difficult to manage, he is simply unable to file his tax returns. Ironically, this sickness only ever appears at tax time and, in O’Byrne’s case, it appeared 4 years in a row – from 2001 to 2005.
Although it’s not a syndrome he fabricated himself, the American Psychiatric Association doesn’t see it as a psychiatric condition… I guess the Psychiatric Association is just like the rest of us Americans who can see through the bull.
I am all for legally paying less tax. However, I am against using illegal tax evasion methods, and, I don’t believe in fake excuses. O’Byrne has a responsibility to pay (and he has the opportunity to reduce his taxes by simply calling me). Instead, he has the gall to claim this particular problem.
It’s galling because his income is paid for by our tax dollars. What if everyone in the US suddenly was hit with a bout of late filing syndrome? He’d be out of a job.
It’s also galling because it shows that he thinks the rest of us are fools. C’mon… did he really think that we’d take pity on him because he procrastinated on his income taxes too long?
It’s like the old “my dog ate my homework” trick. Or the “I didn’t get your letter.” excuse. Everyone (especially the IRS) can see through those lies!
There’s another syndrome – a far more serious one – that occurs with regularity. It’s equally rare. During a full moon, those bitten by a wolfman will themselves become wolfmen (or wolfwomen). My diagnosis? Equally laughable; equally silly.
A CNN article rightly attacks the “syndrome” for what it is: a made-up excuse by a tax lawyer in an effort to get his client out of trouble.
I’ve got my own syndrome. Let’s call it: “shake-my-head-at-foolish-people” syndrome.
Celebrities seem to live in their own little world. While the rest of us pack our lunches and punch the clock from 9 to 5 (or more like 8 to 6, these days), celebrities sit around and bask in their own fame. The British have their monarchy and we have our own version of it – celebrity. They live by their own rules and make bazillions of dollars by doing very little.
To borrow a line from the Spider-Man movie, with great wealth comes great responsibility (to pay taxes). And, like most of us, these people find taxation a difficult burden. And some of them don’t pay.
From time to time, I’ll highlight celebrities who run “afoul” of the IRS. Today’s celebrity: Wesley Snipes.
He played a nearly invulnerable half-vampire/half-human in the movie Blade but actor Wesley Snipes proved that he was not invulnerable to the government of the United States of America. Snipes evaded the law in such movies as Demolition Man (1993), US Marshals (1998), and Art of War (2000), and during that time, he evaded paying his taxes!
You can read all about Mr. Snipes tax evasion case at Wikipedia. To summarize, he was charged in 2006 with:
1 count of conspiring to defraud the United States
1 count of knowingly making or aiding and abetting the making of a false and fraudulent claim for payment against the United States
6 counts of willfully failing to file Federal income tax returns by their filing dates
Snipes was acquitted of most of these charges, with the exception of 3 of the 6 counts of willfully failing to file Federal income tax returns by their filing dates. He was sentenced to 3 years in jail. (Although not IRS-related, you might also be interested to know that Snipes has failed to pay property taxes on two homes he owns as well. It’s also referenced in this Wikipedia article.)
The moral of this story?
Don’t act in 3 movies where you play a hero on the run from the law! Sooner or later, that kind of fiction will turn into fact!
There are legal strategies you can use to pay less tax. Simply pretending you’re not an American citizen (which is what Snipes tried) doesn’t work.
If you owe unpaid taxes, I can help you. (If Mr. Snipes had called me instead, there is a high likelihood he wouldn’t be making license plates right now because I’d have asked him to file his tax returns).
