No – that isn’t what I said.

My point was that a wealthy person such as Snipes trying to evade tax seems an unbelievably disrespectful thing for the millions out there not quite so comfortable in life.

Maybe my judgement is clouded by the continuous media reports of celebrities doing whatever they feel like, and getting away with it most of the time.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5420753830426590918

A jail sentence for a tax evader like Snipes is absurd, considering that almost all the money earned by Snipes is stated as a tax deductible expense by someone else. If that money had been tied to a social security number and a tax retention were paid at the source as is common in many places and if no tax form was filed by Snipes the government should have known immediately that Snipes was not filing tax returns. After that a fine for not filing on time and the collection whatever debt there was would suffice.

Sure, Snipes was dumb and is guilty of something if he did not file tax returns. But surely not more guilty than the fat cats who are paid in foreign bank accounts so as to avoid taxes. When the latter are caught evading taxes, they or their accountants and lawyers always work something out with the tax people, without ever going to court.

“Wesley Snipes, convicted of failing to file income taxes, was given the maximum three-year prison sentence by a judge who wasn’t convinced that probation was enough punishment for the action-movie star. ”

Obviously, you have something against people with more money than you. I don’t understand why some people think that anyone richer than them are more liable to pay taxes or should somehow pay a larger tax percentage. That’s ridiculous.

Particularly in this case. It’s despicable for someone as rich as Snipes to be evading taxes.