The Politics of Tax evasion - Wesley Snipes "Blade" Cuts The I.R.S.

Wesley Snipes has been acquitted of federal tax fraud.

A jury has acquitted action star Wesley Snipes of federal tax-fraud and conspiracy charges, but convicted him of failing to file tax returns.

MSN reports Snipes had faced up to 16 years in prison if convicted on all charges, but can now only get up to three years. The “Blade” star and two co-defendants had been indicted in 2006 after Snipes stopped paying, using tax protest arguments long rejected by the courts. Snipes sat emotionless as his verdict was read, then nodded in relief. He refused to talk with reporters after the verdict, and is still liable for millions in taxes likely to be pursued in civil court.

CNN noted Snipes, who starred in such movies as "New Jack City," "White Men Can't Jump" and the "Blade" series of action films, pleaded not guilty to charges he failed to pay tens of millions of dollars in federal income tax.

On October 17, Justice Department and IRS officials issued an arrest warrant for Snipes that charged him with conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and presenting a fraudulent claim for payment to the IRS. More HERE

AAPP: Damn, this guy stopped paying, using tax protest arguments long rejected by the courts?
Say What! Damn, this brotha had some good lawyers.

Check out this Reuters report:

Rather than file tax returns on an estimated $38 million in income, actor Wesley Snipes flooded the U.S. tax agency with correspondence that his lawyer admitted on Tuesday was sometimes "kooky, crazy and loony."

"Kooky, crazy and loony is not a crime," the lawyer, Robert Barnes, said in closing arguments at Snipes' trial on tax fraud charges. "This is a case that should have been in civil court."

Prosecutors argued the star of the "Blade" movie series hooked up with known tax protesters and then ignored warnings from Internal Revenue Service agents and his longtime tax adviser that he must file returns and pay taxes. More HERE

I wonder why the Bail bond company sees Wesley Snipes as flight risk? He already beat the system.