At TaxProf Blog, tax professors comment on the Wesley Snipes trial verdict. Snipes was convicted of failing to file tax returns, although acquitted of more serious conspiracy and fraud charges. Snipes's co-defendants, who pushed the "§ 861 argument" to evade taxes, were convicted of all counts. Professor Buchanan at GW analyzes:
In short, even if Snipes manages to avoid jail time (which I hope he won't), the price he will pay is steep. In an attempt to evade $14 million in taxes, Snipes must now pay that amount in full plus interest plus penalties probably exceeding $10 million, plus legal fees, all while now carrying a criminal record. Add in the years of uncertainty that this prosecution caused Snipes, as well as the personal toll of a trial carrying the possibility of 16 years in prison, and this does not look like an advertisement for getting into the tax denial game.
We reviewed the "§ 861 argument" fraud here.
New Mexico Proposes Video Game Tax to Punish Staying Indoors
Some people in New Mexico are skeptical of the Sierra Club's proposal to tax people who make decisions with which they disagree:
Dave Gilligan remembers being pushed outside to play baseball and other sports, but feeling it just wasn't for him.[...]
"If you take a kid that's just playing his X-Box or whatever and you take him outside and you make him play baseball, he's going to hate it," said Gilligan, co-owner of Gamers Anonymous, an Albuquerque video game store. "There's nothing wrong with sitting at home playing games. Everybody's doing it now."
But a coalition of groups, led by the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, is sold on the idea that outdoor education programs can inspire children in a way that video games and television cannot.
The coalition wants state lawmakers to create a No Child Left Inside Fund with a 1 percent tax on TVs, video games and video game equipment. The fund would help pay for outdoor education throughout the state.
Supporters of the tax—which would be the first of its kind in the nation—say outdoor programs have been shown to improve students' abilities in the classroom, boost their self-confidence and teach them stewardship and discipline.
The fundamental purpose of taxes is to raise revenue necessary for programs, not micromanage people's decisions with subsidies and penalties. If a tax targeting video games is justified, it should be on the basis of actual negative externalities, not the whims of social engineers picking things they don't like at random.
We discussed a similar video game tax proposed by a Wisconsin state senator:
Why not put taxes on certain types of music, clothes, or entertainment? Or why not go directly at the source and put a special tax within the income tax system on people who work at ages 16 or 17, or raise the drivers license fees on people those ages? This may sound stupid and discriminatory, but that's exactly what this proposal is.
Tax Foundation Releases Presidential Candidate Tax Plan Comparison
With the upcoming 2008 presidential election, tax policy will soon be on voters' minds more than ever. Taxes are one of the central issues in any national election, and it is important for the public to understand candidates' general views toward tax policy as well as their positions on specific issues, such as the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and corporate tax rates. While some candidates have been more forthcoming and specific than others about their stance on various tax issues, they will all need to divulge and elaborate on their positions as the race progresses.
To help voters sort through the details of each candidate's proposal, the Tax Foundation has released a comparison of the candidates' positions on the most important tax questions of this election. To use this page, simply check the boxes next to the names of the candidates whose plans you would like to compare and click "Compare." As the race narrows and the remaining candidates refine and expound their positions, we will expand this page.
95 Years Ago Today...16th Amendment Ratified
On this date (February 3rd) in history 95 years ago...the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
Or did Ohio never truly approve of it? What is your favorite 16th Amendment "it was never really ratified" theory?
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