Even Vampire Hunters Have to Pay Taxes

It's the old Hollywood story: Actor gets rich and famous. Actor attracts an entourage of self-serving, unsavory associates. Actor gets himself into lots of trouble.

And the Hollywood ending is that Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in jail for vocally, willfully, foolishly refusing to file income tax returns. Snipes himself summed up what happened this way:

“I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance,” Snipes said. He said his wealth and celebrity attracted “wolves and jackals like flies are attracted to meat.” He called himself “well-intentioned, but miseducated.”

To say the least. But for the record, let's say what shouldn't need to be said: you have to pay your taxes. If you've heard otherwise, the IRS has a list of responses to the most common "tax protest" arguments. If you're likely to fall for any of these arguments, of course, you're not likely to believe the IRS. If so, consider this: Al Capone went to jail for not paying his taxes. Leona Helmsley went to jail for not paying her taxes. Pete Rose went to jail for not paying taxes. And they all had the best lawyers money can buy. If they couldn't beat the system, you probably can't either.