Tax deniers get targets painted on their bums

[Demosthenes]

Excerpt from an interview in Tax Analysts. Hochman is the new assistant attorney general for the Justice Department Tax Division.

Tax Analysts: What priorities do you have for the Justice Tax Division?

Nathan Hochman: My main priority is to fully and fairly enforce the civil and criminal tax laws. We will continue to vigorously prosecute tax crimes, combat abusive tax shelters, and seek injunctions against unscrupulous tax scam promoters and return preparers who prey on the public. I intend to promote the Tax Division's efforts in complex and significant civil matters through which the Tax Division annually collects or retains billions of dollars for the United States, plus billions more that flow from the precedents we set. Our commitment to this work goes a long way toward reducing the tax gap -- which is a significant priority for this administration.

I also intend to work closely with my partners at the IRS and the Treasury Department to enforce the nation's tax laws. Toward that end, we will enchance our capacity to investigate terrorist financing schemes, deploy Tax Division resources to support national efforts to prosecute gangs, and launch a national initiative to combat the "tax denier" movement through civil injunctions and criminal prosecutions.

[webhick]

Tax deniers get targets painted on their bums

Sounds like a thankless job to me.

Rick: Hey, Sue, I hear you got a new job!
Sue: Yeah, I paint ass all day.
Rick: Painting brass doesn't sound that bad.
Sue: I paint ASS, Rick! ASS! I have to demand that crazy pasty-white hairy fat guys drop their pants and bend over so I can spray paint a target on their tushies!
Rick: :::blink::: You work for the prison system?
Sue: No, Rick, the IRS! Proctology Division!

[Demosthenes]

Tax Deniers Targeted by U.S. Officials After Wesley Snipes Case
2008-02-20 08:32 (New York)


By Robert Schmidt
Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Justice Department, on the heels of a split verdict in its tax evasion prosecution of actor Wesley Snipes, is planning a crackdown on the so-called tax protester movement.
The protesters, or tax deniers, assert a constitutional right to avoid federal taxes, relying in part on century-old Supreme Court decisions. Their ranks are growing to include white-collar professionals, and they are costing the government millions of dollars in revenue, officials say.
"Too many people succumb to the fallacy, the illusion, that you don't have to pay any tax under any set of conditions,'' said Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman, the new head of the Justice Department's tax division. "That is a growing problem.''
The movement has been given a boost by the faltering economy and politicians' vilification of the Internal Revenue Service. The Snipes verdict may also have helped.
The actor, best known for starring in action movies like "Blade'' and "U.S. Marshals,'' was acquitted on Feb. 1 by a federal jury in Ocala, Florida, of felony fraud and conspiracy charges. He was convicted on three misdemeanor counts of failing to pay income taxes, and he faces up to three years in prison at his sentencing in April. He could also be forced to pay millions in back taxes and penalties.
Hochman declined to comment on the case, which was filed in 2006 and predated the department's new initiative.
Snipes's attorney, Robert Bernhoft, didn't return a call seeking comment.
The Internet has also spurred interest in the tax protest movement as firms sell strategies online and believers encourage others to sign on.

'Kooky' Theories

"Any kooky tax protester can put up their theories,'' said Jonathan R. Siegel, a professor at George Washington University's law school who has a Web site that debunks tax denier arguments. "It is much easier to get their message before a mass audience.''
Tax protesters rely on a range of legal arguments, including that the Constitution's 16th Amendment giving Congress power to "lay and collect taxes on incomes'' wasn't properly ratified.
Among other Supreme Court decisions, they cite an 1895 opinion that struck down a federal tax -- a ruling that predated the 16th amendment. The protesters also claim that wages aren't
legal income, that only residents of the District of Columbia, U.S. territories or federal workers must pay income tax or that foreign, but not domestic, income is taxable.
Those arguments, though rejected by courts, are presented by tax deniers with legal citations and other historical evidence.
The advice is "easy to believe'' and is often followed by the naive, Hochman said. "These cases pop up in virtually every jurisdiction in the United States.''

Stepping Up Enforcement

The Justice Department plans to announce its stepped-up enforcement program next month. Officials will bring many new criminal and civil cases against promoters of the illegal schemes
and their clients, Hochman said.
The details are still being worked out, he said, though it will involve working with U.S. attorneys' offices and the IRS. Enforcement "is going to be amped up,'' he said.
The agency already has had success in civil cases. Since 2001 it has obtained orders from judges barring more than 300 individuals from preparing tax returns for others or promoting illegal tax strategies.
In prosecuting criminal cases, the Justice Department must prove someone "knowingly and willfully'' broke the law. Defendants can win acquittal by arguing they didn't know what
they were doing was illegal.

High Conviction Rate

Still, according to agency statistics, prosecutors have a 97 percent conviction rate in tax denier cases. In civil and criminal cases, protesters can be ordered to pay back taxes, plus penalties and interest.
According to court documents, Snipes subscribed to some of the theories espoused by protesters. Two others charged in the case, Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas Rosile, promoted a tax denial strategy known as the 861 argument, prosecutors said.
Protesters say that section 861 of the Internal Revenue Code only requires Americans to pay taxes on some types of foreign income. Snipes also tried to pay some of his taxes with fake checks, labeled "bill of exchange,'' a common tax denier tactic.
The government said Kahn and Rosile prepared and filed two amended tax returns for Snipes using the 861 theory and requesting almost $12 million in refunds. The IRS never paid. Snipes also failed to file his 1999 through 2004 federal returns as he made more than $38 million in income, prosecutors said.
Both Kahn and Rosile, an accountant whose license had been revoked, were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and face up to 10 years in prison.

'Con Artists' and 'Idealists'

Michael Minns, an attorney in Houston who has represented defendants in tax cases, said tax deniers tend to fall into two categories: "con artists'' or "crooks'' who market the bogus strategies, and "idealists'' who believe the schemes are valid.
The Justice Department crackdown, Minns said, is going to "put a lot of nuts in jail'' without addressing larger concerns such as corporations using illegal tax shelters or wealthy people
moving money overseas to avoid taxes.
"What they are really doing is going after the victims and leaving the billionaires alone,'' he said.

[LPC]

Those arguments, though rejected by courts, are presented by tax deniers with legal citations and other historical evidence.

And almost all of the "citations" and "evidence" are either fabricated or taken out of context.

It bothers me that news reporters even hold out the possibility that "those arguments" might be anything but ridiculous fantasies.

[Nikki]

Tax deniers get targets painted on their bums

Sounds like a thankless job to me.

Rick: Hey, Sue, I hear you got a new job!
Sue: Yeah, I paint ass all day.
Rick: Painting brass doesn't sound that bad.
Sue: I paint ASS, Rick! ASS! I have to demand that crazy pasty-white hairy fat guys drop their pants and bend over so I can spray paint a target on their tushies!
Rick: :::blink::: You work for the prison system?
Sue: No, Rick, the IRS! Proctology Division!

Thankless, hell.

It's a GREAT job when you consider that the target-painting lasers don't need pants dropped or any aiming other than punching the address and SSN into the satellite's targeting system.

It would be a whole lot better if there were some kind of audio pickup, though.

[ASITStands]

Stepping Up Enforcement

The Justice Department plans to announce its stepped-up enforcement program next month. Officials will bring many new criminal and civil cases against promoters of the illegal schemes
and their clients, Hochman said.

The details are still being worked out, he said, though it will involve working with U.S. attorneys' offices and the IRS. Enforcement "is going to be amped up,'' he said.

Any guess as to who might be on that list?

Pete Hendrickson? Chuck Conces?

[Famspear]

ASITStands wrote:

Any guess as to who might be on that list?

Pete Hendrickson? Chuck Conces?

And how about Bob Schulz?

[ASITStands]

ASITStands wrote:

Any guess as to who might be on that list?

Pete Hendrickson? Chuck Conces?

And how about Bob Schulz?

It's not hard to imagine an active criminal investigation on these three [or a few others]. What we don't know is how close they might be to closing any investigation. Interesting.

[.]

Kotmair.

[Demosthenes]

Here's my list. Please add to the names as needed.

Joe Banister
Clifton Beale
Bill Benson
Brett Bork
Dave Champion
Robert Clarkson
Jack Cohen
Chuck Conces
Bill Conklin
Richard Cornforth
Tommy Cryer
Bill Drexler
Chris Hansen
Christopher Hansen
Steve Hempfling
Pete Hendrickson
Jean Keating
Devvy Kidd
John Kotmair
Mitch Modeleski (Paul Andrew Mitchell)
Peymon Mottahedeh
David Myrland
Victoria Osborn
Gordon Phillips
Tom Scambos
Robert Schulz
Otto Skinner
Lindsey Springer
Richard Standring
Harold Thomas
Ken Thompson (The Inhabitant)
Lynda Wall

[The Operative]

Here's my list. Please add to the names as needed.

Joe Banister
...

Don't forget Bob Plimpton and his "The Boaz Trust".
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2137

[Demosthenes]

Keep 'em coming.

Joe Banister
Clifton Beale
Bill Benson
Brett Bork
Dave Champion
Robert Clarkson
Jack Cohen
Chuck Conces
Bill Conklin
Richard Cornforth
Tommy Cryer
Bill Drexler
Chris Hansen
Christopher Hansen
Steve Hempfling
Pete Hendrickson
Jean Keating
Devvy Kidd
John Kotmair
Mitch Modeleski (Paul Andrew Mitchell)
Peymon Mottahedeh
David Myrland
Victoria Osborn
Gordon Phillips
Bob Plimpton
Tom Scambos
Robert Schulz
Otto Skinner
Lindsey Springer
Richard Standring
Harold Thomas
Ken Thompson (The Inhabitant)
Lynda Wall

[Imalawman]

Keep 'em coming.

Joe Banister
Clifton Beale
Bill Benson
Brett Bork
Dave Champion
Robert Clarkson
Jack Cohen
Chuck Conces
Bill Conklin
Richard Cornforth
Tommy Cryer
Bill Drexler
Chris Hansen
Christopher Hansen
Steve Hempfling
Pete Hendrickson
Jean Keating
Devvy Kidd
John Kotmair
Mitch Modeleski (Paul Andrew Mitchell)
Peymon Mottahedeh
David Myrland
Victoria Osborn
Gordon Phillips
Bob Plimpton
Tom Scambos
Robert Schulz
Otto Skinner
Lindsey Springer
Richard Standring
Harold Thomas
Ken Thompson (The Inhabitant)
Lynda Wall

Good list, I'm not sure that I should add any names to the list, but that's pretty complete.

[Demosthenes]

I'm sure a lot more names can be added. Who is peddling Bills of Exchange these days? How about those who are selling levy and lien packages? How is selling UCC schemes?

I've been spending some time in the Moorish Temple circles and I think most people here will be surprised just how huge the sovereign citizen and UCC scams have gotten in the black supremacist world.

[Weathervane]

Robert Clarkson

Hope they don't run out of paint.

[Imalawman]

Robert Clarkson

Hope they don't run out of paint.

After a week of depositions, its good to be back in quatloosia. Ad valorem depos get really tedious, really fast.

[Demosthenes]

Joe Banister
Clifton Beale
Larry Becraft
Bill Benson
Brett Bork
Dave Champion
Robert Clarkson
Jack Cohen
Chuck Conces
Bill Conklin
Richard Cornforth
Charlayne Crawford
Tommy Cryer
Bill Drexler
Chris Hansen
Christopher Hansen
Steve Hempfling
Pete Hendrickson
Jean Keating
Devvy Kidd
John Kotmair
Tim McCrory
Mitch Modeleski (Paul Andrew Mitchell)
Peymon Mottahedeh
David Myrland
Victoria Osborn
Gordon Phillips
Bob Plimpton
Tom Scambos
Robert Schulz
Otto Skinner
Lindsey Springer
Richard Standring
Harold Thomas
Ken Thompson (The Inhabitant)
Lynda Wall

[Weathervane]

Bill Conklin

I wonder what's up with Bill these days. I haven't spoken to him in quite some time. Still claiming losses as victories, I guess.

And I wonder if he's ever paid the reward...yeah, right.

[buck09]

I'm sure a lot more names can be added. Who is peddling Bills of Exchange these days? How about those who are selling levy and lien packages? How is selling UCC schemes?

I've been spending some time in the Moorish Temple circles and I think most people here will be surprised just how huge the sovereign citizen and UCC scams have gotten in the black supremacist world.

Like you alluded to, there are a lot of people selling these schemes on a regional basis who choose not to or lack the sophisticaiton to garner any substantive internet presence.

You can see it when people post pro se filings here where there isn't necessarily any one guru that sticks out as the source, other that random theories that are part of the Sui Soup...

[.]

Sui Soup

That's kinda catchy, has a nice ring to it.

Never mind. Even the gourmands are already self-identified at Soooooey and elsewhere.