Do you sympothise for Wesley Snipes going to jail?

Mandingo

Tough luck! He should pay the price for being a cheat...

SoulEaterKurizu

Harsh? How many mill did he not pay? People work hard and pay taxes. He desrves it.

Stuart

If you commit felony crimes, you go to prison.

He committed felony crimes. He goes to prison.

What's the question?

Hokie_Pokey

You do the crime, you do the time.

He received the maximum penalty. It would only be harsh if it was over and above the maximum.

No. He purposely sent his money to foreign accounts and knowingly didn't file tax returns.

Totally his fault, don't feel bad for him.

Rushi P

NO, you must pay taxes. He didn't and I did, wtf?

sweetheart228965

i dont understand why he didnt pay. he definitly has the money.o well another hollywood mystery.

Veteran Voter

No, they wanted to make an example of him. If he was a common man, he wouldn't have had a team of top lawyers and celebrities to get his charges reduced. A common man would have done more time over less money.

smars442002

he will be alright, he will end up at some celebrity prison, probably get out in 8-10 months

blondewithheart

I don't know why the ultra rich think it won't be notice if they don't file. So stupid. He should be punished, but I think it the sentence he got was unfair. They are making an example of him, and have stated so. I think it unfair that he was targeted like that. He's just a movie star, if they want to make an example of someone let it be a CEO of a multi billion dollar corporation. To be locked up with criminals for not filing taxes give me a break. He has the money, why not fine him a gran amount of money and pay those teachers who are on strike!

Dude

He should pay his f*ing taxes. These Hollywood types are such hypocrites. They will cry and complain that the government should have all of these programs and then they don't want to pay their taxes. Where do they think the money comes from to pay for this stuff?

Eraser

No, he deserves it....I've been following his case for sometime. In the past he has been quite outspoken about his tax evasion. He has encouraged others to do so. He is super wealthy and paying his taxes would not leave him broke. Just pure greed.

He lied about millions of dollars of income....he tried long and hard to get out of it, instead of simply paying up. He is worth millions and does not give significant amounts to charity, cheats and lies about his income and taxes, and expects people to feel sorry for him; this is an example of the worst of America, and he should be punished!

Jackie

My dear friend, He'll do some time, maybe not 3 years. GOD Bless you.

renb1082

No I don't feel the least bit sad for him. He makes enough money to pay the taxes. I would probably feel bad if he were a low income person who couldn't afford to pay the taxes but he's not. He was just being greedy. Chances are he won't serve the 3 years or if he does they will put him in the kind of prison martha stewart was in that is low security and not jail like at all.

Don E

Let him go if he pays a $10,000,000.00 fine.

mad_hillbilly

Society only works because it has rules. Every member of that society has to follow these rules if they want to function within the society.

Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean the rules are right. It doesn't matter of the rules are morally right, because they still have to be followed.

Punishment for the breaking of a society's laws are not secret, you can find them by looking them up pretty easily. Mr. Snipes knew he had to pay taxes, and he knew what would happen if he got caught for not paying his taxes. I don't sympathise with him in the slightest, especially when the rich can't "afford" to pay their taxes.

*u are beautiful in his eyes*

yeah well he deserves his sentence,, think about it, to be a millionaire and not want to pay taxes, only a small portion of your income? thats pretty selfish of him being that he has so much money..In my opinion wealthy people, and celebrities are just like middle class citizens who actually work to receive a pay check..not only is it not comprable to what they earn but we also have to pay taxes.. I am glad he is being made an example of... pay your taxes, or pay your time!

pinkymoo

Not really I mean if you're famous enough to be in movies you have to be earning a packet and he claimed he wasn't that great with finance sense says you get an accountant to do it for you then!

percival.sweetwater

I've only read bits and pieces. Seems his accountants improperly advised him and he admitted that he screwed up and was willing to make it good. That's the press release version, not the court transcript version. Because the IRS is most concerned with getting their money.

If he was willing to make it good, they would have added a penalty amount, plus interest, and a hefty fine on top of that, and that would have been the end of it. So there's more to it than just the public story.

Sympathize? Nope. You don't get prison for screwing up. You get prison for screwing up BIG TIME.

Trav

Not really. Granted, perhaps the max sentence was a little much (average people who commit the same crime usually are sentenced to less), but his being an actor and in the public eye is a good way to send a message to the rest of us. I for one am tired of celebrities getting special treatment, and just a slap on the wrist when the commit a crime (ie. Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan etc.). They should be treated just like You or I.

smart guy

I do not feel bad for him.We all pay taxes why did he think he was better than the rest of us.If you do not what the time than don`t do the crime.

Peachypet

I thought he was convicted of misdemeanor charges not felonies? This is a bit harsh, it seems some celebrities have to take a hit to make up for the ones that "get away".

Gordon Shumway

It does seem a little harsh. Does he really need to be in there for 3 years? Not that it matters. He won't serve the whole sentence anyway. But no, I'm not sorry he's going to jail. There are certain laws we all have to follow. Even has-been celebrities.

Surenne

No, because I dont care.

DRocK

I think it's good he has to serve some time. I wonder how much of it he will actually have to serve?

What makes me ill though is that when most celebrities get busted for far worse crimes like Rape or Murder (e.g. OJ Simpson, Robert Blake, Mike Tyson etc...) they find a way to hire expensive lawerys and get off the hook, but then with Snipes they throw the book at him for taxes?

Sounds like some serious double-standards.

giftfromgod

He can get some more muscles pumping iron in there, but don't worry, he'll be out before the end of May.

musicman

No, I don't sympathize with him; heck, I'm not even a big fan of any of his stuff; except for a few movies.

He's only gonna do a year in prison and get the rest of time off on good behavior.

Bellaâ™¥

"You do the crime, you do the time." However, I do sympathize for Wesley Snipes. Here is a celebrity who do something wrong and he gets the full penalty yet Paris Hilton and Nicole Ricci only get the minimum (not even) for a DUI. I don't know if race, gender, or the various crime came into play, but I do question Wesley Snipes' sentencing. BUt it is what it is.

rellya 16

It doesn't seem harsh. The law's the law. I don't sympathize for him. It's not fair that all these celebs get away with breaking the law. While regular people get caught and punished. Somebody had to be made an example of, unfortunately for him it was him. He'll be fine, in a few years he can gain it all back like they always do.

A.Mercer

It could have been worse, they could have gotten him on the conspiracy charges and he would have done even more time.

I am thinking that the government lost out on a deal here though. Wesley Snipes offered to do public service announcements. It may have more impact to have him on the TV saying that the taxes are real and that the government can send you to prison for not paying them.

As for the constitutionality of the income tax, not a single court has ever declared that the income tax is unconstitutional. In fact, they have decided that they are. The only people who believe that this is true are the tax avoiders. They push this as a reason to not pay taxes but they do get sent to prison for this all the time. In fact, this silly stuff is so common the IRS has a pdf that covers the goofy arguments and the reality of why these arguments are not true. It even has court cases that has backed up the IRS.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/friv_tax.pdf

Mr H

yeah, that's got to be a ***** to go to prison for NOT doing something.

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