November 19th, 2010
05:48 PM ET
Wesley Snipes ordered to jail on tax chargesOn Friday, a judge ordered actor Wesley Snipes to begin serving a prison sentence for tax-related charges. According to legal documents obtained by CNN, the judge ruled that "The Defendant, Wesley Trent Snipes, is ordered and directed to surrender himself for execution of sentence upon receipt of notice from the United States Marshal or the Bureau of Prisons as to where, when and to whom he should report for that purpose." Prosecutors had argued that, for almost a decade, the actor avoided paying income taxes to the tune of millions of dollars and he was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file tax returns and sentenced in 2008. In July of this year, a federal appeals court denied actor Snipes' claim that his three-year prison sentence for tax evasion was "unreasonable." In rendering his decision Friday, the judge wrote " The Defendant Snipes had a fair trial; he has had a full, fair, and thorough review of his conviction and sentence by the Court of Appeals; and he has had a full, fair, and thorough review of his present claims, during all of which he has remained at liberty. The time has come for the judgment to be enforced."
Next entry »A 'Sister Wives' honeymoon special
« Previous entryWhat the critics are saying about 'Potter'
 |
  About this blog
Our daily cheat-sheet for breaking celebrity news, Hollywood buzz and your pop-culture obsessions.  |
this is getting better every freekin minute....GA HEAD STRETCH
It is up to Wes to make sure his taxes are being paid.
Wow, the last time I file my taxes was 2001. Why are the irs not after me. They now where I am at. So, why am I not in jail?
Snipes had a crappy lawyer. They should have played the Geithner/Rangel defense – " oh , I was using TurboTax" – or
" oh , I was supposed to pay taxes on that? I'm sorry , I didn't know. " Snipes should have gotten a wrist slap at worst.
Who Cares.... So much more to worry about.
Yes! Greed will get you a stint in the house!
He was such a great actor....
get ur butt in tat cage wesley.
celebrities and taxes:) he would've received better advise from his moeny manager. we will post new predictions on Wesley, and in meanwhile check out our new post and future predictions on Camille Grammer and her life without Kelsey Grammer:http://celebs911.com/2010/11/21/life-without-kelsey-grammer-read-on-camille/
Americans and jails. Its a billion dollar industry set up to make money and not so much to correct the people going in.
1 out of every 32 Americans is either in prison or on parole from prison. And they call this the land of the free..
charlie filed incomes taxes and made arrangements with the government to pay what was owed on the 'misfiled' tax returns. wesley snipes didn't file and didn't pay taxes. do you see the difference? stop comparing apples and tangerines.
FACT: MONEY IS NOT THE ANSWER TO HAPPINESS.....THERE ARE THOUSANDS
WHO WILL NEVER MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS THIS MAN, AND YET THEY
STILL PAY THEIR TAXES...WHAT A SHAME!
SOME MEN NEVER GROW UP...
Cut a deal with him. many people owe taxes he cant work from jail to pay what he owes
Why is it that Wesley has to go to jail....and old N.Y. Senator Chuck Rangel gets off with warning
Wesley knew exactly what he was doing. He, not his managers or accountants, sent a letter to the government where he said that he did not have to pay income taxes. I really have no pity for the man, as I believe it was mainly greed that drove this act. The government always gives you a chance to pay your debt, but he must have refused to pay several times before being brought to trial.
what's unclear to me is wether or not he is going to jail for failing to square up his debt or for failing to file returns or BOTH? So, was he given an opportunity to make good? I find it very hard to believe the IRS wouldnt at least give him a chance to make it right and they just wanted to make an example out of him.
Charlie Rangel avoids paying taxes on income property for 17 years and only had to pay a fine, while Snipes go to prison?
I don't know who Charlie Rengal is.. but if this dude avoided filing a tax return for 17 years, then he needs to do 17 years.
what is going on with our celebrities? They are suppose to be role models? Oh dear, they need help more than any commoner like us. Many are divorcing,separating, they get bored easy and they feel restless. I feel we will have a very busy year at Celebs911:)
http://celebs911.com/2010/11/18/eva-longoria-and-tony-parkers-mesages-from-the-spirit-guides/
half of us pay taxes, half just ride on the backs of those who do.
It was about time!!! Why should rich people get away with committing crimes. If it was one of us "SimpleToms", we would have been behind bars years ago. This guy has shown time and again that he is beyond the law.
I hope that once (finally) he's jailed, he receives no preferential treatment. But...you know the rest of the story!
Had it been one of us neon peeons, we'd have been in jail 3 years ago. No sympathy for this bozo.
@ninime...comparing our tax rates to European countries is Apples and Oranges. Most, if not all European countries have free health care, lower retirement ages and better overall pension plans.
Love it... shatty actor not worth a nickle... over rated not even news worthy... A ham at best...
You can't arrest a daywalker. Everyone knows that.
The government is NOT your friend. The government says "This is OUR land, and YOU shall work and pay taxes or be made miserable. WE do not care about YOU, or YOUR wants, or YOUR needs. WE will take YOUR money and do with it whatever WE wish."
Prediction: In 30 years either the government will be completely overthrown by revolution or we'll be living in a Terminator-style future with endless surveillance and unseen terminations via remote-controlled drones. All of this police-state style happenings are being tested to the fullest in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Pakistan. The difference is that their peoples are FIGHTING it (and still losing), while it is happening here as well and all we do is sit on our butts and click the "Like" button. America is already lost.
clearly the tax system in the US is not perfect. I don't much enjoy seeing all the $$ taken away form my paycheck each week. What I do like are roads. And an ambulance if I need it. And police to patrol my neighborhood. And public libraries full of books to read. And public schools. And public health nurses for community education. I would also like to point out that many European countries pay substantially MORE in income taxes than we do. In many ways, we do not have it so bad.
I'm disappointed too – by the fact that Mr Snipes wants our hard earned after tax money in the form of box office receipts – but somehow thinks he's exempt from the process. Not cool, dude, not cool.
Dang. They got the daywalker. Now for the next three years you won't be able to swing a dead act without hitting a vampire. This sucks (no pun intended)...
You're going to be doing some TIME now, son! That's right, son!
he should never have come back to this jacked up country.
Does this mean there won't be a Demolition Man II?
It is ridiculous that millionaires do all they can to avoid paying taxes. Hello... You have more money than most of the general population so come on and pay you are not above the laws.
If the IRS was really concerned about the money Mr. Shipes owes the government, maybe they should have garnished wages from his future actor earnings. I don't believe he will be able to pay back very much on the small wage the prison system pays inmates for their labor.
The funny ironic and sad thing about this whole thing, is that the IRS and Taxes are illegal. Paying income Taxes have never been ratified. Non-the-less, the elite and the Investment bankers are getting away with this scam and use our Legal system and Law Enforcement agencies as the bullies to come and get us.
here we go again. jail for non-violent offenders. so instead of making money and paying taxes (perhaps) and contributing to society, he'll be sitting in a jail cell at tax payer expense. when will stupid judges and stupid prosecutors understand that having non-violent offenders sitting in jail punishes us all. owe a debt to society? then do lots of community service.
Yea, you all are right: if you don't pay your taxes, uncle sam will come knocking blah blah. But what hapned to all these politicians who CLEARLY get caught smuggling our hard earned dollars? Nothing. I don't see them going to jail. Just more finger-pointing lies on who spent what. Shoot, I don't even see what's going on with our taxes now. How many people in NY had to wait for their returns because the state/federal had "insufficient funds"? They had no problem taking the money to begin with. Then you have millions of people who falsely claim others on their returns every year and they don't go to jail either-let alone even catch an audit...
The purpose of tax collection is to get money from citizens for the government. Prison is intended to punish and reform. You cannot reform a grown, mature human, but you can break them in prison and force them, by fear, not to repeat their actions. Snipes would be far more valuable to the government as a working actor. Confiscate most of his income and let him work, while giving him some time in jail or prison. Three years is excessive and shows our continued focus on the idea of punishment over reason. In the state of Maryland, you can hit and kill a cyclist and only pay a modest fine. I am not saying this is right, but it is a fact.
Taking away someone's liberty is a drastic step, but we haven't changed all that much in that regard since the dark ages. It seems to me that Snipes should have gotten a few months, at most, in jail with the rest of the term suspended. There must be millions of tax cheats out there who have not been charged with anything.
One thing that should not be done is to use prominent people to "set an example" for others. This is grossly unfair, but that's the way it works. They used to say that getting on the cover of TIME all but assures that you will do time, just as payback.
Exactly...its really a shame because he would actually generate more money for everyone making movies instead of being behind bars for 3yrs. I totally agree with this post
He could have gotten away with it for just a 'censure' if his name was Charlie Rangel ...who was on the tax law-writing Ways and Means Committee by the way!
hahahahha...that is not wesley S. on the picture CNN has up on the stroy, thats funny...
Love it or leave it. Hmmm. How about dollar crashing. States withdrawing. Its more like the ship is sinking. You guys do not see the train coming. I have liquidated all my assets here and got me a condo on the beach in Puerto Escondido Oaxaca. Summer year round, clear blue water, clean beaches, hot dark women, good food, mountains, large fresh water river, fishing, gold in the sands, etc. Oh, i forgot to mention, no property or school taxes from hell like here. Their version is once a month the neighborhood gets together for about 2 hrs and cleans the roads, beach, cemetary, etc. Lots of US, Canadian, European ex pats there. So, wake up. A katrina sized wake up call is in store from coast to coast. Get your money out of that scam stock market and into metals or real estate. You have been warned. You know how to contact me if you want guidance in living in Puerto. I am well known there in Colotepec the county seat. Good luck. Daniel Montes, danielmonteshernandez@gmail.com.
Why is Snipes going to jail but Charles Rangel gets a free pass? I believe the Snipes made a mistake way more than I believe Rangel didn't realize he needed to pay taxes. Rangel should have been expelled from the House and sent to jail.
Tim Gaitner should share a cell block with Snipes.
Wesley,
Do your time and get out early. And PAY YOUR TAXES, ok?
Remember, EVERY YEAR we all have to pay our taxes, ok?
Ok?
I own a small business and find Federal taxes high, but I still pay them. Snipes could make a stand against high taxes and spending (especially defense) with his celebrity rather than not paying his taxes. Though, big corporations, like GE, get away without paying any U.S. taxes by writing off their losses in the U.S. and paying taxes in tax havens.
Wesley should seek a Congressional censure. It worked for Charlie Rangel...
Anything that keeps him from making bad movies is a good thing in my book.
is it just me.. or is it cold in here?
Who is going to bang his wife? I AM!
Com'on. Snipes knew he was breaking the law all these years. Everyone in the US knows about the income tax requirement!
Is everyone missing the most obvious of points.................................. You pay taxes in the country of your permanent residence. Ergo, his permanent residence was Orlando, Florida. Even if the people that were handling his accounts said he could get tax breaks, he STILL had to file, and he would of paid "something" in because he turned a profit. No.. if you straight up avoid filing a tax return, that's just asking for it.
Too bad Rangel the Angle won't be joining him.
ANOTHER HARDWORKING BLACK BEING DRAGGED TO JAIL BY THE NAZI WHITES !!
Parrot, you are the most widely published racist online commenter I've seen.. who still can seem to find the CAPS(un)LOCK key on his keyboard. Nothing scarier than a stupid racist. Well, maybe a smart one.
mitbtwotCtetmotee................................. (may it be the will of the CREATORE to eliminate the memory of the evil energy) Wesley, may the FORCE be with you.
What's UP with the RACE CARD. Get a life, GROW UP. You are obviosly a TOTAL RACIST. People(?) like you are what I like to call SHI- Disturbers. Do eveyone else a BIG favor and go away
I wish I was lucky enough to earn so much money that I owe millions in taxes
Exxon Mobil, the most profitable corporation in history pays no tax, Haliburton re-incorporates in Dubai to avoid US justice and get out of paying taxes. This guy has to go to jail.
His first mistake: Not paying taxes.
Second mistake: Claiming the county in Florida was racist.
Stupid
I knew he was guilty as soon as he said he was being charged because he was black...He knew what was going on.
stop lyin', you'll know you would take the cash if you could get away, just like the fat cats who got bailed out, they snagees as much as they could, snipes is just being treated unfairly by the system.
……………………………………..________
………………………………,.-‘”……………….“~.,
………………………..,.-”……………………………..“-.,
…………………….,/………………………………………..”:,
…………………,?………………………………………………\,
………………./…………………………………………………..,}
……………../………………………………………………,:`^`..}
……………/……………………………………………,:”………/
…………..?…..__…………………………………..:`………../
…………./__.(…..“~-,_…………………………,:`………./
………../(_….”~,_……..“~,_………………..,:`…….._/
……….{.._$;_……”=,_…….“-,_…….,.-~-,},.~”;/….}
………..((…..*~_…….”=-._……“;,,./`…./”…………../
…,,,___.\`~,……“~.,………………..`…..}…………../
…………(….`=-,,…….`……………………(……;_,,-”
…………/.`~,……`-………………………….\……/\
………….\`~.*-,……………………………….|,./…..\,__
,,_……….}.>-._\……………………………..|…………..`=~-,
…..`=~-,_\_……`\,……………………………\
……………….`=~-,,.\,………………………….\
…………………………..`:,,………………………`\…………..__
……………………………….`=-,……………….,%`>–==“
…………………………………._\……….._,-%…….`\
……………………………..,< `.._|_,-&"................`\
Nice art work, dude!
these actors and politicians seem to have a problem paying taxes !!!! i make a little $27.000.00 a year and i have to pay 10% on it....i am a widow.. pay your taxes wesley, i do !!!!
This is just great no more Blade movies!!
If you make money in the US, you pay taxes. If any accountant says you can pay zero taxes on your $20 million income, only an IDIOT would believe them. Put the IDIOT in jail so the other criminals can say to him "hey, we had a rough life, but even we're not frickin stupid enough to avoid our taxes, ever hear of Al Capone you dummy".
Warren Buffett, whose income averages over $1 BILLION per year, said he could arrange it legally so he paid no taxes whatsoever. Even now, he says he pays at a lower rate than his secretary. So the flaw in your statement is that it's the working people who HAVE to pay taxes, Congress has provided many loopholes for the wealthy, having slowly erased Reagan's removal of those loopholes in 1986.
Ah, see – there's the loophole; IF you make money in the U.S. – the simple trick is incorporating abroad; control, not ownership is also key. Anyone of even modest means can work it out, but if you think you can just sit back and blatantly make money in the states and keep it there, of COURSE they're going to nail you. If GE, etc. was dumb enough to just make piles of money in one place, they'd get nailed too. Sit down, figure it out, and get out.
Wesley released a statement talking about his disappointment.
http://bit.ly/b97M6R
The great teacher, Jesus the Christ, admonishes us to pay the things that are Caesar's to Caesar, when he was questioned directly as to the payment of taxes." Caesar" on ther other hand, is answerable to Almighty God as to how he spends the taxes that are intended for the public good. Further, the bible tells us that the authority weilds a "sword" for its purposes.
Stuff the bible and just pay the bill already.
What?!?!
The Bible also tells us to kill our kids if they get mouthy. Leviticus 20 – 9. For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
A lovely little tome.
.....and how about Charlie Wrangle?
thinking his problem was he listened to those"experts" that tell you that you don't have to pay any income tax...after all the experts collect a fee for telling you how to avoid paying,, then you're the one who goes to jail when found guilty of tax evasion ...........hm no free lunches comes to mind.........o wait he will be getting free lunches and breakfast and dinner lol not sorry about your luck
Millionaires who don't hire tax lawyers are fools. No attorney - no responsible attorney - would EVER say he doesn't have to pay taxes or can settle for 10%. No way. They are likely to say - and I worked for one for years - that they have created the best plan for the client that they can, but that the plan needs to be updated periodically because of changes in the law. I have NEVER heard of anyone getting away with 10%.
Snipes will be going to prison, not jail. Terms over one year are usually served in prison. Note that they're not the same thing.
Hey Wes, what you have rocks in your head or something? When you rake in the kind of dough you do, the first thing you should have had done was hire a good tax advisor who specializes in tax avoidance. There's a fine but definite line between that and full fledged tax evasion. Tax avoidance although many may consider it as highly unethical and may get you audited from time to time, is within the law. Tax evasion of course will land you behind bars. Obviously your advisor (assuming you even had one) was not schooled in that fine art.
The tax system needs a complete overhaul. Why is lebron James' dentist in the same tax bracket as lebron james?
Why is Warren buffet only paying income tax on $100,000 per yer, even he admist that the tax system favors the rich.
Face the music,pay the piper,serve your time & be over it
Gotta pay your dues, famous or not, uncle sam wants his money or he will come knocking at your door!
You gotta pay your dues and do your time ... unless you are member of the House of Representatives, and in particular, your name is Charlie Rangel.
Chastise him if you will, say he deserves it, but I say the Federal banking cartel is going to have no problem doing this to all of us in a very near future. Do you really think the Bankers are going to settle for tax cuts and flatline withholdings when their interest payments are due. These are insidious psychopathic mobsters, with no compassion or empathy. All that counts is that you work you hiney off in exchange for worthless paper which they can then hoard and turn into tangible value. You would have to be a complete simpleton idiot to not see what is coming, for almost all of us. As long as you panderers and boot lickers worship these frauds we will all suffer.
I would have no problem with taxes, if it weren't for the fact that the entire budget is some national secret, essentially a giant banking black ops scheme complete with a few trillion dollar 'bail outs' here and there. None of you have a clue as to where any of your tax dollars go, in particular at the Federal Extortion level.
CheweyBees
could you ellaborate on what you're saying? It's very compelling, I want to hear more. Will check back for your response. Thanks.
he is talking about fractional reserve banking. its a standard with pretty much the entire world these days. you should try turning off the news and reading about history. i would say start with the rothchild family for a good beginning. work your way through the past couple hundred years and just follow the money. its not that hard to figure out.
Chewy, you are not the only one who knows. Many are aware but have no voice. We all should prepare for the future.
If you want to stick your middle finger in the face of The Man, then you had better be ready to have that finger shoved up your behind. Especially if you are a financially successful celebrity. We all pay taxes and I doubt anyone enjoys it. He needs to do his time, and when he is released, work to pay his tax bill. Sorry, no sympathy here.
I'm self employed. I pay uncle sam a lot of money and it hurts to see it go. But I do it. Perhaps out of fear of nothing else, because frankly I'm not happy with how my tax dollars are spent. But I still pay just like most everyone else. It's very upsetting to see someone cheat the system.
I agree. So if u don't pay, and your house is burning down, dont call the fire dept!!! If someone is breaking into your home, don't call the cops! I hate paying as much as the next person but that's America! Love or leave it!
Snipes is not going to jail for not paying his taxes or taking bad deductions, which apparently he did on the advice of his financial advisor. He is going to jail for not filing tax returns for three years. IRS can take practically everything you own (until you file bankruptcy) if you don't pay or make major deduction mistakes leading to interest and penalties but so long as you file your return every year and don't lie on your return you won't go to jail for owing the IRS money. Knowingly not filing your return will likely lead to some time behind bars.
TaxLady,
I see you're one of these people who say "America: love it or leave it:. It's people like you who disgust me. You have this all-or-nothing mentality that we either love this country or leave it. What about middle ground? Your position is a false dichotomy! One can stay in this country, hate the system and the status and work to make changes!
Maybe it was bad investments? Maybe it was a bad money manager? maybe he fell prey to bad advice? Who knows, the fact is that if Joe Taxpayer fails to pay taxes, the U.S. Government will now negotiate a plea arrangement, whereby you pay only 10% of the total. Sounds like he did not get this option, and that's what happens when you have a vindictive prosecution of a famous person. 'make an example out of him'.
You have been watching too many commercials. Only in extreme cases will the government settle on taxes. Regular joe schmoe will bay the whole balance. They have a lifetime ahead, unless they never work again.
Chuck, Roni Deutch was indited in California in August for such false advertising claims. Wesley Snipes is an actor when you see him on TV he is acting, when you see those TV commercials about settlements for 10% -- they are also actors. Get off you couch and stop watching reruns of Lavern & Shirley--- Don't beleive everything you see on TV.
Maybe he failed to notice for TEN YEARS that he never signed a tax return? Please.
Man it sucks!!! whatls so hard about paying your taxes, we all have to..he makes a lot of money anyways!!! http://bit.ly/b97M6R
Snipes is a really good guy, he just got a bad money manager who was giving him overly aggressive write offs. I don't think Snipes was fully aware of his situation.
have to pay taxes you are a slave. If you don't think the car companies will make roads and infrastructure you are wrong.
Don't be fooled, Snipes was fully aware of what was going on.
He made the choice of not paying his taxes. He thought he was above the government and the rest of us who pay taxes. Death and taxes Wesley, Death and taxes...
During WW1, income taxes were proposed as a temporary measure. They stayed. Tax accountability (taxes raised and spent on exactly what they said they'd be spent on) was adhered to in the early years. Now, they just take more and more money, and spend it on whatever they want. To HELL with taxes.
And yet not a single bankster has been charged with anything after they almost destroyed this country.
Most big name stars have lawyers who file their taxes or paid preparers, so I'm kinda wondering why Snipes didn't. That's an 'easy out' for someone if they are accused of tax evasion..... it's the paid preparers fault unless they don't give the person all the information they need.
Back in your cage... 🙂
The only thing Snipes is guilty of is listening to his tax attorney. He got a boatload of bad advice from the man he hired to handle his affairs and this genius told him that because the film shoots were done outside of the United States, he wasn't required to pay American income tax on the money he was paid. If anything, his attorney should be going to jail, not Snipes.
It's your civil responsibility to pay your taxes in this country. I don't know why celebrities seem to think they don't have to follow suit.
http://thefashioncamp.com