What was Wesley Snipes thinking?

Dummies in Hollywood.

why is everyone surprised?

Why would this guy risk his career to align himself this group of misfits?

This behavior should not surprise anyone. This is typical of hollywood persons. The law does not apply to them. If you watch the news you see this every day. Thats all I have to say about this.

I hope he goes to jail. This is just another case of someone getting greedy. The millions of dollars he already had wasn't enough? Does he really think that 12 ordinary people who actually paid their taxes (and could use the money more than him) are going to believe that he is smart enough to live the life he lives but dumb enough not to investigate this group and the possible consequences he would face if he followed their practices? I doubt it. He needs to go to jail and to loose all of his assets just like the average joe would.

If convicted, as he certainly should be, he will attribute his misfortune to his race, having already put the world on notice that he claims he can't get a fair trial in Ocala, Florida, because the population there is mostly white and mostly law-abiding. His only possible defense, and even so a desperately slim chance, was that he "honestly believed" that he didn't have to pay taxes. Not much of a defense at all when he proved too cowardly to take the stand and testify about what he thought and when he thought it, and how he managed to associate with his slimy co-defendants. A few years in prison ought to get him pumped up for his next action flick.

Go figure..All of the causes that mean something to the world, and he aligns himself with the one that will help him further line his pockets, while ensuring he does nada to help those less fortunate. Makes me want to run right out and buy one of his movies...they should make a merry bonfire..

You're the man Snipes. I smell Change in the Air

From what I've heard, there are lots of former IRS employees who quit working there because they discovered that it was a sham, and they are living free and prosperous in the US even while having filed no tax returns since.

Guess he will have to be held accountable for his actions. I think I will pay my taxes. The consequences of not paying them is too high for me.

Lisa Bloom, you really need to become more aware of the laws. Find the law requiring Mr. Snipes to pay taxes (you won't find one).

These celebrities and athletes must get SO bored with their current lifestyles of fashion, glamour, paparazzis and the rest of the whole nine yards that HEY! Why not cause some controversy by... oh i dont know... avoiding my taxes for almost a decade. And then after that, I can set up dog fights like I'm some kind of hoodlum! And then for the finale, I'll make a HUGE debate between the Media and licensed professionals on whether I'm having mental issues or not!

Because there is no law anywhere saying that you have to pay income tax. Its actually forbidden by the constitution. Search for Tom Cryer vs IRS. Its really strange, its kind of like somebody just decided they were going to take money from people who made money. Who else did this, hmmm hmmm let me think... oh yea, the Mafia. LOL

Idiot. Plain and simple.

I wonder what life would be like if we all could disobey any law that didn't suit us, just because we were open about it.

I think that Snipes hooked up with this group of con artists - the label "misfits" is too mild for them - because he got greedy. He wanted more and more money in his pocket, and he was ripe for the plucking by BS artists who read the tax laws and code in the hope of finding "magic words" which support their preconceived hypotheses about why we all really don't have to pay taxes. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who is foolish enough to swallow this sucker-bait deserves any punishment that they get.

WESLEY, INCOME TAX IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL! I SUGGEST THAT YOU RESEARCH THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF INCOME TAX AND THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO LAW IN THE US THAT SAYS YOU HAVE TO PAY TAXES! KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! FIGHT THE SYSTEM!

If he were a farmer/survivalist in the Ozarks the Ron Paul/Libertarian contingency would be hailing him as a hero.

Maybe you should investigate if the tax code was ever actually ratified by the states. Or better yet, find the law that says you have to pay federal income tax.

Oops. Audit at 1600 is coming his way! hehe

How dumb was this, man? Come on! I'll be watching Blade in a slightly different light now..

What was he thinking really?

Um ... Title 26 of the United States Code (the Internal Revenue Code) covers income tax. And the U.S. Code *is* the law. Have a look.

TITLE 26 > Subtitle A > CHAPTER 1 is the "LAW" that covers "income tax"

Geez. what was he thinking? That's some bad example he's setting.

Two things:
1) Fraud involves an intent to deceive. If Wesley openly refused to pay taxes then by legal definition he did not deceive and therefore is not guilty of fraud. Example: A reports he made $50,000 instead of the real $100,000 he made in order to pay less taxes, then he has deceived and committed fraud. However, if A just refused to pay taxes and communicated this refusal then he never techinically committed fraud,he just failed to report income tax. The above definition is based on the common law and it could have been modified by federal statute.
2) As originally written and signed into law, the US Constitution prohibited (See Pollock v. Farmers Loan and Trust 1845 US Supreme Court ) an income tax as an unconstitutional unapportioned tax. However, the 16th Amendment gave Congress the power to charge income taxes. Therefore, so long as the income tax is legally passed by Congress then we must pay it.