Actor Wesley Snipes takes on the IRS in the dumbest role of his life

For the past two weeks, Wesley Snipes has been on trial in Florida for failing to pay taxes on the $38 million he earned from movies, including the “Blade” vampire trilogy, between 1999 and 2004.

He faces 16 years in prison and millions in fines.

But the antic egos of celebrities are such that Snipes is probably more concerned about the fact that the paparazzi (who cover Britney Spears 24/7) have shown so little interest in his trial than he is about the prospect of going prison….

Yet to prison he will surely go. Because prosecutors allege, and Snipes does not deny, that he filed a false claim for a $7-million tax refund, moved tens of millions of untaxed dollars offshore, and gave the government three bounced checks totaling $14 million to cover some of the taxes owed.

Not to mention that Snipes’ lawyer showed utter contempt for the jurors by resting on Monday without calling a single witness to defend his actions. Instead, he relied on a closing argument during which he argued, with a straight face, that Snipes is a nonresident alien (think Blade runner) who has no legal obligation to pay taxes. In addition, that the IRS is not a legitimate government agency, and has no legal authority to collect taxes.

Nobody likes paying taxes, but paying taxes is the price we pay to live in a civilized society…. And it’s the law, and that’s what this case is about. It’s about three men who felt they were above the law. [Prosecutor M. Scotland Morris]

Frankly, the most interesting aspect of this case is the extent to which Snipes has allowed himself to be misled by Eddie Ray Kahn, a charlatan who founded the Guiding Light of God Ministries to proselytize the heresy of tax avoidance. Because Snipes displayed a level of gullibility, or perhaps self-deluding greed, that is dramatic even by Hollywood standards. Indeed, it speaks volumes that his own lawyer described his dealings with the IRS as “kooky, crazy and loony.”

At any rate, his conviction, which I expect the jury to announce later today or tomorrow, should serve as a reminder that only big corporations can get away with paying no taxes. And I have just two words for anyone who is inclined to buy his line about being prosecuted because he’s black: Leona Hemsley!

NOTE: Even if he’s acquitted, Snipes will spend the rest of his life paying off his tax bill.

Wesley Snipes