Sentenced today along with Snipes were two other people who apparently had convinced Snipes that he could legally not pay his taxes. These people, Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, were convicted of tax fraud and received larger sentences the same day as Snipes.
Snipes also made a payment of $5 million to the US Treasury on the day of sentencing, though that doesn't seem to have influenced the judge or the IRS any.
"The law is very clear: people must pay their taxes," Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman said in a statement released by the US Attorney's Office just moments after the sentence was handed down. "There is no secret formula that eliminates a person's tax obligations, nor are there any special exceptions. The majority of Americans pay their taxes timely and accurately. Those who willfully violate the law must be held accountable."
Snipes will likely serve his time in a federal prison near his home in New Jersey; he'll serve one year of supervised release. Oh, and he still owes over $15 million to the US government. Plus, of course, his attorney's fees, which are no doubt substantial.
All in all, an expensive lesson.
