The expression “but in the world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes” has once again proved resilient as a man in Mississippi has been convicted of not filing tax returns from 2002-2005. This occurred after he filed a civil lawsuit for $1.1 billion against the IRS claiming Congress did not have the authority to tax.
We really don’t have much experience in taking on the government over the constitutionality of taxes but conventional wisdom would probably suggest that if you’re going to sue the IRS for a billion dollars, not filing your tax returns in order to prove your point is not going to help your case. Pearl man convicted of tax evasion [Clarion Ledger via TaxProf Blog]
When I was in college I had a roommate who had an odd taste in television. Sure, he liked some sports, Adam Sandler movies and free soft-core porn like the rest of us but what he really enjoyed, what he absolutely relished in, was infomercials.
He recited Ron Popeil demonstrations like he wrote the script. He even took the human interaction down to the psych level (it was his major, after all), telling me that he thought Ron was belittling Nancy for her perpetual doubt about the capabilities of any invention that Ron’s brain could muster. I always thought that Ron was simply too passionate about his products and was simply bringing that passion out in responding to Nancy. That, plus his machines have the noise-making capability of a bulldozer, so he had to yell over them. This usually resulted in a shouting match between myself and my roommate and then we probably got blind drunk.
According to public records, Ronco Inventions LLC owes the state $170,392 in delinquent taxes — or three easy payments of $56,797. Ronco is famed for products such as the parody-worthy Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, and rotisserie ovens. Popeil has turned the infomercial into an art form thanks to catch phrases — “Set it, and forget it!”, “But wait, there’s more!” — and studio audience members who clap like their lives depend on it.
Since Ron is the brains of Ronco, it’s likely that he treats tax issues much like he treated Nancy: with spirited indifference. Which now leads me to wonder if she’s the one in charge of the accounting department. Judge for yourself:
Somewhere in the whole mishmash of yesterday’s events leading up to the House’s passage of chicken crap, Joseph Crowley took to the floor to remind us know that it’s just not wealthy humans that stand to benefit greatly from tax cuts.