Looking for a "test jury." Want to participate?

Question

My husband has a client who makes $23,000 a month.
He owes the IRS $130,000 for earnings close to $1,000,000 since 2001.
He seems to think that a jury will understand that he just can't pay his taxes, because he went through a messy divorce.
This is the 3rd time the IRS has levied on him which means that this time they will start criminal proceedings against him, unless he pays up NOW.
OK, so if you were the jury in a trial for tax evasion, based on the information I just gave you, would you vote guilty, or not guilty?
If you can give your reasons for your vote, that would be great!
We are trying to give him a wake-up call, and I will show him your answers.
Thank you so much!

All of your answers have been great!!

He is a doctor. He makes $23,000 per month, close to $300,000 per year. There are no taxes deducted from his paycheck, and he is considered self-employed with 1099 income.

Answer 1

Guilty on the taxes. Also guilty of being a self-centered jerk.

A divorce is not an excuse to skip paying your taxes. That is absolutely nuts. People who make $20,000 a year still pay THEIR taxes when they get divorced.

Most people on the jury won't be making $60,000 a year---never mind $1 million over a few years. He's going to get zero sympathy and if he trots out his divorce records and the jury sees the assets he shared with his wife he will be putting gold-plated nails in his coffin.

So tell him to pay up.. this attitude really irritates me. I would convict him and recommend jail time plus fines. Heck, I want to kick his butt right now and I don't even know the guy---but I do hope his ex took his self-centered hide to the cleaners.

Hope this helps and the guy wakes up. If not, I hope he goes to jail.

Answer 2

As an attorney/CPA (who has represented people with legitimate tax problems), I would certainly throw the book at the guy if he has no other arguments/facts in his favor. The jurors will be told that ignorance of the law is no excuse and that obligations to the taxing authorities always trump obligations to ex-spouses (thereby eliminating the "messy divorce" excuse).

QUESTION: If he received $1,000,000 at one point in 2001, how is it that he did not have $130,000 to pay income taxes? All the wage-earners on his jury (NOTE: approximately 90% of taxpayers are W-2 wage earners) are subject to withholding of their paycheck before they ever even see the cash, so how is he going to convince them that he should not have to pay his taxes too? I am not a litigator, but there does not appear to be a lot of sympathy out there for the millionaire who "just can't pay." Note that most of the people who you read about getting out of criminal charges for tax evasion have relied upon the reasonable (albeit wrong) advice of a tax professional. The facts are far from what you are indicating here.

Also, keep in mind that if the IRS decides not to pursue criminal penalties and elects to go civil, he will not be entitled to a jury trial - he will have to go to the U.S. Tax Court (for which there is no jury) - UNLESS he pays the tax liability first and sues the government in U.S. District Court.

My advice: Get a lawyer ... now.

Answer 3

Guilty!!

If he makes 23K per month he should at least be able to off what he owes in a very short amount of time. He was the ability to pay so why is he not paying? A messy divorce is no excuse not to pay. That is just BS!! 5 years of no tax paying because of a divorce is insane.

Let him go to Court, he will lose the case, and be put in Jail and still have to pay the IRS. Serves him right!

Answer 4

Unless he's paying 23,000 per month in child support and alimony it doesn't matter how messy his divorce was. He owes taxes for more than five years! You should encourage him to get a jury trial, because the man deserves to go to jail for depriving the schools and public programs of the funding they need.
Guilty, with a recomendation that they liquidate his assets to pay the debt.

Answer 5

I'm pretty sure the IRS couldn't care less what the reason is that you(he) didn't pay your taxes. Look at Martha Stewart, rich as she was, had a reason NOT to pay. They put her in jail. I'm a single mom of 4 - should I have to pay taxes? $23,000 a month - who cares what the reason is - he still should of paid his taxes. If he's smart enough to make that much then he's smart enough to know they will get you for tax evasion. You HAVE to do 2 things in life - Pay Taxes and Die!
I don't think however that people should go to jail for that - what's the point - So us taxpayers can pay his room and board? He's not making any money to pay the IRS sitting in jail He's just using up more taxpayer money!

Answer 6

Guilty, If you can't pay the whole amount, the IRS will work out a payment plan with you. Plus, this is the 3rd time the IRS has come after him. No excuses and no weasling out of this one. If you are making the money (which he is) you should be paying taxes like everyone else.

Answer 7

Screw him. There is no way I would vote that he is not guilty. You owe taxes NO MATTER what else happens and a "messy" divorce is the lamest possible reason for not paying up, especially considering his income was $1 million a year for the last five years. Considering I pay a larger percent of taxes each year AND ACTUALLY PAY THEM I do not, in any way, feel remotely sorry for this guy. He is a complete leach on society, needs to pay up, and then needs to volunteer on a weekly basis to begin repaying his debt to society for trying to screw us.

Answer 8

GUILTY Unless he can find 6 or 12 people in the same situation
as he is in to put on his jury there is no way he will avoid being
found guilty as charged. To find a sympathetic jury crying over
a $23000 monthly income (low, middle, high income jury members)
being unable to pay his taxes---does he expect oxymorans. Pay
up !!

Answer 9

I would lean towards guilty because this is his 3rd time and also he's making reasonable earnings. It depends on how messy the divorce was as to weither or not the jury will feel sorry enough for him, but I think your husbands client is pushing the limit.

Answer 10

If a jury of his peers happens to include nobody except divorced men who make over $250,000, he might have a chance.
If I was on the jury it's guilty and prison for him.
Especially in the current climate of corporate scandals, I am afraid most middle class people will not be sympathetic.