In The "Hate The Rich" Department....

Beanie Babies maker avoids prison for tax evasion 

Here is the first paragraph of the article (referenced above) I read yesterday...

The billionaire businessman behind Beanie Babies learned Tuesday that he won't go to prison for hiding at least $25 million from U.S. tax authorities, and the judge who gave him two years' probation instead went to great lengths to praise his charitable giving.

One would think that a mind that thought up Beanie Babies would have been a little more clever at covering his tracks. Actually, one would think that the mind behind Beanie Babies wouldn't have tried to cheat on his taxes. I mean... C'mon, he made toys for little kids, not guns and bombs.

Apparently, however, making a lot of money leads to things like this. He's taxed at close to 35% (at the time, now close to 40%) and that's a big chunk of money. The incentive to cut corners and fudge a bit on income reporting would be strong.

Here's another excerpt from the story...

Peterson [the prosecutor] detailed how Warner meticulously hid his income — more than $100 million at one point — by filing false tax returns for at least 11 years, and pointed out that another area businessman caught in the same dragnet, Peter Troost, got a year in prison from another judge in that courthouse for hiding far less — $3 million.

But the IRS is relentless, they will harass you until you finally give up. I know. They tried it with me a couple of times. The problem was I had nothing to lose by fighting them. I had few assets to seize and, in my favor, I was right and they were wrong. And I could prove it. So when the threats came, I laughed and made snide remarks... like am I talking to the "IRS" or the "KGB?"

Don't try that unless you are absolutely sure you are in the right and can back it up.