And I really mean oppression.
In the entire history of the state of Alabama in the USA there has only been one person prosecuted for tax evasion. That person was Martin Luther King Jnr in 1960.
I do rather doubt that factoid. Innumerable people have been had up for not paying their taxes. However, he ffrontery comes here:
In a state like the U.K. where the rule of law is considerably less respected than it was, the use of tax as a mechanism for oppression cannot be dismissed at some time in the future.
This from the bloke who insisted that Starbucks were dodging tax? He even claimed that their paying a margin to their Swiss coffee bean buyer was tax dodging – when the law, given transfer pricing rules, insists that the coffee bean buyer be paid a margin.
A quick search reveals:
https://www.alabamanews.net/2019/08/09/montgomery-woman-sentenced-to-six-years-for-tax-fraud/
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alabama-husband-and-wife-business-owners-plead-guilty-payroll-tax-fraud
https://klasing-associates.com/alabama-tax-professional-filing-false-tax-return/
As has been said many times in this parish, it’s incredible that Cap’n Potato gets away with this rubbish and the media seem to regard him as an expert.
“In the entire history of the state of Alabama in the USA there has only been one person prosecuted for tax evasion.”
FFS, you can literally disprove this bullshit in 3 seconds of Googlizing.
Incidentally, in the 1960 case, a jury of 12 white men from the racist hellhole of Alabama found King not guilty.
Does he provide any evidence in support of his contention that “the rule of law is considerably less respected than it was”? Just a few months ago, the government complied with a ridiculous court ruling that was blatantly improvised on the spur of the moment without relevant precedents.
The reality.
Most tax cases are federal but with Alabama out to get him, King reportedly became the first person in Alabama to be tried in a state court on felony tax evasion charges.
Not ‘Bama, I know, but doesn’t Al Sharpton owe the IRS about $5 million?
“Does he provide any evidence in support of his contention”
Murph loves his No True Scotsman assertions. The only evidence we ever have is his assertion.
Andrew C found something: “King reportedly became the first person in Alabama”
But note that “first” doesn’t mean “only.” And note that the original reporter was likely biased. They love to pad Dr King’s resume. Did you know he was ten feet tall?
Alabama was at war with Eastasia. Alabama had always been at war with Eastasia.
Does one get the sense that Old Spud may have attracted some interest from the Excise men? This sudden interest in the rights of the taxpayer are somewhat at odds to his usual output.
It’s the sequel to the Joy of Tax, Jim…. The Horror of the Taxman. Maybe HMRC have been examining his llp
“In a state like the U.K. where the rule of law is considerably less respected than it was”
If that is indeed the case, could the cause possibly be the zealous activists massively expanding the Law to foist their beliefs on us? You can barely walk down the street without brushing against some law or other; the police allow blatant criminality like shoplifting to go on unhindered while arresting people for pronoun misuse on Twitter.
I’m amazed the Law still has the respect it has now.
Surely professor Potato isn’t implying some sort of persecution by the tax authorities? This is up there with his Dachau moment.
“the use of tax as a mechanism for oppression cannot be dismissed at some time in the future”
It was Obama who weaponised the IRS to attack people he didn’t like. I wonder if Richard knows this.
In the entire history of the state of Alabama in the USA there has only been one person prosecuted for tax evasion. That person was Martin Luther King Jnr in 1960.
That’s pure bullshit. Pure, unadulterated bullshit and a bald-faced lie.
From the Alabama Dept. of Revenue’s 2019 Annual Report:
Our Individual Non-filer program identified 118,132 non-filers, resulting in additional
revenues of $156,699,688. This program resulted in the entry of 138,579 preliminary
assessments totaling $129,962,537, and 282,206 final assessments totaling
$164,976,045.
Our Business Tax Section entered 47,542 preliminary assessments totaling $38,886,035
and 46,142 final assessments totaling $9,709,182.
Gee, not ONE of those assessments resulted in a prosecution. Amazing.
From the Alabama Dept. of Revenue’s web site:
MONTGOMERY, Nov. 7, 2018 – Tamara Gonzalez Wintzell, 59, of Fairhope pleaded guilty on Nov. 6 to charges that she willfully failed to remit to the state, the city of Fairhope, and Baldwin County more than $600,000 of sales taxes that her restaurants, under the name of Tamara’s Restaurant Group, collected from January 2010 through Aug. 15, 2015.
MOBILE, Jan. 26, 2018 – Convenience store owner Anil Patel, 51, pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to five felony counts of failure to collect, account for and pay over sales tax to the State of Alabama, as well as four counts of willful failure to file income tax returns. Patel was indicted by a Mobile County grand jury in March 2017 for multiple felonies arising out of his operation of convenience stores.
MONTGOMERY, Dec. 30, 2019 - Madison Wholesalers, Inc., pleaded guilty on Dec. 20 in a Madison County courtroom to evading tobacco taxes from 2013 through 2016. Madison County Circuit Judge Claude Hundley III accepted the felony guilty plea and barred the corporation from selling or dealing in cigarettes and tobacco products and ordered restitution of $214,605.76 in tax, penalty and interest to the Alabama Department of Revenue.
It turns out the Alabama Dept. of Revenue does not routinely do press releases related to charges or convictions of individuals (I confirmed this with them via email). But above all comes from ADOR press releases, so you can see they are happily prosecuting these days.
From The Glasden Times
An Oxford area store owner is accused of willfully failing to pay sales tax connected to his business, which owned several convenience stores, according to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
Mihirkumar Patel, 31, formerly operated the Oxford Liquor King, Talladega Stop N Shop, Heflin Stop N Shop, and other businesses in Calhoun, Talladega and Cleburne counties, Marshall said in a press release.
Patel was arrested in Texas on Dec. 27, brought to the Calhoun County Jail by the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department on Jan. 5, and has been released on bond.
He is charged with three counts of personal income tax evasion and 27 counts of felony sales tax evasion, as well as 27 counts of willfully failing to pay sales taxes connected to his business, SAI, LLC, which formerly owned several convenience stores.
“In a state like the U.K. where the rule of law is considerably less respected than it was”
Just another empty assertion.
He does understand the difference between ‘state’ and ‘federal’ governments in the US? No? I didn’t think so.
He could quite possibly be the only person *from* Alabama the Federal government prosecuted for tax evasion. He could be the only Federal tax evasion prosecution conducted in Alabama. Or he could be the only person the state of Alabama prosecuted for tax evasion.
Oh, and he’s not.
Does Mr Potato mention:
Obama and IRS oppression of Tea Party and donors?
May, Hammond and HMRC oppression of Leave EU groups and donors?
No
@Dennis
+1 Prosecuted = found guilty; King was accused, tried and found not guilty
@Gamecock
Maybe he means UK plod? They used to be respected, now they’re disliked and feared (unless you’re a Pikey, RoP….)
Looks like your Patels don’t like paying their bills any more than our Patels, Dennis.
Patel now, pay later.
My long post got evaporated.
Not going to redo.
Key fact: King mingled funds, donations and his private finances. A felony.
Whatever got him off was politics, not facts of the case.