Not paying taxes for all those years is going to cost Lauryn Hill some years in prison. Maybe. She could get three years in jail when she is sentence in November, but I think as long as she pays her taxes prior to sentencing that she won't get any time at all. What would be the point? She pays her taxes plus penalties, then why do I want her in jail? She is going to cost me money by being in jail. Plus, she has all those kids to take care of so I don't see the point. I would understand if she was doing a Richard Hatch and trying to argue he didn't think he owed any money and was not going to be able to pay. Let Lauryn Hill go out on tour this summer and pay it off and pay more on what she earns and let her be. And this is coming from someone who thinks her reasoning for not paying is ridiculous. Do you think she should go to jail if she pays her taxes and penalties?
Why does anyone think they have a chance in hell of getting away scot-free for not paying their taxes? A battle with the IRS is one that you simpply have no hopes of winning. Ask Wesley Snipes how well it worked for him.
ReplyDeleteNo, I say no jail if she pays her taxes. Her face says it all, no?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your reasoning. She doesn't pose a risk to other people so why take her off the streets. Levying a substantial financial penalty for first time offenders who try to evade paying is perfectly suited to a crime like this.
ReplyDeleteThe judge ordered her to undergo mental health counseling as directed by pre-trial intervention services. That's kind of interesting.She will not go to jail if she pays. The judge has already extended her time frame and if she makes payments he will likely extend it further.
ReplyDeleteHuff post omitted the above, Enty.
IRS be killing her softly
ReplyDeleteShe should pay what she owes, plus the penalties, and then considering she doesn't want to contribute tax wise, to American's because of our policies, etc, she should give up her citizenship and move to another country. And I don't say that snidely, just that, she certainly has more than enough money to relocate. There's no need for her to remain in New Jersey, USA.
ReplyDeletep.s. I do like her courtroom look though.
ReplyDeleteOMAMA - you are brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThat's what the guy from Facebook did. He gave up his US citizenship and moved to Singapore after the IPO.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like she's wearing a fruity cumberbund.
ReplyDeleteYes, she should go to jail.
ReplyDeleteIf someone steals a wallet, but then gives the wallet back a year later with a few extra bucks, should he be spared jail as well?
If everyone went to jail instead of buying their way out of trouble, perhaps that could act as a minor deterrent for anyone with money who still insists on breaking the law.
If Lohan saw jail the first time she got nailed, anyone think she'd continue acting the way she does?
I don't see the comparison?
ReplyDeleteIf Lauren pays the taxes and penalties, no jail.
Lohan, entirely different situation. She is more likely to cause harm to others than a single tax evader does to the taxpayer.
One is about loss of money and the other is about potential loss of innocent life .
Agree Agent**It.. committing an overt illegal act against another verses failing to comply with the law in a personal matter = two entirely different things.
ReplyDeleteAs crowded as jails are, I think first priority for cells should go to violent criminals and child molesters. If she pays all the taxes and penalties, there is no reason for her to go to jail. So many others are more "deserving" of her cell.
ReplyDeletepay her taxes and walk free
ReplyDeleteEvil Kumquat - I believe most states have civil compromise laws. I KNOW Oregon does.
ReplyDeleteIf someone pays back the victim in a crime (theft, negotiating a bad check, imbezzlement, criminal mischief, hit and run, even assault) and the victim agrees, the case is dropped. Not only is there no jail time, there is no conviction.
There is a line that is sometimes hard to distinguish between what is a civil dispute and what is a criminal dispute. Laws that allow a person to sometimes avoid jail in these situations recognize that. For the poor and rich.
What really chaps my hide is the amount of damage that white collar crime does to our economy and the relative lack of punishment for those crimes versus what a person who is a small time hood or drug dealer faces as a penalty.
Agent **it....come on.....that was for my IQ quip the other day on the 50 shades of sh*t post, wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteYa got me.
But I still think she should just move elsewhere if she is refusing to pay on her own principle. Seriously, it's not like she's unable to.
Omama, no I really meant it ! If you were her financial manager / PR person and whatever else to her, that is exactly what needs to be told to her ! And then she can quietly leave and make her music. Peace on earth:)
ReplyDeleteIt seems like people who don't pay their taxes don't want to give up the money, so wouldn't forcing her to pony up be the best thing? Hit her where it hurts the most--in the wallet! Like others have said, the cost of her incarceration is money better spent on a violent offender that's an actual physical danger to EVERYONE, not just themselves (and her family, by extension.)
ReplyDeletePeace to you as well Agent**it.
ReplyDeleteI really am just trying to be respectful of her argument, and since she doesn't want to participate the way the rest of us must, leave. Many people would love to have the monies to relocate, but simply can't. So I don't understand her plight. She must have Marley money coming in for her legion of kids she has, even if her record royalties aren't enough.
The positive side of this with her, at least she didn't bullshit her reason. She told the judge exactly why. Honesty is always the best policy (in my book) but considering the judge is having her take a mental health eval, it's certainly not common, and DEFINITELY not common in our courtrooms. So I do applaud her on that, even if I don't agree.
Bless :)
I do not think ANYONE should go to jail for taxes. Jail should be for VIOLENT OFFENDERS, period. Those who are just monetary offenders should stay free, work, and have earnings/assets seized as needed. In the case of someone who is victimizing others financially, put them under house arrest and tap their phones/email to ensure they aren't still in business.
ReplyDeleteThis was an IRS criminal investigation, not civil, which means they gave her many opportunities to voluntarily file and pay penalties before it became a criminal case. That's the only reason the government has pursued it this far. And, she has pled guilty to willfully and deliberately failing to file -- meaning she pled guilty to criminal charges of evading paying taxes. Unless there are extreme extenuating circumstances, she's serving time.
ReplyDeleteOh, and she still has to pay anyway.
@amy, that's good info, I did not realize that. I wonder if the mental health thing may be to her benefit to possibly avoid time if she pays up.
ReplyDeleteAgree 100% with @KittensRUs. We don't have debtors prisons anymore. Thank God, because I would be a lifer!
ReplyDeleteI thought I read somewhere that they don't really enforce the jail time unless you fight back & lose and thats why Richard Hatch - or was it Wesley Snipes? - got popped. the jail time is more of a threat tactic...
ReplyDeleteSnipes was sentenced to three years in prison for willful failure to file federal income tax returns.
ReplyDelete