We don't know all the facts and circumstances surrounding the sentencing of Peter Schiff's dad.
For federal criminal cases, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines controls. It is a complex regime, and a very strict one, as any lawyer who has represented criminal clients in federal court knows. A defendant is "scored" in a grid system that takes into account EVERYTHING: prior criminal history, amount of restitution (huge in this case, I'm sure), any aggravating or mitigating factors, etc., etc.
And this guy was not just a tax dodger. He was an ideologue who had developed a whole elaborate business on advising and encouraging people not to pay tax. And I'm sorry...but that just isn't going to fly. No government can tolerate that level of subversion. The reality is that in America the poor don't pay shit in taxes, and the rich don't pay much either. That burden falls on us, the middle class.
Now, do I think his sentence was on the harsh side? Probably, I'll grant you that. But the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are harsh, and we don't know all the factors involved.
Do I feel sorry for Peter Schiff? Yeah, I do.
But the bottom line as I see it is that this guy had chance after chance after chance to change course. The IRS, from my experience, is not this big, bad, evil institution. (The NSA may be another matter). They give people warnings, chances, and bend over backwards to work with taxpayers who have delinquent bills. So part of me wants to say to this guy:
OK, asshole, you thought it was so cute to have your little theories about how tax is unconstitutional?
You thought it was so funsy-wunsy to thumb your nose at everybody and play the martyr?
You think it's OK to use the goods and services of a society and not pay anything for them?
Well, guess what, dickhead. How about an indictment coming your way. And now you can think about that for the next ten years.
For federal criminal cases, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines controls. It is a complex regime, and a very strict one, as any lawyer who has represented criminal clients in federal court knows. A defendant is "scored" in a grid system that takes into account EVERYTHING: prior criminal history, amount of restitution (huge in this case, I'm sure), any aggravating or mitigating factors, etc., etc.
And this guy was not just a tax dodger. He was an ideologue who had developed a whole elaborate business on advising and encouraging people not to pay tax. And I'm sorry...but that just isn't going to fly. No government can tolerate that level of subversion. The reality is that in America the poor don't pay shit in taxes, and the rich don't pay much either. That burden falls on us, the middle class.
Now, do I think his sentence was on the harsh side? Probably, I'll grant you that. But the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are harsh, and we don't know all the factors involved.
Do I feel sorry for Peter Schiff? Yeah, I do.
But the bottom line as I see it is that this guy had chance after chance after chance to change course. The IRS, from my experience, is not this big, bad, evil institution. (The NSA may be another matter). They give people warnings, chances, and bend over backwards to work with taxpayers who have delinquent bills. So part of me wants to say to this guy:
OK, asshole, you thought it was so cute to have your little theories about how tax is unconstitutional?
You thought it was so funsy-wunsy to thumb your nose at everybody and play the martyr?
You think it's OK to use the goods and services of a society and not pay anything for them?
Well, guess what, dickhead. How about an indictment coming your way. And now you can think about that for the next ten years.