Celebrities take heed, you're not special, pay your damn taxes. 
Wesley Snipes has spoken out about his 3-year jail sentence for dodging the tax man.
On Thursday, the actor read aloud from a prepared statement, apologizing for what he called "costly mistakes," (understatement of the day) and insisting he was the victim of crooked advisors, a liability of wealth and celebrity that attracted "Wolves and jackals like flies are attracted to meat." "I am an idealistic, naive,passionate, truth seeking, spritually motivated artist," Snipes said, adding, "and unschooled in the science of law and finance." I don't think it takes much schooling to know the tax man wants his money, but then I'm not an idealistic, naive, motivated artist so maybe I have an advantage.
The star of White Men Can't Jump and the Blade trilogy, was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday for willfully not filing his taxes--the maximum punishment one can receive. The actor's lawyers argued that his sentence was too harsh for a first time offender convicted of three misdemeanors and recommended that he be given home detention instead and ordered to make public service announcements.
But U.S. District Judge, William Terrell Hodges, said Snipes exhibited a "history of contempt over a period of time" for U.S. tax laws.
"The sentencing court sends the right message to the American taxpayer--you've got to pay your taxes," U.S. attorney Robert O'Neill said. "Rich, poor, it doesn't matter. We all pay our taxes." And then we die, aren't we lucky.
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