“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis feels he finally got a break when a federal judge okayed a deal that Francis struck with prosecutors. Under the agreement, Francis was credited with 301 days already served and sentenced to one year of probation.
The plea deal was struck after Francis learned that a key witness, Francis’ former accountant, had withheld information from his defense team at trial. Francis was originally indicted on tax evasion charges in 2007 stemming from a number of income omissions and false deductions. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of filing false tax returns and one count of bribing Nevada jail workers.
“I think we won that one,” Francis said after the hearing.
The former bad boy was polite during the hearing, answering questions as asked. It was quite a turn-around from the belligerent persona he had maintained since the charges were first brought against him in 2007.
After the hearing, he kissed his mother.
Apparently he really does kiss his mother with that mouth.
When Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson reviewed the electric sports car Tesla Roadster, he had plenty to say. Notably, he complained about the price, which was at the time of filming in the UK, £92,000 (about $150,962.40 US). Lucky for all of you prospective Tesla Roadster buyers, the price has dropped to a mere $109,000. And if you moved to Colorado, you could get your hands on it for a mere fraction of the price.
Colorado? Yeah, you read that right. Colorado is offering a 38% tax credit on the Roadster through the end of the year. That brings the total cost of the Roadster to about $65,000.
It’s not just the Tesla that can take advantage of the credit. It applies to your run of the mill Prius, too. In fact, Colorado is ahead of the pack when it comes to providing tax breaks for hybrid and zero-emission vehicles. The state has been doing it for years.
But it’s the size of the Tesla refund that is attracting attention.
Bowing to pressure from overextended taxpayers, state lawmakers passed a bill which would cap such refunds at $6,000. The bill, however, doesn’t take effect until next year. That means that there’s still plenty of time to take advantage of the refund this year.
Though state lawmakers didn’t expect to see more than 10 Tesla refunds, one Tesla dealership has reported selling six cars this week alone. That’s about $252,000 in refunds in one week. That’s not a pace that taxpayers are happy to see when faced with a $320 million deficit in the state budget.
Of course, there are some restrictions on the refund. For one, to qualify, the vehicle must be titled and registered in Colorado. And the credit is only available in the year that the car was purchased.
However, since it’s a tax credit (and not a flat out dollars back refund), there is a chance that the amount of the credit could exceed a taxpayer’s net tax liability for the year. If that happens, any excess credit may be carried forward and claimed on future year returns for up to five years.
So, it may not turn out be the kind of hit that taxpayers fear. That still doesn’t make taxpayers feel better about what’s perceived as an irresponsible tax policy. The amount of the refund alone, it has been noted, is more than many taxpayers will pay for the total cost of their car. In a tight economy, this isn’t the kind of thing that sits well with many folks.
What do you think? Fair game or bad policy?
And if you’re interested, you can watch the controversial “Top Gear” review of the Tesla Roadster here:
(In case you missed the scandal, the BBC later admitted that the scene of the car being pushed into the garage was not a result of the alleged 55 mile fail.)
“Survivor” winner Richard Hatch is finally a free man. The controversial TV personality, sometimes referred to as the “fat naked guy” on the show, has completed his sentence for tax evasion and related charges.
Hatch walked out of jail this morning, about 6 a.m.
But that doesn’t mean that he’s completely off the hook. Hatch must still serve three years of supervised release, complete a mental health program and pay the remainder of his taxes.
Rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man was arrested Monday on tax evasion charges stemming from an alleged refusal to pay personal income taxes. Method Man, whose real name is Clifford Smith, has reportedly failed to pay taxes from 2004 to 2007. His tax bill for the period was just $32,799 plus penalties and interest.
That actually begs the question: why an arrest? One of the charges is said to be a felony violation of “repeated failure to file personal income and earnings tax.” Failure to pay is a misdemeanor. And yet, Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan has said the rapper will be “aggressively investigated and prosecuted” if he’s found guilty of the charges.
Is he teaching Method Man a lesson or is there something more?
If you voted something more, you and I are on the same page. A few months ago, the police paid Method Man a visit for, you guessed it, the same thing. In March, the Department of Taxation showed up on Method Man’s door with a number of police officers. At the time, the rapper was said to owe more than $50,000. And he had a great explanation for it:
Because I got high, I forgot to pay. It was stupid. I’m an idiot for that.
The government took his 2008 Lincoln Navigator to satisfy part of his obligations. Method Man insisted that he could have paid had he not been high, declaring, “I got plenty of money!”
Six months later, apparently he hasn’t worked out his tax and “other” issues. And I’m guessing the NY Department of Taxation doesn’t find it very funny quite as funny as he does. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted of the charges.
I’m a little bit obsessed with Elvis Presley. You may not know this about me (and perhaps now, are a little frightened). Yes, I’ve been to Graceland and I might have bought a few things. I have both volumes of Elvis Gold. And Elvis songs sit very comfortably on my iPod [...]
Richard Hatch is not having a good year. After qualifying for early release from federal prison, where he was serving time on tax evasion charges, he was allowed to spend the remainder of his sentence at his sister’s house as house arrest. Hatch, not necessarily being the most conventional guy, apparently had a [...]
Or least his people did.
Rapper Ludacris, whose real name is Christopher Brian Bridges, made 20 families who needed a hand up pretty happy this week. He partnered with Nissan South, a car dealership in Atlanta, to give away 20 cars to folks in need as part of his own stimulus package.
The giveaway worked like [...]
Though the health care reform bill has officially been tabled until after the break, there is still work to do in Congress before a vote can be scheduled. At the top of the list? Find a way to pay for the bill.
The Senate Finance Committee has considered a number of funding options but [...]
Rumors are swirling around the possibility of manslaughter charges may be filed in the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson. Jackson’s personal doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, is considered a “person of interest” in the case but has not been charged.
Raids at Dr. Murray’s office and storage unit in Houston on Wednesday raised eyebrows. [...]
A measure to tax the gross receipts of licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Oakland passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday. The vote makes Oakland the first city in the US to tax marijuana.
The tax was put on the ballot after a considerable push from the medical community. City Council jumped on the bandwagon, too, when [...]
