Wesley Snipes has filed a request in federal court for permission to leave the country for two trips while his appeal on tax evasion charges is being considered.
Snipes has requested to go to London to sit in on the editing process for his new horror flick Gallowwalker.
Snipes has also requested permission to fly to Bangkok to film the action thriller Chasing the Dragon. Production is set to begin on that film in early September and last about 8 weeks.
Snipes had been scheduled to report to federal prison on June 3 to serve a three year sentence for failing to file tax returns but is free on bail pending an appeal.
Snipes’ attorneys argued for the request, claiming:
He has never presented and does not currently present a risk of flight. Further, the circumstances of the work, surrounded by a cast of other actors and film and production professionals as well as Mr. Snipes’ contractual obligations to complete these films provide additional assurances that he does not present a risk of flight; were he to abscond under these circumstances, it would destroy his ability to earn a living for the rest if his life. Mr. Snipes will of course voluntarily return after his work on this film, as he has done each time he has been granted permission by this Court.
It is essential that Mr. Snipes complete these two projects to satisfy his civil tax liabilities and provide for his family.
I would agree that in most cases, it’s better to have a taxpayer who is working than one who is not. However, Snipes hasn’t exactly been cooperative with respect to his arrest and his trial. He initially refused to return to the US from Namibia to face charges of tax evasion though he claims that his attorneys told him that they were working it out. Nonetheless, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he responded by comparing himself to a rape victim.
My best guess is that his request will be granted. Of course, I’ve been wrong a couple of times thus far with respect to this Snipes case. The twists and turns have kept it interesting at best…
If you believe this guy will return after a trip overseas and return to face a possible prison term then you believe in the tooth fairy, Santa Claus and Obama.
No way this guy will voluntarily come back home.
As the old saying goes.
Fool me once shame on you–Fool me twice shame on me.
I wish the masses would wake up, the 16th amendment was NEVER ratified by the required 3/4 of the states in 1913. You won’t hear the whole truth inside the mainstream media either. Income taxes also do not go to the running of the U.S. Govt for services to the people as most people foolishly believe. It goes completely as interest to the bankers of the “private” Federal Reserve. Most of the masses believe that just because they were born seeing their parents pay them and their grandparents that it’s just the right thing to do. Also most income tax payers believe that all income tax protesters are wrong, but funny thing is income tax payers won’t look into the beginning of how it fraudulently came into being and dig for the truth either.