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Jury convicts former football player of tax evasion

December 2, 2013

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Strident anti-tax arguments have increasingly gained a hearing in the U.S. in recent years. Political scientists make careers out of the tracing the roots of this. From Ayn Rand’s influential novel “Atlas Shrugged” to more recent Tea Party protests, the issue of excessive and arguably unjust taxation has been much on people’s minds.

Unfortunately, one by-product of this anti-tax climate is that discredited arguments about the legitimacy of the income tax system can lead otherwise honest taxpayers astray. The result of this, in some cases, can be tax fraud charges.

In this post, we will look at an example of this involving a former professional football player who now lives in Texas.

The man became a successful businessman after retiring from football. His real estate development firm had a substantial annual income. From 2004 to 2011, this income exceeded $150,000.

But the man who once played defensive back, trying not to get faked out by wide receivers, ended up getting faked out by a bogus anti-tax argument. The man became persuaded by a scam that says only federal workers and contractors, and those with income from federal securities, have to pay income taxes to Uncle Sam.

This false but enduring argument has been popularized in a book called “Cracking the Code.” At the former football player’s trial on tax fraud charges, the author of the book appeared as a witness on his behalf.

The jury, however, found the former player guilty of criminal tax evasion. He will be sentenced next year.

Source: WOAI News Radio, “Former NFLer Now Living in Texas Convicted of Income Tax Fraud,” Nov. 26, 201

Tax Evasion