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PREPARER OF BOGUS RETURNS GETS AN O.J. ACQUITTAL

May 05, 2006

A New York preparer won acquittal this week on criminal charges of preparing bogus tax returns. Newsday reports:

A Bay Shore accountant has been acquitted of income-tax evasion charges after he filed returns for 36 clients claiming that salaries cannot be legally taxed.

But don't get ready to go rushing out to your tax preparer next April. While the tactic initially saved the clients $500,000 in taxes, the Internal Revenue Service has since required them to pay tax on their salaries, according to court records.

The tax protestors will no doubt trumpet this as vindication of their flaky theories. It is, of course, nothing of the sort:

The jurors who acquitted Petrino, who faced 61/2 years in prison, were angry that they had to do so, [the defense attorney] acknowledged after speaking with them yesterday. But he said they accepted his argument that there was "reasonable doubt" that his client was intentionally committing a crime.

In other words, the jury decided that the government hadn't proved the preparer didn't really believe his nonsensical tax protestor theories. If the delusion fits, you must acquit.

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