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Who was the 2008 Taxpayer of the year?

January 05, 2009

We have neglected to run our traditional Taxpayer of the Year voting for 2008. In the interest of personal laziness, I will let you, the reader, help make the selection from my arbitrary slate of candidates. Vote early, vote often. We'll hold the polls open all week.

Details about the candidates are below the fold.

Charlie Rangel, who is perhaps the nations chief taxwriter as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, failed to report years of activity from a rental property he owns, and has had to hire a forensic accountant to try to figure out his taxes.

Robert Beale, a Minnesota entrepreneur, skipped his federal tax evasion trial. Arrested after 14 months on the run, he was convicted not only of tax evasion, but of attempting to have the judge "arrested" under the jurisdiction of a home-made "common law court." He has already achieved Russ Fox's coveted "Tax offender of the Year" award.

Randy Nowak tried an innovative approach to handling his IRS exam: hiring a biker to kill the agent and burn down the local IRS office. Unfortunately for him, the "biker" known as "Reaper" was really an FBI agent.

Helio Castroneves is an Indy-car racer perhaps best known for his stint on "Dancing With the Stars." He is also accused of diddling with the tax law by hiding income offshore.

R&B star Ron Isley received a 37 month sentence for tax evasion; his campaign for a presidential pardon has so far come up empty.

Deranged chess genius Bobby Fischer escaped the clutches of the IRS by dying as a fugitive in Iceland in 2008. Subsequently the Icelandic economy collapsed.

Tags: Bobby Fischer.Charles Rangel.Helio Castroneves.Robert Beale.Ron Isley.tax crime.

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