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Cracker in a cage

April 20, 2010

Peter Hendrickson wrote a book "Cracking the Code: The Fascinating Truth About Taxation in America." To hear Mr. Hendrickson tell it, you don't really have to pay income taxes. Unfortunately for him, his sentencing judge appears not to have read his book, reports the Detroit News:

A man whose claims that most earnings are not subject to income tax have drawn national attention was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison Monday by a federal judge.

Peter Hendrickson, 54, of Commerce Township, whose views on federal income tax are detailed in his book "Cracking the Code," was found guilty of 10 counts of filing false documents by a federal jury in October.

Mr. Hendrickson's book apparently had some influence outside the courtroom:

Mark Daly, an attorney with the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C., said Hendrickson's books and website postings have convinced many others that they are not subject to income tax.

About 10,000 income tax returns have been filed in a manner similar to what Hendrickson uses, Daly said. "The court needs to send a message to this large community."

A "large community"? Does this make him a "community organizer"?

Mr. Hendrickson is learning an important lesson about the tax law: It doesn't matter if you don't think it exists when the sentencing judge, the appeals judges, the Supreme Court, the Federal Marshals and the Bureau of Prisons think it does.