Tax Lawyer's Blog

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that a federal court in Las Vegas had granted a permanent injunction against the infamous Irwin Schiff and his partner, Cynthia Neun, barring them from preparing tax returns in the future. Schiff is that author of several anti-government books, including The Federal Mafia – How the Government Illegally Imposes and Unlawfully Collects Income Taxes.

Gave them an Offer they Refused

Here is an excerpt of  of DOJ release 08-928:

In October 2005, a federal jury convicted Schiff and Neun of conspiring to defraud the United States, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns, filing their own false tax returns and evading the payment of millions of dollars in taxes.

The entry of the permanent injunction follows Schiff’s sentencing last month to 11 monthsin prison for criminal contempt of court. The 11-month sentence is to be served consecutively to the 151-month sentence that was previously imposed. Neun is scheduled to be released from prison in 2010. The permanent injunction ensures that Schiff and Neun cannot promote tax-fraud schemes from within prison or when they are released from prison.

In entering the permanent injunction, the court found that Schiff and Neun promoted abusive tax schemes, including Schiff’s “zero income” tax return scam, that helped customers file false federal income tax returns claiming they received zero income and owed zero tax. The court found frivolous Schiff’s “zero income” tax return scheme and his contentions that the “payment of income taxes is voluntary,” “there is no law requiring Americans to file tax returns or pay income taxes” and that “the income tax only applies to corporate profits.”

“The Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department have strong civil and criminal enforcement tools available to stop tax defiers who promote fraudulent schemes,” said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Under the National Tax Defier Initiative, the government has moved forcefully, effectively and strategically to shut down peddlers of illegal tax defier nonsense, like Schiff and Neun.”

I wonder if the Federal Mafia that put Schiff away for 13 years had ever considered putting a severed horse’s head in his bed?

Other Articles about Schiff and Neun:

Quatloos - Quatlosers Hall of Fame – Irwin Schiff

Tax Protester Dossiers – Gurus and Other Big Fish

Joe Kristan – When You’re 80, What’s Another 11 Months?

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