Jerry Koosman: Tax Avoider

Here’s an AP article from two days ago about former Mets star pitcher Jerry Koosman pleading guilty to tax evasion.  Koosman, now 66, apparently got caught up in the tax avoidance movement, made famous by the likes of Wesley Snipes, who is still out of jail pending appeal of his three year sentence for tax evasion.  Koosman convinced himself that federal income tax only applies to federal employees, corporate employees, and District of Columbia residents.

I have no sympathy for wealthy individuals who decide that they don’t have to pay taxes simply because they don’t like doing so. The courts have ruled over and over again that the argument that federal income tax is unconstitutional is ridiculous.  After Snipes’ conviction, which got a great deal of attention from the media, no one has a legitimate excuse to buy into these crazy tax-avoider arguments. 

Koosman can be sentenced to up to a year in prison, and I hope the court throws the book at him.