Posted on 08/14/2003 2:13:17 AM PDT by ovrtaxt
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By Carl F. Worden
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| I’ve had my doubts about the credibility of Fox News for some time now, and the events of August 12, 2003 confirm every last one of them: Fox News is just as government controlled and unreliable in it’s slanted news reporting as CNN ever was. The tax evasion acquittal of Vernice Kuglin in a Memphis federal court spurred thousands of readers to e-mail Bill O’Reilly at Fox News, urging him to cover the story and to interview Kuglin and her attorney. We’ll never know exactly what transpired in the hallowed halls of Fox News, but it appears Bill O’Reilly didn’t want to touch the story. But a major Internet story it was, so instead of the “No-Spin Zone”, Fox arranged interviews by John Gibson, a spot on Hannity & Colmes, and with Greta Van Susteren. Gibson and Hannity & Colmes did the interviews, but for some reason it was bumped from Van Susteren’s segment. It’s just as well: Fox clearly got and gave orders to discredit Kuglin and her attorney, Larry Becraft. It was a hit piece all the way. In all fairness, John Gibson was less antagonistic, although he made it a point to insist all Americans should pay their fair share of taxes at the end of the interview when Kuglin and Becraft could not respond. But today’s award for the lowest form of pond-scum bottom-feeder unquestionably goes to Sean Hannity. Hannity is a televised Rush Limbaugh. No matter what happens in his world, Republicans can do no wrong, while Democrats are the leading cause of cancer. This writer happens to be a life-long Republican, but give me a break: Nobody’s perfect. Hannity would undoubtedly disagree. There was no question Hannity went into the interview intending to embarrass and vilify Kuglin and Becraft. He was real sly in the beginning, but at the end of the interview, he went for their jugulars. Instead of reasonably discussing the rule of law and the particulars involved in the case, Hannity railed and tried to shame Kuglin for getting away with not paying taxes all the rest of us Americans have to pay. It was well beyond deliberate, and his antagonistic comments lacked any form of relevance to the actual case. There was no question Fox had been tapped to prejudice any potential juror who might serve in a civil prosecution the IRS may bring against Kuglin in the future. I am beyond certain that was their intent. As a result, I have completely lost all respect for Fox News, and they will never regain it again. Bill O’Reilly and his gang are government brown-nosed chumps. It will be interesting to see what the IRS does now. They lost their criminal case against Kuglin in a huge way. In order to get a criminal conviction, they had to prove Kuglin intended to violate the law. That was practically impossible to prove, because of all those letters Kuglin wrote to the IRS, asking them to show her where the Tax Code required her to pay federal income taxes. She clearly showed good faith by making those requests, and the IRS showed nothing but bad faith by not responding to her. That’s probably the main reason Kuglin was acquitted. So now we come to a possible civil prosecution, where the IRS may try to force Kuglin to pay federal income taxes, including interest and penalties, on $920,000.00 of income. If there ever was a time for the IRS to proceed cautiously, this case is it. First, there’s been a good deal of publicity in favor of Kuglin’s position - no thanks to Sean Hannity and Fox News - and if the IRS were to lose against Kuglin in a civil trial due to their failure to convince a jury she is subject to federal income tax, then Katie bar the door! If they lose to Kuglin on those grounds, a substantial chunk of American workers might just file W-4 forms with 99 exemptions the very next day. I can already hear that giant sucking sound emanating from the U.S. Treasury… It will be very interesting to see how this case plays out. Carl F. Worden |
I’ve had my doubts about the credibility of Fox News for some time now,
Then:
As a result, I have completely lost all respect for Fox News, and they will never regain it again.
Yea, riiiiiighhhhhhhhhhhht.
So now we come to a possible civil prosecution, where the IRS may try to force Kuglin to pay federal income taxes, including interest and penalties, on $920,000.00 of income. If there ever was a time for the IRS to proceed cautiously, this case is it. First, there’s been a good deal of publicity in favor of Kuglin’s position - no thanks to Sean Hannity and Fox News - and if the IRS were to lose against Kuglin in a civil trial due to their failure to convince a jury she is subject to federal income tax, then Katie bar the door! If they lose to Kuglin on those grounds, a substantial chunk of American workers might just file W-4 forms with 99 exemptions the very next day. I can already hear that giant sucking sound emanating from the U.S. Treasury…
I am unclear on whether the civil trial will be held in a real court or an IRS tax court. If the latter is the case, she's screwed. Tax court is a joke, as far as fairness and impartiality is concerned.
Of course, all this is pointless if we can get HR25 passed.
Second, you need to read the bill. They still don't get taxed. While I disagree with this, it was written into the bill for precisely the reason you state.
Apparently, Hannity did not read the entire article or, if he did, completely missed the point. Kuglin tried twice to communicate with the IRS before withholding her payment to them. They failed to answer either letter as required by law, and then as they are prone to do, went after her with an unmerciful vengence.
Hannity is turning into a tabloid peddler (to be compared with the very people he attacks). He will never be a Rush Limbaugh (even though his ego approaches that of Rush) because he just does not have the intelligence to go with the mouth. IMHO, he hurts the Republican Party and conservatives in general and he certainly does not reflect my views on many points including the Kuglin case.
Roger Ailes should wake up and realize that this guy has morphed into an entirely different person than the one he hired.
Right, in tax court your guilt is predetermined!
If the taxpayer filed a return but did not include income that the IRS views as taxable, the IRS will eventually issue a Notice of Deficiency. The taxpayer then may file a petitition in the U.S. Tax Court for a redetermination of the deficiency. Usually, the taxpayer bears the burden of proof unless the taxpayer proves several things to shift the burden of proof. Generally, the standard of proof in cases in the U.S. Tax Court is the preponderance of the evidence. A taxpayer may file bankruptcy and seek to have the tax liability determined in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The taxpayer may pay the tax in dispute and seek a refund in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims or a U.S. District Court. Only in a U.S. District Court may a taxpayer obtain a trial by jury in civil tax matters.
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