Judge announces that Yakama tobacco is subject to federal taxes
There was a ruling be a federal judge in Spokane that could possibly open a Yakama Nation tobacco company to tens of millions of dollars of tax liability.
A United States District Judge, Rosanna Malouf Peterson, mentioned last week that King Mountain Tobacco Company was not exempt from paying federal excise taxes on their cigarettes. There was a case that was filed last year in which prosecutors had claimed that the company owes over $23 million in taxes since the year 2009. King Mountain Tobacco had its own reasoning as to why they didn’t pay.
King Mountain Tobacco Company had mentioned in the argument that the federal law bars taxes on income that comes from trust land, like logging or even tobacco growing. The company had also mentioned the 1855 treaty between the Yakamas and the United States government.
Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson mentioned that only a portion of the tobacco that is sold by King Mountain Tobacco Company is grown on the reservation that is mentioned. A majority of the tobacco that is grown to be sold by the King Mountain Tobacco Company is imported from Virginia. This fact obligates the tobacco company to step up and pay the federal taxes that they owe.
As of now, it is not known whether or not the King Mountain Tobacco Company has a response in the argument, but it is looking like they will have to comply with the judge’s orders.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, Tax Evasion, Tax Law Tags: avoiding taxes, corporate tax, federal income tax, federal tax, federal tax fraud, income tax, tax evasion
Lawyer accused of not paying federal income tax for 5 years
A former Whitehall prosecutor, Lumumba Toure McCord, has been recently indicted on charged that state that he failed to file federal tax returns or pay federal income tax for the past five years.
A federal grand jury indicted MCord, also known as Toure McCord, this week on five charges of his failure to file tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The indictment stated that McCord, age 41, of 851 Kenwick Rd. D, made approximately $355,000 in gross income from the years between 2006 and 2010.
McCord was formerly the chief prosecutor for Whitehall in 2000 until he was fired that June after he was arrested on two charges of interfering with custody plans for this 2 year old son. The jury had found McCord not guilty of the charges; however, he was not reinstated to his job in Whitehall for reasons that were not presented to the public, although it is most likely because of the two charges for his interference of custody plans that he had with his son.
McCord has worked as defense attorney for a lengthy 10 years, and has represented quite a number of defendants, especially those in high-profile cases in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Agents from the Internal Revenue Service have investigated McCord on the tax charges that are going against him. So far, there has not been a set date for McCord’s first appearance in a federal court.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax, Tax Evasion Tags: federal income tax, income tax, income tax evasion, tax evasion, tax fraud, tax law
Former Chicago Bears player pleads guilty to Federal tax charges
A former Chicago Bears player named Chris Zorich pleaded guilty to federal tax charges, as he admitted to the judge that he did not file his taxes as he was supposed to, on time.
Zorich, 43, faces four misdemeanor counts of not filing his federal income tax returns from the period of 2006 to 2009. During that time, he supposedly had made over $1 million, which included income from a charity that he had started himself.
The judge of the trial for Zorich asked him if he knew that it was wrong to not file the tax returns. Zorich responded that he knew that it was indeed a wrong act to commit, but he didn’t provide any reason as to why he went along with it anyway. Zorich’s attorney had stated that Zorich was very much looking forward to putting the case far behind him, and moving on.
Zorich is a Chicago native and played on the 1988 Notre Dame team that won the national championship. He also had played for the Chicago Bears from 1991 to 1996, ending his career with the Washington Redskins back in 1997.
The former Chicago Bears NFL player is looking at a payment of $71,000 in back taxes as a part of his plea agreement with the judge. His sentencing will be done on July 12. Each count for Zorich carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison, and also a $100,000 fine.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax, Tax Evasion, Tax Law Tags: celebrity tax evasion, federal tax, income tax, tax evasion, tax fraud, tax law