Post by Old Badger on Jun 20, 2023 23:23:31 GMT -5
So, the news today that Hunter Biden was pleading guilty to two tax misdemeanors and a gun application charge was no surprise; it had been reported to be in the works for some time. But some people were surprised, even angry, that he "got off lightly" on the charges. Well, on the tax charges he did pay up, with penalties and interest, just like millions of other taxpayers who fail to file and get caught without being charged with any crime at all. The IRS is much more interested in getting the money owed than going to criminal court:
Taxpayer delinquency investigations - 2022:
Number in beginning inventory 3,335,794
Number of new investigations 469,458
Number of investigations closed 760,976
Number in ending inventory 2,302,421
You think millions of people who are tax delinquents are indicted, prosecuted, and incarcerated each year? Of course not. Nearly all of them either pay up right away when the IRS contacts them or set up payment plans over time. The IRS wants your money, not your body in a cell.
On the gun charge, one guy commented to me online that "there are lots of minorities in prison for exactly the same thing." Well, no. In fact, almost no one even gets prosecuted for doing this:
Biden got treated about like any other American would on both the tax and gun charges. Nothing to see here.
Taxpayer delinquency investigations - 2022:
Number in beginning inventory 3,335,794
Number of new investigations 469,458
Number of investigations closed 760,976
Number in ending inventory 2,302,421
You think millions of people who are tax delinquents are indicted, prosecuted, and incarcerated each year? Of course not. Nearly all of them either pay up right away when the IRS contacts them or set up payment plans over time. The IRS wants your money, not your body in a cell.
On the gun charge, one guy commented to me online that "there are lots of minorities in prison for exactly the same thing." Well, no. In fact, almost no one even gets prosecuted for doing this:
The data released by the Justice Department does not show how many people might have been prosecuted for falsely answering the question about active drug use. But a review of such cases in Delaware, also provided to The Fact Checker, shows that in fiscal 2019, only three Form 4473 cases were referred for prosecution in the state — and the U.S. attorney opted not to bring them. [That's the same Trump-appointed US Attorney as in the Biden case.]...A 1990 Justice Department feasibility study noted how difficult it was to bring cases against people who falsely answer questions on Form 4473. Unlike the rich paper trail that exists for felons, no such record exists for drug abusers, the study said, noting that it is against the law to disclose “the medical records of persons who have been engaged in a drug rehabilitation program funded by the federal government.”...In a statement to The Fact Checker, another Justice Department official indicated that the Form 4473 cases were determined not to have enough evidence for a successful prosecution.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/09/lying-atf-gun-purchase-form-yields-few-prosecutions-new-data-shows/
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/09/lying-atf-gun-purchase-form-yields-few-prosecutions-new-data-shows/
Biden got treated about like any other American would on both the tax and gun charges. Nothing to see here.