Taxes are still inevitable despite attempts to avoid them

Tired of paying your taxes? There are a few good books on how to get out of it, but how many succeed? The IRS is undertaking a special effort to prosecute the growing number of people setting up trusts to try and evade paying taxes. I-R-S spokesman Scott French says details may change, but there are always advisors selling tips and papers that promise to help people escape taxes, including some in the Hawkeye state. He says they range from religious arguments to complaints about the tax code.French says George and Dorothy Henderson, a couple being prosecuted currently in federal court, gave tax-avoidance advice to several clients in Iowa.Though he can’t discuss ongoing cases, there are several in Iowa in various stages of investigation and prosecution, over the use of trusts to avoid paying tax. French says the penalty for improperly using a trust to try and “de-tax” your income could earn you a 100-thousand dollar fine and up to five years in prison. The fastest-growing kind of return the Internal Revenue Service sees IS the trust. It was recommended by Barry Konicov, author of “The Great Snow Job,” who was just found guilty of tax conspiracy. The revamped site for checking out tax-evasion claims and the law is: www.treas.gov/irs/ci