More IRS Drama

This has been the week for IRS drama.  As if our 1996 Corporate Income Tax Final Return issue wasn't bad enough, now Richard Hatch, the first "Survivor" winner is in some deep do-do with the IRS.  Hatch has been found guilty of two counts of tax evasion.  He evidently forgot to report the $1 million he won from "Survivor" on his 2000 income tax return.  And in another oversight, he forgot to report the $321,000 he received from a Boston radio station on his 2001 return.  

I know that we had some issues with the IRS, but I'm not exactly living in a glass house and I can throw a few stones at Hatch on this one.  I could see someone maybe forgetting to report $100 that they got for housesitting or something like that, but how could you forget to report getting a million bucks?  He seemed like a fairly intelligent man to me - he was able to out last, out wit, and out play the other contestants on the show to win the big prize; how could someone that smart think that they could get away with not reporting over $1.3 million dollars?  Did he think that the IRS wouldn't find out?

According to the news reports and eye-witness accounts from inside the courtroom, Hatch's big excuse/reason/justification was he thought that CBS would pay the taxes on the money.  This is where it gets kinda strange.  During his time on the witness stand, Hatch didn't offer any explantion as to why he didn't pay the taxes on the money; at the end of the trial, his lawyer said that during the "Survivor" show, Hatch caught other contestants cheating, and struck a deal with the show's producers to pay his taxes if he won.  Needless to say, Hatch's contract he signed when he was chosen to be on "Survivor" stated that he would be responsible for paying the taxes on any money he won. 

Apparently, winning the money made Hatch become stupid.  When he was caught red-handed for tax evasion, prosecuters made him a deal: plead guilty to the two counts of tax evasion and they would recommend less than the maximum 10-year sentence.  He turned it down, and went on the morning news show circuit, claiming his innocence.  Well, we see where that got him, don't we?  He now faces up to 13 years in prison.  Hatch also kinda fibbed during his trial, and will have to deal with some nasty perfuryissues.  His sentencing will be April 28. 

Note:  I'm glad that the news people are distinguishing this Richard Hatch as the Richard Hatch that won the first "Survivor" show.  I would hate for people to get him confused with Richard Hatch of "Battlestar Galactica" from back in the day.