Tax protesters listen up

The IRS has something to tell you, as a prominent Idaho painter and his wife were sentenced today for obstructing federal tax laws. John Horejs of Burley and his wife, Elaine, falsely claimed they weren’t U.S. citizens, challenged the authority of the IRS to collect income tax from them, and more, according to court records. Now, he’ll spend six months in jail, six months on home detention with electronic monitoring and another six of supervised release. She’ll be in home detention for six months and then on probation five years, and serve 100 hours of community service.

“It is an illusion to believe that the IRS lacks the authority and jurisdiction to collect the income tax, and it is an illusion that income taxes can somehow be dodged,” said Paul Camacho, the IRS Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Idaho. “It is downright perilous to your financial well being to act on these nonsensical beliefs, and your actions can lead to jail time.”