Federal Court Blocks Tax Protesters From Selling Expatriation Scheme

by Mike Godfrey, for LawAndTax-News.com, Washington

05 November 2003

The US District Court for the District of Colorado has blocked tax protester, Austin Gary Cooper, and his wife, Martha E. Cooper, from selling a fraudulent 'expatriation' scheme which they claimed would exempt the purchaser from US taxes, the United States Justice Department revealed this week.

According to reports, Judge Lewis T. Babcock has issued a preliminary injunction banning the pair from advising US taxpayers to renounce their United States citizenship for "American" citizenship, purportedly in order to avoid US taxes.

Justice Department estimates suggest that the Colorado-based couple had sold the expatriation-repatriation scheme to around 2,000 individuals, at nearly $1,600 apiece.

Speaking to the Associated Press, assistant attorney general for the DoJ's tax division, Eileen J. O'Connor announced that:

"The Department of Justice is committed to shutting down the promotion of tax scams. People who participate in these scams can face sizable civil and criminal penalties, including substantial jail sentences."

However, Mr Cooper argued that he did not recognise the authority of the federal authority imposing the order.

"We charged them with treason," he told the AP.

Recommended