Tax stories don’t have to be dull, you know.
With a few notable exceptions, reporters who write about taxes and tax evasion are remarkably uninspired. Unless celebrities or politicians are involved, articles about cheating the Tax Man just don’t seem to be sexy enough to warrant that little extra effort it takes to make a story have impact. And that’s a shame, because tax evasion affects all of us on a daily basis.
Unless it’s tax season -- mid March to mid April -- most articles written about tax cheating are nothing but a dry rehash of a dry government press release, with no human interest, and no color.
In real life, tax cheating isn’t about confusing laws, complicated code sections, or boring government press releases. The people involved in these trials and cases often provide an interesting and important glimpse at social conditions today. A business owner who sees his profits slump has to choose between closing his company and stealing from his employees’ tax withholding account. A blue collar worker spends $3,000 on a tax protest “how to” kit, just to avoid paying $2,000 to a government he despises. A wealthy corporate executive thinks cheating is a gamble with reasonable odds; if he loses, he’ll pay penalties, but if he wins, he’ll be ahead $50 million. All of these stories say something about living in America today.
And sometimes, a reporter misses the story completely.
Take, for example, the case of Thomas and Leslie Mower. According the Department of Justice press release sent out on September 14, 2006 (see below), Mr. and Mrs. Mower were convicted of multiple tax crimes in March 2005 and had just been sentenced to 33 months and 27 months in federal prison respectively. They were the founders and owners of a business called Neways, Inc., a Utah based multi-level marketing company (MLM). Their legal counsel, James L. Thompson, had also been convicted in the earlier criminal trial and was being sentenced to one year plus one day in federal prison.
The Salt Lake Tribune covered the sentencing with an interesting spin.
Philanthropist couple sentenced for tax fraud
Salt Lake Trib reporter Pamela Manson started the article with an opening that painted a pleasant and favorable picture of the couple being sentenced.
“Thomas E. Mower and Leslie DeeAnn Mower were an example of a couple who made good and did good. Both came from humble beginnings but together built one of the largest multilevel marketing companies in the world in Utah County.”
“Made good and did good?” Well, except for that pesky criminal conviction, I suppose.
“One of the largest multilevel marketing companies in the world?” You mean, the largest like Tupperware, or Amway, Mary Kay, or Pre-Paid Legal? Well that doesn’t sound right. The Neways entry in Wikipedia simply says that they’re the largest MLM in Salem, Utah. That makes a bit more sense.
The article then details the various philanthropic projects funded by Mr. and Mrs. Mower, provides basic information about their sentencing and trials, and then beefs up considerably the details about the generosity of the couple. I came away from the story thinking, “Isn’t that interesting. They cheated on their taxes, but they used the money to fund charitable projects. That’s not so bad, is it?”
Ten minutes with google, however, and my pastoral fantasies of Robin Hood giving money to the poor and needy faded into anger.
Mr. and Mrs. Mower started Neways Inc. in 1992 to manufacture and market health supplements. In 1993, the company was forced to recall their weight loss product. While the product labeling disclosed such ingredients as papaya, kelp, garlic, and lactose, the FDA found that it also contained an undisclosed, potentially dangerous prescription diuretic.
1993 FDA Release
In 2003, the company pleaded guilty to a felony count of marketing a product containing another prescription only drug - human growth hormone – and yet neither this felony conviction nor the prior forced recall appeared anywhere in the Trib article.
2004 DOJ Release
On the contrary, the hard edge of a criminal conviction on multiple counts was softened considerably by the use of hedging words such as “alleged” and “accused” throughout the article. Rather than pointing out that this couple has a long history of trouble with regulators and the law, the reporter instead focused on how the Mowers “made good and did good.”
Until reporters learn to tell the real human stories behind tax evasion, and aren’t afraid to call those who are convicted of tax crimes “criminals,” this particular segment of the news will be underserved.
