New Year’s day is almost here, and for millions of Americans, that means college football bowl games. Fans and alumni across the country are gearing up to root for their favorite school. LSU fans cry “Geaux Tigers!” ‘Bama fans chant “Roll, Tide, Roll!” But only one team will be champion come January 9.

Regardless of which gridiron gladiators we support for the BCS championship, Americans are #1 in another competition. That’s right, Americans cheat their government out of more tax dollars than the citizens of any other country in the world!

A recent study by the Tax Justice Network, a British think-tank dedicated to transparency in international finance, shows the U.S. government lost $337 billion annually to tax evasion. We’re followed by Brazil ($280 billion), Italy ($238 billion), Russia, Germany, France, Japan, China, U.K., and Spain. Overall, the study finds that worldwide tax evasion tops $3 trillion, or 5% of the world’s economy.

However, while Americans are #1 in absolute dollars lost to cheating, we’re not actually the biggest fibbers. The report attempts to quantify the size of each country’s “shadow economy” that hides from official view to avoid tax. Russia is the biggest loser here, with 44% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) lurking underground and evading tax. Brazil is next, with 39% of its economy hiding in the shadows. Our own shadow economy, at 8.6% of GDP, is actually the smallest of those top ten tax evaders listed above.

Looking at it from a different perspective, next to the cost of financing government, the cost of financing health care is perhaps our country’s biggest fiscal challenge. The Tax Justice Network’s report draws an interesting contrast between each country’s cost of tax cheating and cost of health care. Worldwide tax evasion costs an average of 55% of worldwide health care costs. But that average encompasses an enormous range. Here in the U.S., for example, tax evasion drains the equivalent of just 15% of our national health care budget. By contrast, in Bolivia, where the “shadow economy” accounts for 66% of GDP, tax evasion costs that nation more than four times the amount of their annual health care spending.

American tax cheats may even show a conscientious side. The Charities Aid Foundation, a British organization dedicated to encouraging efficient charitable giving, just released their World Giving Index 2011 report. They found that the U.S. is #1 in charitable giving, out of 153 countries surveyed. “Using data from Gallup’s Worldview World Poll,” the report says, “the results show that the USA is officially the most charitable nation in the world.” Now there’s something we can all take pride in this holiday season!

The irony here is that there are so many legal ways to pay less tax that nobody needs to cheat. Proactive planning is the key to paying less tax without having to hide in the shadows. As 2012 dawns, remember that we’re here to deliver that planning — for you, and for your family, friends, and colleagues as well.

It seems like every day now a new figure in the government is getting into “trouble” for tax issues. I use the word “trouble” lightly because most of them are getting no more than a slap on the wrist when if it were you or I, we would certainly be feeling the wrath of the IRS. During the election, the now President Obama promised us “change” in Washington. I guess this is his definition of “change.” Never before have I seen so many tax-happy politicians skirting their own taxes. Let us review the short list. I will not go into great detail on any of them, but just list the highlights (otherwise, it would be a book – hey, there is an idea!)

Timothy Geithner.  This is one of the more publicized issues at least in the national media.   President Obama’s Treasury Secretary designate owed $34,000 in back taxes when he was selected. Geithner failed to pay self-employment taxes for several years and was busted during an IRS Audit. I don’t even begin to comprehend how this is acceptable. The man is going to be the Treasury Secretary, yet he can’t file and pay his own taxes accurately? He is supposed to be over the IRS, yet he can’t even manage his own taxes? It is beyond me how President Obama could have had such poor judgement in this selection. The fact that Geithner is the Treasury Secretary is shocking.

Tom Daschle.  President Obama selected the former U.S. Senator from South Dakota for the job of Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. It was uncovered that Daschle cheated his fellow taxpayers when he failed to disclose and pay taxes on hundreds of thousands of dollars of income.   Of course Daschle was sorry about the incident after he “realized” the errors on his return.

Rahm Emanuel.   There is increasing pressure on President Obama’s Chief of Staff over Emanuel’s rent free residence of 5-years at a Capitol Hill townhome owned by Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-Conn) and her husband, pollster Stan Greenberg. Emanuel did not pay taxes on his rent-free use of the townhouse, and he also did not disclose this on his congressional ethics forms. During the time that Emanuel lived in the townhome, he served as the Chairman of the Democratic Campaign Committee and rewarded Greenberg’s firm with massive polling contracts. Many experts agree that this “free rent” was taxable income and could have totaled more than $100,000 over the five year period. Read more on Emanuel’s tax and ethics issues here: Rahm’s ‘Rent” Is Just the Tip of Ethics Iceberg

Hilda Solis (D-Calif.).  The confirmation hearings for Labor-secretary appointee Hilda Solis were delayed last week when it was learned that Representative Solis’ husband, Sam Sayyad, had tax liens filed against him. USA Today uncovered 15 tax liens dating back to 1993 against his business. Both Solis and Sayyad deny that they knew about the tax liens and went out last week to pay them in full. See more from USA Today at Tax snafus add up for Obama team

Nancy Killefer.  President Obama’s selection for the government’s first Chief Performance Officer failed to “perform” in the payment of her nanny taxes. Unlike many of the other appointees, Killefer had the dignity to withdraw her candidacy. The interesting thing is that she only owed $947 ($298 of back employment taxes, $600 in penalties, and $49 in interest). Not a large amount, but it was enough to have a lien placed on her home. I don’t know why so many people in Killefers position keep getting hit with Nanny tax issues. Don’t they know by now that they have to pay these taxes?

Charlie Rangel.   His tax issues are almost too much to detail here. It seems every time I turn around, this guy has done something illegal. Whether the issue is Rangel receiving the homestead exemption on a home he owned in Washington while living in rent-stablized apartments in NY City or contributions or pledges made to the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service or Rangel’s failure to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income on a beach house, the important thing to remember here is that Rangel is the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. That means that he is the head honcho of the committee that makes the tax law. Yes, you read that right. And he can’t pay his taxes accurately? He obviously knows the laws – he helped write them! I am not sure why Rangel is still in office. He is obviously not ethical. Why hasn’t Obama spoken up and requested that he resign for the good of the Country?

Rangel’s tax cheating has become so publicized that Congressman John Carter (R-TX) introduced H.R. 735, “The Rangel Rule Act of 2009″ which would add a new section to the Internal Revenue Code that would prohibit the IRS from charging penalties and interest on back taxes. According to the press release, “under the proposed law, any taxpayer who wrote “Rangel Rule” on their return when paying back taxes would be immune from penalties and interest.  Don’t count on this passing a vote, but it is nice to know that someone in Congress knows that Rangel is unethical and that it isn’t fair that the rest of us have to pay penalties and interest and he doesn’t.

Marion Barry.   While Marion Barry isn’t part of the Obama Administration, he is a Washington D.C. Council member.   His failure to file his 2007 taxes has resulted in a request by prosecutors to urge a judge to revoke Barry’s probation for his past tax offenses and throw him in jail. Barry’s excuse was that his kidney issues have “dominated’ his thinking and that he has been unable to get them filed. I might give the guy a break over this except for the fact that to my knowledge, he still has time to participate on the D.C. Council, and the fact that he has had chronic tax issues. I wonder if Barry is trying to get a Cabinet Appointment here? He would fit right in.

A couple of weeks ago, Politio.com asked the offices of all 99 sitting Senators to complete a short survey to say who prepared their taxes, whether and errors had been discovered on the returns they had filed, and whether they have ever had to pay back taxes. Fifty-six senators responded to the survey, of which eight stated errors had been found in the past and of which 6 states that they had been required to pay back taxes. Click here for details on the Politico.com survey.

Many fear that all of these high level tax cheats will result in taxpayers being more likely to cheat on their returns. The IRS estimates that approximately $300 billion in taxes owed each year goes uncollect every year. Seems like a good deal of this shortfall is in Washington.

Also of note is what is happening to these nominees. Many of them are actually making it through! Imagine what would have happened if Reagan or Bush had nominated these jokers. The Democrats would have never let them be confirmed and they would be back on the street. There is a good editorial on this in the Wall Street Journal: Driving Mr. Daschle

Recently, it was reported that fraudster/actor Wesley Snipes was granted permission to travel outside of the United States in order to work on two movies – Gallowwalker and Chasing the Dragon. Snipes defrauded the United States government, and in my opinion each and every tax paying citizen of our great nation – when he willfully refused to pay taxes due since 1999. The sum of money owed is not known exactly (no tax returns were filed), but his earnings during this time were in excess of $38 million.

My assumption is that much of the money he owes has been spent or is “hidden” and will not be turned over or seized by the government. This is where many tax payers would negotiate with the Internal Revenue Service and get an agreed upon settlement on the debt. I hope they do not allow Snipes to get away with this. This was not an error, an oversight, or the result of poor tax advice. Snipes made $38 million and claimed that he owed no taxes. I don’t care who your accountant and tax advisor is – anyone would know that this was not correct. Snipes knew exactly what he was doing AND knew he was defrauding the United States. Snipes should be made to repay every penny plus interest plus any and all related penalties before he gets to keep a dime of it for himself.

Now to the travel. If he is to make money to repay the government, he must make movies. Based on Snipes’ extremely shaky ethics, I doubt many people would hire him to perform a real job. Also, I doubt he has the mental capability to make a good deal of money at anything other than acting – well, anything legal anyway. I have several questions related to the travel.

Firstly, we not have first got some sort of assurance from the governments that he is traveling to that he would not be able to take refuge there? How do we guarantee he comes back. This was the main reason that the ability to travel was up in the air to begin with.

Secondly, who is getting paid for this acting. Are the “paychecks” cut to Snipes or are they cut to some entity that he has set up that technically is not in violation of paying taxes. If the entity is paying Snipes a “salary,” of say $50K a year – the government may only garnish a small percentage of his salary (I think 10%). The rest of the millions will set in the Corporation and only current taxes will have to be paid. I hope that all this was thought out and planned by the judges who granted him the right to travel. My guess is the Snipes is O.J.’d up and will not have to pay the money he owes the United States for a long long time – if ever.

Third, why is he not in jail? How many other people are in jail for tax fraud in much smaller amounts? The man was convicted – of three counts. He received a maximum of 3 years in jail and was told he would be notified of when and where to report to begin serving his sentence. What? Don’t you start serving your sentence when you are convicted? Why is he allowed to keep traveling and making movies? Shouldn’t this crook be in a jail cell?

For my final point, I want to ask who wants to go see these movies? I am not talking about the genre of movies, but rather who actually wants to go support this criminal by continuing to provide him the lavish lifestyle he has come to live when so much of the movie going public pays so much in taxes that they can hardly afford the tickets and popcorn?

We have a huge national debt in this country, and the liberals want to soak the rich and middle class to try to get it balanced and paid. Well, Snipes is the richest of the rich, yet so many of these same liberals are supporting him for various reasons. The IRS went after Snipes with much more passive means than they do many tax payers who do not file and pay their taxes – with much less income.

The bottom line is: Snipes knew he owed taxes on the money. If he didn’t, he is the dumbest man in the country. Snipes knowingly did not file or pay his taxes. He should receive his just punishment. Period.

Note to Wesley Snipes: I hope your cell mates think you are pretty.