A few TV commercials really upset me. Topping the list are those for firms which promise to lessen your tax bill enabling you to pay pennies on the dollar. I make up those pennies you’re not paying, right?
With that in mind I was pleased to learn that TaxMaster’s has declared bankruptcy… and there’s more.
TaxMasters Inc., a Texas-based tax advisory firm perhaps best known for its ubiquitous advertisements on cable television, has been ordered to pay more than $195 million in penalties for defrauding its clients.
Patrick Cox, the firm’s heavyset, bearded founder and chief executive officer, has to pay $46 million of the judgment handed down last week by a Texas jury. Cox appeared in many of TaxMasters’ commercials.
TaxMasters was found to have committed more than 110,000 violations of Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act, according to a statement released by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. – FoxBusiness.com
The essence of the charges against TaxMasters is TaxMasters was a total fraud.
As it turns out CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and a handful of other cable networks will be the ones getting pennies on the dollar, if they’re lucky. TaxMasters owes $2.6 million to CNN alone!
His commercials were really annoying. After enduring many years of Powerpoint presentations,I learned NOT to read each slide word for word. Patrick Cox read, word for word, EVERY word that was shown on the TV. THAT really irritated me. That was my biggest issue with his commercials……
Hey,GEOFF! What about the rest of the bunch, like RONI DEUTSCH? Those commercials were annoying as hell!! The other guy,AJ HARRIS (i think??) claims he’s a former IRS agent and has others working for him!! I’m glad that TAXMASTERS was caught with their pants down. BUT, what about these so-called consumer credit counseling services?? About 10 yearsa ago, i was ripped off, by CT CREDIT COUNSELING, found out it was based in TEXAS! Lost over $400 to these clowns! Luckily, i was able to negotiate with the 3 credit card firms,paid them in full, on my own.
IF we have to pay our full tax assesment and if we don’t there are fines and penalties or even jail time why, pray tell,do some have to pay “pennies on the dollar” anyway? If you owe it why then is it “who you are or who your lawyer is” that decides on what you pay? No wonder we have such a tax burden on so few. If your rich you have tax loopholes OR off shore dodges, if your poor you pay none,rightfully but the middle class really gets socked. Should be a total overhaul and no “we’ll get you off for pennies on the dollar” at all period !!!
Why aren’t Patrick Cox, Fred Hackett and DeWayne Logan doing time with Bernie Madoff? What can we Tax master victims do together to see justice done. Is it because one’s a cop and another used to be?