Falsely Claiming Bankruptcy
Kent Hovind has an interesting relationship with the IRS. He also has an interesting perspective on the need to pay personal income tax. Mr. Hovind is of the opinion that he doesn't need to pay income tax because the IRS is part of a New World Order and Communist conspiracy [1]
Of course the IRS took a dim view of this opinion and filed returns on behalf of Mr. Hovind. This left Mr. Hovind with a substantial tax liability. The IRS then seized personal assets of equivalent value as payment (three vehicles, a homemade trailer, and $54 in cash). [2]
Mr. Hovind's response to this, and this is where the lying comes in, was an attempt to declare himself bankrupt when in fact he was not. Apart from attempting to falsely file bankruptcy, Hovind declared that "he had no property, received no income, had no expenses, and had no creditors (except for the IRS)" as well "did not acknowledge that he was a citizen of the U.S. nor subject to its tax laws, and claimed that he was was 'an evangelist employed by God'". This is despite the fact that "he had a home with recently installed central air conditioning, and sent all three children to a private Christian school at a cost of $4,800 per year." The Court had no qualms about declaring Mr. Hovind a tax protester who was attempting to seek relief under Chapter 13 to seek the release of property seized by the IRS. [2]
In fairness, I should indicate that Hovind claims a slightly different reason for the Court's decision; "My case was dismissed on a technicality not because I am a tax protestor [sic]." [1] The nature of this technicality is not explained. It should also be noted the case was decided on his failure to justify the defense of bankruptcy and the court therefore concluded Hovind was a "tax protester" [2] based upon this judgment. So in fact, Hovind's defense of his failure is in itself another lie.
Liar, liar, pants on fire!
[1] Hovind, 2000, How are evolution, Communism, the new-world order, and the IRS connected? http://www.drdino.com/FAQs/FAQmisc12.jsp [mid 2001?]
[2] Case of the Month -
Tax Protesters Beware http://www.teleport.com/%7Emrbswb/casemonth.html
[August 2001]