John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US • Hacker News Board

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#471

Post by dcolkitt » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 9:55 PM UTC

G3rn0ti wrote: post #418

30 years for tax evasion? No wonder he preferred to die. I mean, you’ll get jail time for severe cases of tax evasion in Germany, too, but it’s a couple of years at max and most of the time it’s on probation. How do you justify your draconic punishments in the US which is supposed to be a free country?

Prison time for tax evasion is extremely rare in the US. Almost always the IRS just collects the penalty and moves on. The only real exceptions are either for criminals with a lot of other charges stacked up (eg mob bosses). Or a public figure making a political statement like Wesley Snipes.

Not saying this is good or bad. Just saying it’s how it is. Joe Sixpack who fails to report some cash income will almost certainly never see a jail cell.

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#472

Post by carl_dr » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 9:56 PM UTC

romanovcode wrote: post #441

Trias11 wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US Citizenship in reality is an IRS trap. Now Biden wants to hire 87,000 more IRS workers to harass americans. This used to be a great country. Times long gone.

AFAIK U.S. is the only country that makes you pay tax even if you are tax resident of different country. Ironically it does not apply to corporations that fail to pay billions in tax.

The US and Eritrea.

I knew this was a thing, but I had always assumed a US citizen living abroad only ended up paying tax to the IRS if the tax they paid to the foreign government was less than what they would have paid to the US, and only the difference is paid.

But it seems that’s not the case, and you get an exemption for “only” the first $108,700 of your earnings.

As with everything the IRS does, it seems complex and full of exemptions, but I have read that (badically) correctly? You could end you being double taxed if you earn more than that?

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#473

Post by mrverify » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 9:57 PM UTC

I'm going to be that guy. He was suicided, probably by some other country that had business they didn't want him sharing with the USA. He was offering to help Cuba use crypto to get around embargo. Who else might he have helped?

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#474

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 9:58 PM UTC

bdamm wrote: post #458

Tenoke wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What numerical value? He either did it or didn't. Likely is an expression on the subjective probability based on the information they have.

What subjective probability is at play? None of us were there, or even in court. Maybe something very traumatic to Mr. McAfee happened that day. Would that inform some of his later recklessness?

[deleted]

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#475

Post by G3rn0ti » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 9:58 PM UTC

freddie_mercury wrote: post #453

G3rn0ti wrote: post #418

30 years for tax evasion? No wonder he preferred to die. I mean, you’ll get jail time for severe cases of tax evasion in Germany, too, but it’s a couple of years at max and most of the time it’s on probation. How do you justify your draconic punishments in the US which is supposed to be a free country?

Germany has more draconic laws than the US in this situation, so I'm not sure what you're talking about. "Under German law, the maximum term for one count of aggravated tax evasion is 10 years. If an accused is convicted of more than one count, the court can increase the maximum to 15 years." The US is 5 years for each count, half of Germany's. Macafee was under accused of multiple crimes, which added up to the headl…

Prison time here in Germany is limited to 15 years at max — independent on the number of crimes. People imprisoned for violent crimes may stay there for their whole life if they pose an ongoing threat to public safety.

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#476

Post by ineedasername » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 9:59 PM UTC

Taek wrote: post #359

xadhominemx wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He’s a murderer and fraudster. You do not in fact have to applaud him for anything.

You can celebrate someone's accomplishments without condoning their sins. I applaud lots of little pieces of his life and reject/regret many others.

If he truly is a fraudster, then you cannot really trust is accomplishments as being his own.

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#477

Post by KMnO4 » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 9:59 PM UTC

G3rn0ti wrote: post #418

30 years for tax evasion? No wonder he preferred to die. I mean, you’ll get jail time for severe cases of tax evasion in Germany, too, but it’s a couple of years at max and most of the time it’s on probation. How do you justify your draconic punishments in the US which is supposed to be a free country?

> which is supposed to be a free country

A common misconception. The United States takes the constitution seriously, but doesn’t even rank in the top 15 countries according to most freedom indexes.

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#478

Post by alfiedotwtf » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 10:00 PM UTC

Say what you want about him, he lived a life that should inspire a lot of people in today's Instagram world... he did whatever entertained him while not caring what other people thought of him. Something mostly lost these days.

I can't wait for the movie.

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#479

Post by 542458 » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 10:00 PM UTC

G3rn0ti wrote: post #418

30 years for tax evasion? No wonder he preferred to die. I mean, you’ll get jail time for severe cases of tax evasion in Germany, too, but it’s a couple of years at max and most of the time it’s on probation. How do you justify your draconic punishments in the US which is supposed to be a free country?

Popehat has an excellent article about this sort of thing. It’s really quite good.

https://www.popehat.com/2013/02/05/crime-whale-sushi-sentenc...

The tldr is that the maximum sentence of all the crimes added up has very little to do with what most people would actually face.

Re: John McAfee found dead in Spanish jail after court approves extradition to US

#480

Post by Trias11 » Wed, Jun 23, 2021, 10:00 PM UTC

smitty1110 wrote: post #468

G3rn0ti wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How high is the US income tax? And is it progressive?

Top end, which kicks in at a bit shy of $520k is 37%. Top end Long-term Capital Gains max rate is 20% at about $440k. These are numbers for individuals, they differ for married couples and households filing collectively.

I think you're underestimating. There are Federal AND state taxes and that math quickly adds up.