According to an article in The Guardian, Snipes says he "owed $228,000" while he owes closer to three million. Another article cites US Attorney Scotland Morris as saying Snipes currently owes more than 20 million dollars. Even if the Snipes figure were the correct one, it wouldn't have mattered much. I know someone who once got a stern letter from the IRS after underpaying her taxes by sixteen bucks and change. If they'll go after you for owing the cost of a burger and appetizers at Bennigan's, they'll go after you for $228,000. They'll sure as hell go knocking on your door for a few million.

Look, there probably isn't a person in this country who opens his or her paycheck and says, "The government took a load of my money! Yay!" At least not without a healthy measure of sarcasm. But nobody gets away with not paying for long. You may curse and fume so much your friends and pets don't want to be around you until April 16, you may threaten to join a monastery and live without money, but eventually write the check and go on your way. That should be true whether you're John Smith in Topeka or Wesley Snipes in L.A.

Given the range of characters he's played over the years, at least he'll have a lot of cool prison nicknames to choose from. I'd recommend Phoenix, given the setting. No word yet on what Snipes's sentence means for his possible role in Brooklyn's Finest, which is currently in pre-production.