Taxable Talk

If you want to paint a recipe for heading to ClubFed, Carolynne Tilga of Santa Fe, New Mexico couldn’t do it any better. First, begin by investing in a business that’s likely illegal: Distributing pornography over the Internet. Yes, the website she invested in was in Canada but the customers were in the United States.

Next, add not paying taxes on the income. As I’ve said numerous times, illegal income is just as taxable as legal income. Then add some conspicuous consumption: a $1.85 million house in Kilauea, a $1.38 million home in Las Campanas, and other property in Taos, Aspen, and Telluride.

She pleaded guilty to conspiracy, six counts of tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. She received eight months at ClubFed; her husband, who had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, got probation. They must make restitution of $1.7 million to the IRS. If you’re looking for a nice house in Kilauea, I think I know of one that may soon be on the market.

I’m just shocked, shocked mind you, to find out that yet another individual in the adult entertainment industry didn’t tell the truth on his tax return. Well, not really as there might just be a pattern here….

From my old stomping ground, Orange County, comes the case of one Oscar Macias. Mr. Macias was one of the principals of Universal Media Management, a Cerritos, California based adult entertainment firm. Mr. Macias pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return.

Mr. Macias admitted that he did not report all of the cash income from the business, causing a loss to the Treasury of over $32,000. Mr. Macias received 15 months at ClubFed and must also make restitution. Last year, Catherine Shidad pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and received probation and had to make restitution of $140,000.

Cash income is just as taxable as checks, credit cards, or any other method of payment. Unfortunately, that somehow frequently gets lost in the adult entertainment world. Maybe if I attended this year’s Adult Entertainment Expo–it’s next week here in Las Vegas–I might drum up some business….