Actor Wesley Snipes was cleared of the most serious charges in his criminal tax evasion trial, but he's still going to do spend some time in the pokey.

Yesterday, a federal judge William Terrell Hodges of Federal District Court.sentenced him to 3 years in prison for willfully failing to file a tax return. That's the maximum sentence for the 3 misdemeanor counts, and it seems that the judge is looking to make an example of Snipes. He also must pay $17 million in back taxes plus interest and penalties.

Mr. Snipes' lawyer said he would appeal.

Wesley Snipes is the most prominent example in years of the government's efforts to crack down on tax deniers -- people who claim that they are not obligated to pay taxes.

For some examples of the arguments tax deniers use -- and why they don't work, check out this great series from Tracy Coenen.

Ever met anyone who thought he didn't have to pay income taxes? Maybe he tried to argue taxes are unconstitutional and there are legitimate ways to avoid paying them.

Don't believe it. Wesley Snipes believed it, and found himself in quite a bit of legal trouble. He's been acquitted of the most serious criminal charges, but that doesn't mean he won't have to pay his taxes. The IRS still intends to go after him for income taxes on tens of millions of dollars, and the interest and penalties associated with those taxes won't be cheap.

This week brings news that Nicholas Cage is joining the ranks of famous tax cheats. The IRS alleges he used his business, Saturn Productions, to write off $3.3 million in personal expenses (all those jet trips and limos) and says he owes $814,000 in taxes and penalties. Cage argues the expenses are all security needs.

You may not have a business you can run personal expenses through. But if you've found a "tax protester" who is selling a kit that will help you "legally" avoid taxes, don't fall for it, or you might end up in a world of legal trouble of your own.

Here are the top ten tax lies. These are excuses tax protesters say you can use to legally avoid paying income taxes. The only problem? They're completely wrong:

The IRS is not an agency of the United States

Wages aren't really income

Actor Nicholas Cage is the latest celebrity to run afoul of the IRS.

According to Forbes magazine, Uncle Sam is accusing Cage of using a company he owns to wrongly write off $3.3 million in personal expenses including limos, meals, gifts, travel and his Gulfstream jet.

"In just-filed U.S. Tax Court lawsuits, the 44-year-old actor--using his legal name of Nicolas Coppola -- is disputing a personal IRS bill for $814,000 in taxes and penalties from 2002 to 2004, while his Saturn Productions of Los Angeles is fighting a demand for $988,000," the magazine said. "The feds hit Cage both ways, denying Saturn a deduction for the disputed expenses while taxing Cage individually on the perks as salary and `constructive dividends.'"

Cage's business manager, Samuel J. Levin, told Forbes the expenses were proper. The Tax Court may feel differently about the matter.

Maybe Cage should employ the legal team that got Wesley Snipes recently cleared of serious tax evasion charges. Snipes managed to convince a jury that he believed he wasn't required to pay income taxes because he didn't think he had to pay taxes. Nonetheless, Snipes owes the government $17 million in back taxes plus interest and penalties.

Cage is going to face a hefty legal bill, so he might want to unload some of his many properties such as a castle in U.K. and a multi-million dollar mansion in Rhode Island. I also have a suspicion that a "Face/Off 2" may be in the works.

--Freelance writer Jonathan Berr edits the blog Ketchup and Eggs.

The Internal Revenue Service says that from 1999 to 2004, actor Wesley Snipes didn't file tax returns... and his income during that time was a whopping $37.9 million. What's more, he was told in 2002 that he was being criminally investigated, but he continued to not file.

How did this happen? Apart from possibly internalizing Leona Helmsley's sage advice ("Only the little people pay taxes"), Snipes hooked up with Eddie Ray Kahn, a known tax protester who had been banned from filing tax returns for others because of his shenanigans with a group called American Rights Litigators.

In addition to not filing tax returns, he also is accused of trying to get fraudulent refunds for over $11 million of taxes paid in 1996 and 1997. Snipes was warned on more than one occasion that he was in trouble for his tax-related activities, but it doesn't seem to have bothered him.