Frankly, one of the more absurd laws on the books is the federal law against “structured deposits.” Essentially it goes like this: banks are required to notify the IRS of deposits that exceed $10,000. As a result, in order to avoid taxes, a person might decide to chop up a $50,000 deposit into a series of 6 deposits, each of which is about $8,334.
What makes Gaskin’s case completely absurd is that he actually paid all his taxes. The federal government did not prove that he structured his deposits so as to avoid paying his taxes.
These sorts of absurd laws make everyone a criminal. If you don’t deposit in the correct amounts, if you don’t sign the right forms, if you make mistatements on financial documents, you’re a criminal.
UPDATE: I didn’t notice this terrific column by a News and Observer writer on Johnny Gaskins.