Pedro Zapeta spent 11 years scrubbing pots in a Florida restaurant, dreaming of the day when he would have enough money to buy a small plot of land in his native Guatemala and build a house for his mother and sisters. When he was ready, he stuffed his $59,000 (£29,000) life savings in a duffel bag and headed for the airport.
But he never made it home. US customs inspectors seized the cash, suspecting that Mr Zapeta was a drugs courier, and immigration officials arrested him for being in the country illegally. Now, after a two-year legal battle in Miami, Mr Zapeta is to be deported while the US treasury keeps the money he earned washing dishes at an average hourly rate of $5.50 (£2.70).
The authorities finally accepted that he had earned the money when he produced pay stubs, but the internal revenue service then laid claim to it because Mr Zapeta admitted he had never paid taxes. His lawyers claim tax officials are also pursuing a further $10,000 in public donations made after his case was publicised last year.
IRS and customs officials declined to comment.
source
i would kill myself ...
3 comments:
yea I saw this story on tv....well not paying taxes is illegal, arabs in the US get jailed for that all the time, but I think he's going to be getting some money back especially after all the publicity
ya its illegal to pay taxes i know .. but still its a heart-wrenching story .. miskeen :(
welcome to da roll :)
hey i was looking at ur profile and i noticed you have the lovely bones listed under favorite books .. i own that book .. i bought it at the airport once .. didnt like it .. i thought the idea was very cool but the book not so much :/
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