Accused tax dodger is arrested

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County woman was arrested Wednesday for failing to heed a court order requiring her and her husband to file income tax returns.

Patricia Perlinger, 60, made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Thursday via videoconference with the Bonner County Jail. Judge Debra Heise ordered her held without bond pending a failure-to-comply hearing, which is set for Monday.

Perlinger’s husband, Mark, remains the subject of a warrant of attachment for his arrest, according to 1st District Court records.

The couple put on a sovereign citizen defense. The Perlingers argued they are American nationals and not citizen of the state of Idaho and therefore exempt from state tax laws.

Last year, Idaho deputy attorneys general obtained a peremptory writ of mandate requiring the couple to file taxes from 2011-2013. A senior district court judge gave the couple until Feb. 29 to comply with the order or risk fines, incarceration or both.

When the deadline came and went, the couple was summoned back to court, where they were fined $1,000 for contempt and given an April 13 deadline to file. Buchanan said she was loath to incarcerate somebody in a civil matter, but warned the couple they faced arrest if they let deadline lapse again.

An warrant calling for the Perlingers’ arrest was issued on April 14, court records show.

The Idaho State Tax Commission successfully argued for a $7,100 judgment against the couple for attorney fees that have been expended trying to get the Perlingers to file. The couple objected to the judgment, but it was imposed on Monday, court documents indicate.

The couple earned incomes of $56,779 in 2011, $57,338 in 2012 and $59,671 in 2012, according to court documents.