California IN BRIEF : WOODLAND : Tax Protester, Wife Face State Charges

Yolo County prosecutors filed income-tax evasion charges against a tax protester and his wife, who publish a newsletter that proclaims taxes are unconstitutional. Thorne Renfro, 56, and his wife Louise, 53, each were charged with three counts of felony income-tax evasion for allegedly failing to file state tax returns from 1983 to 1985 on $304,000 of income, said Jim Reber, spokesman for the state Franchise Tax Board. If convicted, Renfro, a retired TWA airline pilot who now lives in Winters, and his wife face up to three years in prison and $60,000 in fines, in addition to back taxes, penalties and interest estimated at nearly $50,000. Renfro publishes a newsletter, “Constitutionalists for Freedom Arise,” that urges people not to pay taxes, Reber said: “We have been dealing with the Renfros for years, for nearly a decade. We’ve been in continual communication as they have espoused their beliefs that taxes are unconstitutional and they are not subject to the tax laws.”