‘I Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook’ What 'The Shawshank Redemption' Can Teach Us About Accounting
Even if you don’t identify as a film buff, you have still likely seen the classic 1994 film, “The Shawshank Redemption.” Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, this phenomenal movie tells the tale of two prison
the movie was set. Much to the chagrin of Red — the character played by Freeman — Andy offers to give the guard financial advice regarding how to get out of his hefty inheritance tax bill. He says, “If you want to keep that money, all of it, just give it to your wife. See, the IRS allows you a one-time-only gift to your spouse. It’s good up to $60,000.” When the guard agrees, Andy takes care of the paperwork, and they all celebrate with buckets of beers. While this is a great scene, that provision in the tax code doesn’t exist. In fact, there has never been a federal inheritance tax, nor has there ever been a limit on what one spouse can give to another. So that entire scene in the movie, as entertaining as it may be, is completely erroneous from a tax-policy standpoint. Even though Hollywood overstretched the truth about taxes when it came to this particular scene, Andy’s encounter with the guard snowballed, propelling him to finagle many good financial dealings. It eventually results in the awful warden getting jailed for alleged money laundering and Andy assuming another identity in order to withdraw the laundered money from several banks. While the writers definitely took some liberties here and there, the lingering success of this film demonstrates its awesome portrayals of friendship, hope, perseverance — and some truly clever tax work.
inmates’ unlikely friendship forged over years of hardship under the brutal hand and watchful eye of a sadistic prison warden. Due to its compelling narrative and nuanced portrait of flawed but likable characters, this film continues to resonate with audiences over two decades after its release. While this may not pique the interest of most other viewers, for me, the most interesting aspect of the film is its emphasis on numbers. The protagonist, Andy Dufresne, is an imprisoned banker who was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife for cheating. He overhears a loathsome guard complaining about the taxes owed on a $35,000 inheritance, which was a good sum of cash during the time in which
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