Tax Attorney Long Island

Tax evasion and tax avoidance are too distinctly different things.  Avoiding taxes is simply the practice of taking advantage of as many legitimate deductions and tax credits as you can in order to lower your tax liability.  Evasion is the criminal act of not paying taxes that you owe.

The Internal Revenue Service has more than 300 agents dedicated to the investigating and penalizing of taxpayers who attempt income tax evasion.  

The Internal Revenue Service audits taxpayers at random every year, but most audits are due to unusual activities when it comes to filing income tax returns.  Certain actions will trigger an Internal Revenue Service audit such as, too many deductions in proportion to earnings, and too little income claimed by a person with a lot of assets.

One of the rights you have as a taxpayer is the right to representation.  Take advantage of it and hire a tax attorney if you are faced with major IRS problems.

Contacting the Internal Revenue Service directly is not recommended.  After all, they do not have your best interests at heart.  They are considering the best interests of the federal government and their personal career aspirations.  They are not likely to work things out in your favor; they are more inclined to work things out in favor of the federal government.

There are three crimes that you can be convicted of in regard to income tax evasion.

The first crime under the penal code is tax evasion, which can impose a fine of $100,000 and five years imprisonment.

The second punishable offense the Internal Revenue Service can charge you with is filing a false income tax return.  Under this charge, the Internal Revenue Service does not have to prove that you had an intent to evade your taxes, only that you did file false returns.  Conviction can get you a $100,000 fine and up to three years in a federal facility.

The third crime of which you can be convicted under law is failure to file an income tax return.  As a misdemeanor, you can face 3 years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine for each year you failed to file your income tax return.

If you are facing the possibility of being charged with income tax evasion, you need to hire a tax attorney right away.  Forget trying to negotiate with the Internal Revenue Service yourself.  At this point, the Internal Revenue Service not only sees you as an uncooperative taxpayer, but as a criminal.  You are going to need good, professional representation if you are going to avoid jail time.