The biblical tale of David and Goliath is certainly inspiring and does much to instill the belief that you can overcome any opponent, no matter how much they out-size, out-weigh or out-spend you.
Unfortunately, this is not a fair comparison to use for someone going nose-to-nose with the IRS.
How do you think taxpayers decide it is in their best interest to avoid cheating on their taxes? The same way most children learn from watching other children try something they were told not to do, and see the precocious child get hurt or punished for the action.
Criminal tax issues are often woven together with other charges. Having an understanding of the center point of the government’s investigation and whether the tax component is the steak or the side dish can have implications in most criminal tax cases from the beginning.
If you know you have violated a tax law there’s still a number of things that can be done to help avoid or reduce the most serious penalties. It is important to discuss your options with an attorney at this stage because the best practice can be different for each individual case.
Death. Taxes. The words added together give us the well-known slogan about the two certainties of life: death and taxes. Is it unfair to pair “taxes” with “death”? Maybe, but only because taxes are treated so (pardon the pun) gravely.
Lying about taxes, or in any other way trying to skirt the investigation of the government, is, to put it lightly, a risky move. The IRS is fairly unforgiving when taxes are filed incorrectly, so how do you think it will react to corruption?
The IRS has a “Tax Crimes Handbook,” and although you may not find this surprising, within its pages is a long list of what people and businesses have done to willfully avoid paying taxes.
You may be aware that the U.S. tax code allows deductions of “ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on a trade or business.”
If you have worked a full-time job for a company, you have likely noticed, and anticipated, the chunk of salary held back from your paycheck known as taxes.
