With tax season well underway, many Americans are filing their returns, awaiting refunds, or paying their rightful tax liability. Tax time can be stressful, especially for individuals or households that owe money to the government. While it is only natural for people to try to amass as many deductions as possible to limit liability, some people violate the law in order to limit their amount due. If the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)1 suspects that you have used unlawful tactics to avoid paying taxes, you may find yourself facing charges of tax fraud. According to the IRS,2 nearly 74 percent of individuals accused of tax fraud in 2014 were convicted and sent to prison for tax fraud. The average prison sentence was 17 months.
There are numerous types of activities that may be considered tax fraud, including the following:
- Underreporting or omitting certain income
- Fabricating or overstating your deductions
- Preparing false books or records
- Claiming false charitable deductions
- Hiding money in offshore accounts
- Simply failing to file a tax return
- Using false information, such as name or social security number, on a tax return
In order to convict you of tax fraud, the prosecution must prove that you intentionally committed some type of fraud. This means that simple careless mistakes should not be enough to result in a tax fraud conviction. If you find yourself facing wrongful allegations of fraud, a skilled attorney will know how to present the defense that you did not intentionally make the errors.
Contact an experienced criminal defense attorney in Chicago for assistance today
If you are under investigation or have been charged with tax fraud or evasion, you should immediately contact an experienced criminal defense attorney in Chicago who knows how to handle cases involving white collar crime. An attorney can develop an effective defense strategy to show that you did not intentionally try to defraud the government and can help you avoid wrongful conviction. Tax fraud is a very serious allegation, so please contact criminal defense lawyer Nenye E. Uche at Uche, PC at 312-380-5341 in Chicago to discuss your case today.
https://criminaldefenseattorneyinchicago.com/chicago-criminal-lawyer/white-collar-crimes
References:
1http://www.irs.gov/
2http://www.irs.gov/uac/Statistical-Data-Employment-Tax-Evasion