The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and tax fraud have been frequent subjects of legislation in the United States. Tax fraud is a major concern for the Internal Revenue Service, and their ability to collect unpaid taxes is very important to revenue. The tax code is quite complex, with changes occurring year after year. In recent years the legislative efforts to reform the tax system have included a number of targeted tax relief provisions. Among these include the tax relief act passed by congress in 2011.
One of the major provisions of this law is the ability of tax enforcement officers to investigate tax fraud on their own. When a taxpayer is suspected of committing tax fraud, the taxpayer may, in many instances, be required to provide personal information to the revenue officers. This information can then be used against the individual. In some circumstances, the taxpayer may be required to undergo a criminal investigation.
Attorneys who are experienced in defending tax evasion cases know that there are several major count that can be faced by the tax fraud offender. In most cases an individual will be faced with: bank fraud, misrepresentation of income, bankruptcy fraud, false statements to the federal tax return, perjury, tax evasion, and more. It is very common for the tax evasion attorney to also represent the government on criminal investigations.
Many tax lawyers are also familiar with criminal law and have experience working as attorneys in various tax liability cases. Criminal defense is a specialty area of law. A tax fraud conviction can have severe consequences. The primary penalties are fines, jail time, and in some cases, loss of ability to obtain loans. In addition to these major penalties, the criminal tax conviction will appear on one’s criminal record. In some cases, the records may not be available for 10 years.
Tax criminal defense attorneys and investigators investigate all available avenues. If a tax liability is not discovered during an audit, an investigator continues to look for the evidence. Sometimes an investigator digs so deep that they find something that causes a district attorney to file charges. Once an investigation ends and an audit is closed, the tax lawyer represents the client in the next tax case. At this point, if the tax lawyer believes the tax liability is not resolved, he may advise his client to hire a tax specialist or a tax loss mitigation attorney to resolve the tax matter.
If a tax loss mitigation attorney is retained, the tax lawyer will work on a tax lien rehabilitation plan with the tax defendant or the tax lender, depending on the nature of the case. If the case involves a financial hardship case, this rehabilitation may result in the debtor entering into a guilty plea agreement. The tax lawyer may also work to have a sentencing range agreed upon by the government and the defendant. If all of these options are not possible, a tax loss mitigation attorney may be able to petition for sentencing using the “atable” sentencing option said an article posted at www.arizonataxattorneys.net.