Any time there is an allegation of tax fraud, you need to take it seriously. If you’re accused of attempting to evade taxation or manipulating your accounts to pay less than you owe, then you need to make sure you’re protecting your rights and yourself against the Internal Revenue Service.
In Illinois, the IRS is quick to crack down on those who attempt to evade taxation, such as in this case from early December. According to a report from the IRS’s website, a man in Illinois was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for helping a colleague evade taxes that should have been paid in relation to a multibillion-dollar legal settlement. The settlement, which came after a lawsuit against tobacco companies, results in $9.2 billion in awards for actions taken by tobacco companies in the 1990s.
The two individuals, both working on the case, had collected legal fees. They did not pay the IRS what it was due despite being served a notice of levy and being required to turn over all wages owed. In the end, both were accused of tax evasion, and both men ended up with prison sentences.
Penalties don’t always include prison time
It’s important to note that people who are accused of tax evasion don’t always go to prison. It’s typically in the IRS’s interests, and your own, that they receive the money due. That means that anyone who is accused and convicted of failing to pay should be able to continue to work to pay down that debt. This may be a good argument to use if you’re fighting charges for tax evasion. If you simply made mistakes on your tax returns, know that your attorney will fight to make sure you don’t face unfair penalties for those errors.