What Are Tax Fraud and Tax Crimes?

Tax fraud includes behavior that is intentionally carried out to deceive tax authorities, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to get out of paying taxes. Tax crimes have serious negative consequences, such as long prison sentences, hefty fines, and damage to an organization or individual’s reputation. Tax fraud commonly involves the following types of behavior:

• Failing to file. Individuals or organizations that completely fail to file their individual or business tax returns to avoid paying taxes are committing a tax crime.
• Tax evasion. Individuals or organizations that willfully attempt to evade paying taxes can be charged with a crime.
• Employment tax fraud. An employer who withholds payroll taxes from employees but fails to pay those taxes to the IRS can be charged with committing employment tax fraud.
• Falsely claiming deductions. Organizations may list specific deductions or expenses on their tax returns that are inaccurate, resulting in having to pay a lower amount of taxes.
• Withholding income. Withholding income is characterized by individuals or organizations hiding certain assets or income to avoid paying taxes. This can involve physically moving the assets to another place where they cannot be discovered and can be charged in relation to embezzlement crimes.
• Underreporting income. Failing to report all taxable income can lead to tax crime charges.
• Forgery crimes may commonly be associated with tax fraud cases, as they involve using fake documents as evidence for taxable income or available deductions.

If you or your organization is under investigation for tax crimes, it is critical to work with an experienced criminal defense lawyer who can advocate on your behalf to prove that you were acting in compliance with federal tax laws. An experienced federal tax crimes lawyer from SBBL Law can help you prepare and implement an optimal defense strategy.

Michigan State Tax Crimes

In the state of Michigan, state-level tax crimes are handled by the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Treasury. Michigan state tax crimes involve state sales taxes, income taxes, and other taxes that are specific to the state. By working with an experienced attorney, you can effectively fight back against any charges you may be facing for state tax crimes. If you believe your organization is under investigation by state tax authorities, it is critical to contact a lawyer as soon as possible.