Tax fraud happens when people or companies intentionally and illegally fail to pay or overpay their tax liabilities. While the IRS may pursue tax fraud both criminally or civilly, federal tax investigators are increasingly pursuing criminal tax charges against people suspected of tax fraud. If you’re charged with tax fraud in New Jersey, it’s very important that you retain a tax fraud attorney from the start to help you navigate the system and fight back against the charges. While tax fraud is fairly easy to commit, defending yourself against this charge can be very difficult.
Tax fraud cases fall into two general categories: tax evasion or tax fraud. Evasion is an act of willfully avoiding tax payments. On the other hand, tax fraud is an act of making misrepresentations or omitting tax credits. Both tax evasion and tax fraud defense attorneys have specific areas of expertise, so it’s advisable to choose a lawyer who deals primarily in one or the other.
Tax evasion and tax fraud are both federal offenses. However, state tax fraud may also fall under these statutes. Federal tax crimes include: failure to report earnings, underpayment, or non filing of tax returns. On the other hand, state tax fraud includes: non filing of state tax returns, misrepresentation of income and assets, and non filing of tax attachments. The state criminal penalties for tax evasion and tax fraud increase if the offender knowingly commits the crime of tax evasion or fraud within three years of state tax charges. Additionally, tax fraud defense attorneys face the possibility of criminal penalties for failure to disclose their legal representation during investigations and trials.
There are three U.S. Attorneys who handle tax fraud defense cases throughout the country. Assistant United States Attorneys of New York are Acting Assistant Attorney General by designation. Assistant United States Attorneys of California are Acting Assistant Attorney General in that state. And Assistant United States Attorneys of Maryland are Acting Attorneys General of that state.
Tax evasion investigations typically begin with an employee, contractor, business owner of a firm, who has knowledge of financial mismanagement. Government tax fraud investigations usually involve employees of accounting firms, CPA’s, and tax fraud defense attorneys. Financial investigations can further be handled by private detectives, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents, bankruptcy lawyers, forensic accountants, and private investigators. Government tax fraud investigations can be quite complicated due to the complex nature of the tax code, applicable federal tax laws, and the complicated methods of structuring transactions. Tax fraud investigations also often require cooperation from many different people.
Government tax fraud cases also commonly involve large financial institutions such as banks, brokerage houses, multinational corporations, insurance companies, mortgage companies, investment firms, and prepaid credit card companies. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the United States Attorneys Offices (USDOAs) are responsible for prosecuting tax fraud cases. In some cases, state tax fraud laws may require private investigators to act as tax fraud defense attorneys. Private investigators are most often employed in civil and criminal cases, but sometimes they are also needed in cases involving corporate fraud. In such cases, a private investigator may also collaborate with an IRS agent or a tax fraud attorney.
Recently, some tax fraud investigations have been handled by federal tax fraud units that are separate from the US Attorneys Offices. These tax fraud investigation units have the authority to designate one agent to coordinate all of the investigative functions of all of the tax fraud elements of the case. This agent then will make regular communications with their tax fraud defense attorneys, investigate any 
criminal matters that are under investigation, and submit all findings and recommendations to the USDOAs, said newjerseytaxattorney.net. Federal tax fraud investigators do not conduct criminal investigations. Instead, these investigators rely on their knowledge of the most common crimes committed and any witnesses that may be able to provide corroborating evidence against the suspects.
While most tax crimes are not criminal acts, it is very possible that tax fraud could lead to criminal charges. If tax fraud is suspected, it is advised that anyone preparing federal tax returns contact a tax fraud attorney as soon as possible. A tax fraud attorney has extensive experience with tax crimes and can assist in developing a comprehensive tax fraud defense. This tax fraud defense attorney will aggressively defend the client’s tax return from any criminal charges that could be filed against them.
If you do owe back taxes, it is never too late to start planning how to pay them. Get your tax debt negotiated out as quickly as possible. There are tax relief benefits waiting for people who qualify. Tax relief is another way to get money to reduce your tax debt. If you qualify, the IRS might eliminate or reduce a portion of your tax debt.