Jasele Oita's Blog A weblog about everything

Tax evasion refers to attempts by individuals, corporations or trusts to avoid paying the total amount of taxes owed through illegal means, known as tax evasion fraud. This may include underreporting income, misrepresenting deductions, offshore tax evasion strategies, or or failing to file returns in a timely manner. Tax evasion penalties can have serious repercussions. The government imposes serious tax evasion sentence and penalties on offenders, including prison terms and hefty fines, for tax evasion.

Cost of Tax Evasion

The U.S. government estimates that approximately 3 percent of taxpayers do not file tax returns at all. While not filing taxes can involve both civil and criminal penalties, these are usually related to the amount of tax owed. For example, if a taxpayer does not owe any taxes, the penalties for not filing are less serious. However, failing to file a tax return for a year in which you do owe taxes is a crime. For each year a taxpayer does not file a return, the penalty can include a fine of up to $25,000 and a prison sentence of up to one year. If the IRS can demonstrate that the individual or company willfully did not file in an attempt to evade taxation, the IRS can pursue a felony conviction, which could include a fine of up to $100,000 and a maximum prison sentence of five years.

Although incarceration is rare, the threat is very real. Therefore, the best course of action is to file an accurate tax return on time every year. This is true even if you don’t have the money to pay the entire tax bill. In these cases, the IRS will work with you to set up a payment plan. If you need for more time to prepare an accurate tax return, such as owing to insufficient records, you can request an extension of time to file.

If individuals or corporations file tax returns late, the IRS can levy a penalty or a “late filing fee” of 5 percent for every month the return is late up to a maximum of 25 percent of the total tax due. However, the IRS usually does not pursue criminal charges against taxpayers who file their tax returns late. It also tends to extend more sympathetic treatment in collecting taxes to those who file on their own before the IRS “catches up with them.”

Even if you have not filed taxes for many years, it is best to file missing returns late. The IRS computers do not automatically search for a taxpayer’s history, and the IRS wants to encourage non-filers to begin filing taxes.

Tax Filing Errors

A similar situation applies to those who have file erroneous returns that may include underreporting income or overstating deductions. Individuals, corporations or trusts can file amended returns at any time to correct errors and avoid criminal prosecution.

The IRS has nearly 3000 special agents trained to detect tax evasion. These agents have access to tax returns, the ability to gain access to further financial information, and the right to seize or freeze assets in an attempt to collect taxes.

Tax Audits

While the IRS selects some taxpayers at random to be audited every year, most audits arise as a result of tax forms that appear to be unusual. For example, if a person claims a level of deductions that is high in proportion to his or her income, the tax return may get flagged for an audit. In most of these cases, the IRS will simply increase the tax due if an error is discovered. However, if the agent finds that the individual, corporation or trust has purposefully filed a false return to intentionally evade taxes, the IRS can pursue criminal charges, which can result in a prison sentence of up to three years and fines of up to $100,000.

Notification from the IRS

The IRS usually uses one of four ways to notify taxpayers of suspected criminal behavior, and the manner it uses can be seen as an indication of how seriously it views the particular case.
First, you may receive a non-threatening written request from the IRS asking you to file or correct a tax return.

Second, you may receive a letter or phone call from an IRS representative stating a specific deadline (usually about 30 days) to file or correct a tax return.

Third, you may receive a phone call or a personal visit from an IRS agent giving a specific deadline by which to file a tax return directly with that agent. In these cases, the IRS agent may even offer to help you prepare the missing tax return.

Finally, in the worst case, you may be notified by an IRS agent that you have become the subject of a criminal investigation. Learn more on how to deal with the IRS.

You get excited when you turn 62 and think about getting on Social Security immediately.  Not so fast says financial advisors.  Married couples can maximize Social Security benefits by employing some strategies.

Think about joint lifetime benefits and surviving spouse before you start Social Security.  The surviving spouse gets 100 percent of the higher earners benefits when one spouse dies before the other and the widow or widower is at least 60 years of age. The survivor can get maximum benefits if the higher earner waited till the full retirement age before collecting benefits.   If the higher earner had delayed retirement credits and cost of living adjustments, surviving spouse can benefit from it too.  One strategy is for the higher earner to wait till age 70 to collect benefits so that the surviving spouse can get more benefits beyond the higher earners death.  Lessor benefit spouse can start withdrawing benefits earlier than the higher income earner.  It is common knowledge for females to live longer than males.

In order to qualify for higher earners benefits by the surviving spouse, the higher earner should have applied for benefits before his or her death.  Higher earner can ask for a delay until he or she reach age 70.

Going to court over a tax settlement can be a very intimidating procedure. You might feel like a sort of stranger in a strange land if you are not accustomed to being an active member in the legal system. That is why it is important to find yourself a tax settlement attorney. Walking into the courthouse with the right attorney, you will feel like you are walking right to the front lines mounted atop an armored bear.  It’s amazing the kind of confidence that an armored bear can bring.

If you are living on the west coast of the country, you might be a little lost, not knowing who to turn to for help with your settlement. Rest easy, for there is no shortage of tax attorneys. California is full of them. No matter what county you are in, there should be little difficulty finding a tax lawyer. Los Angeles and other big cities are sure to have lawyers that satisfy all economic demographics.

With offices up and down the coast, these lawyers will get to the heart of the matter, and ensure that you are not taken advantage of. If you are under a criminal tax investigation, hire an attorney immediately! You will be glad that you did. Your attorney will work with you and those who are charging you to come to some sort of payment agreement that satisfies both parties. The time for action is now! Time is money, and if you have to hire a tax lawyer, you have no time to spare.

The lengthy and drawn out process of attempting to gain USA citizenship can be way too much work for a single applicant to handle on their own. With its numerous paperwork requirements, processes, and evaluations, managing a citizenship application can definitely feel like a full time job. With everything involved on the path to immigration, it is no wonder that there are now services available, such as immigration lawyers, to help foreign nationals

Individuals with the means to hire USA immigration lawyers to handle this process can sometimes stand a better chance to at least make it to the final selection rounds for the simple reason that the unknown system can be challenging to wade through and understand, leaving a lot of room for error and misinterpretation, often resulting in a decline of the application.

While immigration lawyers can be expensive, it is advised that you at least consult one even if you can not afford to hire them to handle the entire process. Individuals who ensure they are handling all the steps in the process accordingly are definitely in a better position than those who go in knowing nothing about what is required to be able to live and work in the US. Now that there are more foreign nationals than ever trying to provide for USA migration uk to either live and work or just work on a temporary basis, it is incredibly important to try to ensure that everything from the individual’s side of the process is handled immaculately.

If you are in the position where you haven’t paid your taxes for a few years running, it might be time to hire legal counsel to plead your case not unless you have a penchant for trouble. Not only can you get assistance in the form where you can pay your back taxes in installments but you can avoid litigation that can be a real problem especially in regards to your finances.

Some of these offenders take it to another level by hiding their money in offshore accounts, and while the United States government continues to obtain information about these offenders, there have been two ‘chances’ given to these people by means of an IRS amnesty program.

If you are in two minds as to whether or not you should try this program, here are some benefits that can help you decide:

#1: No litigation and penalties

If you haven’t paid taxes while holding an offshore account illegally, then you can be sure that by availing this foreign account amnesty program, you will definitely avoid litigation and penalties that others who haven’t paid heed to the program will have to deal with. And it won’t be funny as those penalties will be substantially higher if the person is caught after the offshore amnesty program time limit is over.

#2: Peace of mind

Since the US government continues to obtain information about its citizens and their offshore accounts, people who have flouted with these rules will definitely not be at ease because it can be their turn next to face the penalties and charges that the IRS will slap on them once caught. If you pay your back taxes during this time, you should be able to have peace of mind while not having to pay penalties either.

#3: No financial hassles

Once you have paid your taxes using the IRS offshore amnesty program, there will be no need to face any financial and legal hassles as you will be pardoned of the illegal activity. However, in order to do so, you will have to pay the taxes according to stipulations as mentioned by the Voluntary Disclosure period offered to tax offenders.

Call it what you like a sign of the times, a direct reflection of the economy or even call it an effect of the recession; a grandfather has started robbing banks.

The unnamed man has been described as being between 45 and 60. He is said to look very “normal” and very non-threatening, well at least till he ends up robbing a bank. He is approximately six feet tall and weighs 230 pounds. His general attire is usually a short sleeved shirt with a collar, baseball cap and wire-rimmed spectacles. According to the FBI the Granddad Bandit, as he has been nicknamed, could be responsible for a spate of robberies that stretch back as far as 2008.

His method of operation involves no stunts, no sophisticated plans and no bursting in with guns ablaze. He simply stands in line and waits patiently till his turn comes. It is only when he reaches the teller that presents them with a note informing them that they should hand over money to him and that this was a robbery. Although he has sometime gestured that he was in possession of a weapon/ firearm, he has never revealed or used it. Once he receives the money he asked for he apparently leaves through the front door and walks away. No reports of a getaway vehicle have been received.

The FBI are currently offering a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the capture of the Granddad Bandit. Almost 2,000 are planned to be used nationwide, to show display a photo of the bandit captured on CCTV cameras as well as inform the public about the hotline they should call.

At present, document security is becoming an important factor to take into consideration. As the owner or manager of the establishment, you must take the necessary measure to protect the privacy and safety of your company, its employees and their information. Identity theft in the US has now forced law makers to focus efforts on thieves stealing private information.

When destroying important documents, it is important that you employ a proper method of doing so. This method of disposal should be concrete, as identity thieves are capable of going to any extent to obtain crucial information. Shredders are commonly used in companies to rid themselves of unwanted documents. You can even get one for use at home. It is important that you destroy monthly bills, bank statements, receipts, etc.

Remember all company documents with proprietary company and client information not required for ongoing business purposes should be shredded. Here’s a list of some of the documents that should be shredded, but these are just a few:

Account Records or Ledgers Items with Names, Addresses, Phone Numbers and/or Email Addresses
ATM Receipts Market Research
Bank Statements Maps or Blueprints
Bids, Estimates and Quotations Marketing Plans
Birth Certificates and Other Copies of Vital Records Minutes from Meetings
Business Plans New Product Information
Cancelled or Voided Checks Patient Records
Contracts Personnel Records
Client List and Files Payroll Records
Credit Card bills Presentations
Credit Reports Proposals and Quotes
Customer Lists Obsolete Brochures/Stationary/Files
Executive Correspondence R&D Files/Data
Expense Reports Receipts and Invoices
Financial Records Strategic Planning Reports
ID Cards and Badges Tax Records

While you want to be comfortable with any attorney that you hire, this is particularly important when it comes to matters dealing with your family. Here is a sample of some of the questions you should be prepared to ask a family law attorney when you interview them.

• What type of family law litigation experience do you have?
• Can you tell me anything about how you’ve dealt with cases similar to mine without violating client confidence?
• How many similar family law cases have you handled over the last year?
• Are family law appeals and trials your specialty or just one component of your practice?
• How long have you been working in the area of family law?
• How have you seen family law change over time and how has your practice changed to match it?
• Who else in your office will be assisting on the case and will I have the opportunity to meet them beforehand?