In New York, a person can be prosecuted for criminal tax evasion as defined in the tax code. This is an intentional effort to avoid paying taxes that are owed to the government. It is often done by falsifying documents provided to a taxing agency. The avoidance of reporting taxes as well as falsifying tax returns, income and more. Millions of dollars go unreported in New York because there is not a sufficient paper trail for them to be tracked.
Tax Agencies
The New York Tax Crimes Unit will investigate and prosecute any individuals or businesses who intentionally fail to pay their tax obligations to a city in New York as well as the state. They recover millions of dollars annually from criminal tax prosecutions. This Asset Forfeiture and Crimes Against Revenue Bureau can also be assigned to investigate and prosecute any individuals or business who fails to pay any city or state taxes they owe.
Prosecution
In order for a prosecution to be brought for criminal tax crimes; a prosecutor needs to have proof the acts were intentional. They did not occur because there was a mistake, misinterpretation of tax law and more. One of the main goals of prosecuting a criminal tax crime is to recover any money involved and get it to the government entity that should have it. It can also result in many additional penalties being given.
Punishment
A conviction of a New York tax crime is serious. Should someone be convicted of criminal tax offenses; they could be facing incarceration of up to twenty-five years and fines of up to $100,000. First Degree Criminal Tax Fraud is a class B felony. A person may be incarcerated for up to twenty-five years. Second Degree Criminal Tax Fraud is a class C felony. A person may be incarcerated for up to fifteen years. The lowest level of New York tax crime is a misdemeanor. A person convicted of this could face being incarcerated for up to twelve months.
Tax Evasion Defenses
There are a number of different legal defenses a New York lawyer can use to get their client the best possible result.
*Insufficient Evidence – This is a situation where a legal professional can demonstrate the prosecution does not have sufficient evidence to prove a tax crime was committed.
*Lack Of Intent – It may be possible for a lawyer to show their client’s behavior demonstrates they had no intent to avoid paying taxes or to not pay the correct amount. They may also be able to show their client did not purposefully provide incorrect tax information.
*Challenge New York Taxing Authority – In many cases, an attorney has been able to show a New York taxing authority made a mistake. Their client has proof they provided the required documents or paid the right amount of tax.
*Honest Mistake – There may be evidence to show someone made an honest mistake when it came to their taxes. They may not have understood the documents, how to calculate their tax liability and more.
Statute Of Limitations
The statute of limitation is the amount of time a person has from committing a crime until they can no longer be prosecuted for it. In most cases, once the statute of limitations has expired, a person can no longer be prosecuted for it. In the state of New York, this amount of time is five years.
Computer Evidence
Many individuals, as well as businesses, will e-file their state and local tax payments and documents. In many cases, this is an effective way to uncover the possibility of tax fraud and evasion. Many of these software programs can flag returns or tax payments that could be fraudulent when they are compared to other tax data in the system. Computers are useful, but they are not perfect. It is possible for a computer software to make errors. Someone may have used poor judgment utilizing the software and more. It is possible to illustrate the mistakes in computer evidence as a way to prove a person is innocent of breaking any tax laws.
It is a serious situation when anyone is facing charges of breaking tax laws. This is a time for a person to speak with an experienced attorney. They can review all the charges. An attorney will know how to protect their client’s rights. They know how to analyze the evidence and develop the most effective legal defense for the best possible result.
