Paying taxes each year is not something that everyone likes to do, but it is still the law in Indiana that people and companies need to pay their taxes. In order to do this people need to complete their tax returns and submit them to the IRS and the Indiana Department of Revenue. Tax law can be pretty confusing though and there are many different exceptions and deductions that people can legally take and some that they cannot legally take.
When filling out a tax return, it is the tax payers’ responsibility to ensure that they are providing the correct information. If they do not provide the correct information or take deductions or expenses that they should not take, people can be charged with tax evasion.
Examples of tax fraud
There are many ways that this can occur.
- Claiming dependents that people cannot legally claim
- Making fraudulent claims for refunds
- Keeping records that deliberately understate income or overstate expenses of a business
- Failing to pay over all sales taxes collected or taxes on liquor or cigarettes
- Paying employees cash for the purpose of evading taxes
- Opening and closing businesses or putting a business in another person’s name solely for the purpose of evading taxes
- Making other fraudulent statements or omitting information in order to evade taxes.
When people do these types of things on their tax returns, they could be charged with tax evasion and face serious criminal penalties as a result. One of the key elements to tax fraud charges is that the actions must be taken for the purpose of evading taxes. Sometimes people make innocent mistakes without intending to illegally evade taxes though. There are also other ways that people may be able to resolve the charges favorably through negotiations.
There are many reasons that people in Indiana may either accidently provide false information or take deductions that they thought they could take. Others may know what they are doing and do so for a variety of reasons based on what is occurring in their personal lives at the time. Anyone charge with tax fraud or tax evasion has rights though and everyone is innocent until proven guilty. After being charged, the process can be intimidating and experienced attorneys at Kammen & Moudy may be able to provide the expertise people need.
