Tax Evasion Lawyers in Ormond Beach

"Tax Evasion" refers to the crime of purposely failing to pay one's taxes, as required by Florida law.

Most commonly, people who try to evade their taxes in Ormond Beach, Florida will take steps to hide their assets and income, or transferring their property to other legal entities in a fraudulent manner.

You should not confuse "tax evasion" with "tax avoidance." Tax evasion is illegal, and involves deliberately failing to pay one's taxes which they lawfully owe. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is legal, and involves using legal strategies to lower one's legal tax liability. For example, strategically using deductions and tax credits to lower the amount of money you are legally obliged to pay, is an example of tax avoidance, assuming you actually pay your tax bill, whatever it ends up being.

Penalties for Tax Evasion in Ormond Beach, Florida

Both federal law and the law of Florida treat tax evasion as a severe criminal offense.

Punishments for evading one's taxes in Ormond Beach range from paying back taxes plus interest (a relatively mild punishment) all the way up to years in prison, and fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Usually, a first offense of tax evasion, if the amount of tax evaded is relatively small, will not result in jail time or massive fines. This is especially the case if the government has trouble proving that the failure to pay taxes was the result of deliberate evasion, as opposed to an honest error in accounting.

But if the government is able to definitively show that a defendant in Ormond Beach, Florida intentionally engaged in fraud to get out of paying taxes, a tax court is highly unlikely to show any leniency, and may well sentence the defendant to prison time.

A Ormond Beach, Florida Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help

An Ormond Beach, Florida attorney who specializes in tax law can help ensure that you are in compliance with all applicable tax laws, making an accusation of tax evasion less likely.

However, if you're really accused of tax evasion, you will need an Ormond Beach, Florida tax attorney more than ever. If you are, in fact, innocent, a tax attorney can give you the best possible chance of being found not guilty.