Tax Evasion Lawyers in Palm Springs

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

Most frequently, people who try to evade their taxes in Palm Springs, Florida will take steps to harbor 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 Palm Springs, Florida

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

Punishments for evading one's taxes in Palm Springs 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.

However, the punishments for tax evasion, especially first offenses involving relatively small amounts of money, is not typically so severe, especially when it looks like the failure to pay taxes was the result of an honest mistake, rather than deliberate fraud.

But if the government is able to definitively establish that a defendant in Palm Springs, 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 Palm Springs, Florida Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help

Attorneys in Palm Springs, Florida who practice tax law can help you stay in compliance with your tax obligations. This is a good way to ensure that you won't be suspected of tax evasion in the first place.

However, if you're truly accused of tax evasion, you will need a Palm Springs, 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.