Tax Evasion Lawyers in Tarpon Springs

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

Most commonly, people who try to evade their taxes in Tarpon Springs, 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 Tarpon Springs, Florida

Under federal and state law, including the laws of Florida, tax evasion is a very severe crime.

In Tarpon Springs, the punishments for tax evasion can range from a court order to pay back taxes, plus a small fine, and range all the way up to fines in the tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars, and imprisonment.

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 purposeful evasion, as opposed to an honest error in accounting.

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

An attorney in Tarpon Springs, Florida specializing in tax law can help you comply with all the tax laws that apply to you, which makes it very unlikely that you'll ever be accused of tax evasion in the first place.

However, if you're really accused of tax evasion, you will need a Tarpon 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.