Tax Evasion Lawyers in Chelsea

Within Massachusetts "tax evasion" is the crime of failing to pay the taxes that they owe.

Most often, people who try to evade their taxes in Chelsea, Massachusetts will take steps to conceal their assets and income, or transferring their property to other legal entities in a fraudulent manner.

"Tax evasion" should be distinguished from "tax avoidance." Tax evasion is the illegal act of trying to hide one's tax liability. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is perfectly legal, and simply involves utilizing the tax laws strategically, to reduce one's actual tax liability as much as possible.

Penalties for Tax Evasion in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Both federal law and the law of Massachusetts treat tax evasion as a serious criminal offense.

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

However, the punishments for tax evasion, particularly first offenses involving relatively small amounts of money, is not usually so severe, particularly 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 prove that a defendant in Chelsea, Massachusetts intentionally engaged in fraud to get out of paying taxes, a tax court is very unlikely to show any leniency, and may well sentence the defendant to prison time.

A Chelsea, Massachusetts Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help

A Chelsea, Massachusetts attorney who concentrates in tax law can help ensure that you are in conformity with all applicable tax laws, making an accusation of tax evasion less likely.

However, if you're actually accused of tax evasion, you will need a Chelsea, Massachusetts 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.