Tax Relief Lawyers in Oakland

The term "tax relief" can refer to many different things in Oakland, Maine. But, it is typically used to refer to some action that reduces the tax liability of an individual, corporation, or a certain category of individuals.

When you hear the term "tax relief" used by an elected official, or someone running for office, they're almost always talking about tax cuts, which would hypothetically apply to the speaker's target audience. A tax cut is simply a reduction in the percentage of one's income (or whatever else is being taxed) that they have to pay in taxes.

Increasingly, however, the general public is being inundated with advertisements on the Internet, the radio, and in print, from companies offering "tax relief" to consumers who owe back taxes in amounts that will be difficult or impossible to pay back. These companies claim to have some unique technique that can get Maine residents out of paying their taxes, or at least negotiate their final tax bill down to a smaller amount. Some of these companies are legitimate, but many of them are total frauds.

Tax Relief Scams in Oakland, Maine

It is pretty common for scammers in Oakland, Maine to claim that, for a relatively small fee, they will help you get out of paying all of your taxes.

In the majority of cases, however, tax relief scammers in Oakland, Maine have no actual ability to reduce your legal liability to pay your taxes. However, these scams also have many common factors which tend to be dead giveaways of their fraudulent nature, making them fairly easy to avoid if you are extremely vigilant.

One of the strongest indications that you're dealing with a scammer is if they guarantee that they can deliver a particular result. When it comes to negotiating with the IRS or state tax authorities, there are simply no guarantees, and a competent and ethical tax relief professional will know this, and tell you as much. The unfortunate fact is that, while the IRS does have programs allowing people to negotiate a lower tax bill, they only apply to people in extreme situations, who are unable to pay their taxes through no fault of their own. Most Oakland, Maine residents will not be eligible.

Another red flag to look for is a demand of a large up-front payment. Many tax relief scammers in Oakland will not even pretend to try and help you. Instead, they simply take the money and disappear, sometimes after making additional, and unauthorized, charges to your credit card or withdrawals from your bank account.

How Can a Tax Relief Attorney in Oakland, Maine Help?

If you owe a huge amount in back taxes, and are unable to pay them, it may well be helpful to seek the advice of an Oakland, Maine tax attorney.

A good Oakland, Maine tax attorney can give you honest, unbiased legal advice that will be useful in handling any problem you have with your taxes. Of course, as you probably know, honest advice is, more often than not, the opposite of what one wants to hear, even if it is more useful than whatever puffery you'll hear from a scammer. Plus, in the extremely unlikely event that your tax attorney defrauds you, it will be much easier to seek legal action against a licensed attorney than against some scammer who probably doesn't use his or her real name.