Tax Relief Lawyers in Rockland

The term "tax relief" can refer to many different things in Rockland, 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 presumably 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 secret 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 Rockland, Maine

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

But buyer beware: these scammers in Rockland, Maine, and elsewhere, cannot possibly deliver on their promises, and they know it. Luckily, most tax relief scams have a few common factors that can give them away to vigilant consumers.

There is one warning sign that virtually guarantees that the tax relief company you're dealing with intends to defraud you: if they make an unequivocal guarantee that they can lower your tax bill. While there are some legal ways to try and reduce your tax obligation, including negotiating with the IRS, there is no guarantee that they will succeed. And although the IRS does have programs to assist people who are truly unable to pay for their taxes, they are only available to very small subset of the population, and most Rockland, Maine taxpayers aren't eligible to participate in them.

Another red flag to look for is a demand of a large up-front payment. Many tax relief scammers in Rockland 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 Rockland, Maine Help?

If you find that you are unable to pay your taxes, through no fault of your own, you may be tempted to answer an advertisement for a "tax relief" company. Before that, you should speak with a Rockland, Maine tax lawyer.

A good Rockland, 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.