Tax Evasion Lawyers in Berrien County

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

Most frequently, people who try to evade their taxes in Berrien County, Michigan will take steps to harbor their assets and income, or transferring their property to other legal entities in a fraudulent manner.

You may also be acquainted with the term "tax avoidance." It is essential that you don't confuse this with "tax evasion." Tax avoidance is perfectly legal, and is probably something that every taxpayer does whenever they file, whether they know it or not. It involves employing legal methods to make one's tax liability as small as possible, taking advantages of deductions and other tax breaks.

Penalties for Tax Evasion in Berrien County, Michigan

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

Punishments for evading one's taxes in Berrien County 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.

Normally, an initial offense of tax evasion, if the amount of tax evaded is comparatively small, will not result in jail time or massive fines. This is particularly the case if the government has trouble proving that the failure to pay taxes was the result of intentional evasion, as opposed to an honest error in accounting.

But if the government is able to definitively establish that a defendant in Berrien County, Michigan 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 Berrien County, Michigan Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help

An attorney in Berrien County, Michigan specializing in tax law can help you adhere 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.

Of course, if you've truly been accused of tax evasion, you should hire a Berrien County, Michigan tax lawyer immediately. If you are innocent, a tax attorney will make sure you have the best chance possible at being acquitted.