Tax Evasion Lawyers in Hackensack
Tax Evasion in New Jersey is a criminal act in which someone purposely fails to pay their taxes.
Most commonly, people who try to evade their taxes in Hackensack, New Jersey will take steps to hide 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 unlawful act of trying to hide one's tax liability. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is perfectly legal, and simply involves using the tax laws strategically, to reduce one's actual tax liability as much as possible.
Penalties for Tax Evasion in Hackensack, New Jersey
Both federal law and the law of New Jersey treat tax evasion as a severe criminal offense.
Punishments for evading one's taxes in Hackensack range from paying back taxes plus interest (a relatively mild punishment) all the way up to years in prison, and fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In the majority of tax evasion cases, however, the punishments are not so severe. This is especially likely in first offenses, when the amount of money involved is fairly small. Minor punishments for tax evasion usually mean a small fine, on top of an order to pay whatever taxes the taxpayer owes. A minor punishment is most likely when the government has trouble proving that fraud was involved, as opposed to an honest accounting error.
But, if the government can prove that a defendant in Hackensack, New Jersey purposely concealed income, in order to get out of paying taxes, a court will most likely impose the heaviest penalties allowed by law, including enormous fines, and several years in prison.
A Hackensack, New Jersey Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help
An attorney in Hackensack, New Jersey 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 Hackensack, New Jersey 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.