Tax Evasion Lawyers in Island County

Tax evasion is a crime in Washington. Tax evasion involves intentionally failing to pay one's taxes.

Usually, tax evasion is accompanied by an attempt to make it appear to the government of Island County, Washington that one's tax liability is lower than it actually is. This can include concealing income, making fraudulent transfers of property, and other illegal activities.

It's important not to confuse "tax avoidance" and "tax evasion." They are two different things, but some people mistakenly use them interchangeably. Tax avoidance involves utilizing legal methods, such as tax deductions and exemptions, in a strategic manner, for the purpose of reducing one's tax liability. Tax avoidance is perfectly legal. Tax evasion involves fraud, and a deliberate attempt to avoid meeting one's legal commitments to pay taxes.

Penalties for Tax Evasion in Island County, Washington

Both federal law and the law of Washington treat tax evasion as a severe criminal offense.

Tax evaders in Island County can be punished by multi-year prison sentences, as well as six-figure fines. Of course, there is a wide range of penalties available, with the ones just mentioned representing the most severe options available.

However, the punishments for tax evasion, particularly first offenses involving relatively small amounts of money, is not normally 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 can prove that a defendant in Island County, Washington intentionally 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 Island County, Washington Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help

Tax lawyers in Island County, Washington can help anyone from an individual to a big business pay their taxes more quickly, and adhere with federal and local tax laws.

However, if you're really accused of tax evasion, you will need an Island County, Washington 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.