Tax Evasion Lawyers in Oshkosh
Tax evasion is a crime in Wisconsin. Tax evasion involves knowingly failing to pay one's taxes.
One of the most common common tactics of tax evaders in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is to attempt to make it appear to an outside observer that their tax liability is lower than it actually is, such as by concealing income, fraudulently transferring property, and others.
"Tax evasion" should be distinguished from "tax avoidance." Tax evasion is the illegal act of trying to hide one's tax liability. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is perfectly legal, and simply involves utilizing the tax laws strategically, to reduce one's actual tax liability as much as possible.
Penalties for Tax Evasion in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Under federal and state law, including the laws of Wisconsin, tax evasion is a very egregious crime.
In Oshkosh, the penalties for tax evasion can range from a court order to pay back taxes, plus a small fine, and range all the way up to penalties in the tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars, and imprisonment.
However, the punishments for tax evasion, particularly first offenses involving relatively small amounts of money, is not usually 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 is able to definitively prove that a defendant in Oshkosh, Wisconsin 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 Oshkosh, Wisconsin Tax Evasion Lawyer Can Help
Attorneys in Oshkosh, Wisconsin who practice tax law can help you stay in conformity with your tax commitments. This is a good way to confirm that you won't be suspected of tax evasion in the first place.
However, if you're actually accused of tax evasion, you will need an Oshkosh, Wisconsin 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.