A former U.S. resident became the first U.S. taxpayer to plead guilty to criminal tax charges arising out of the Panama Papers data leak. The Indictment charged Harald Joachim von der Goltz and three others, including a U.S. tax professional, with conspiracy to commit tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and willful failure to file an FBAR, as well as …
The crime of tax evasion can be established where a taxpayer willfully fails to pay the IRS a tax that is owed. While charges of tax evasion are more common in the context of a fraudulent tax return that is filed in an effort to evade the assessment of tax in the first place, the fraudulent failure to pay …
Section 7202 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that it is a federal crime to (1) willfully fail to collect a tax or (2) willfully fail to truthfully account for and pay over a tax. Section 7202 charges often involve employment tax violations, although such violations may be charged as violations of other statutes such as 26 U.S.C. § 7201 …
“Tax evasion” is a shorthand phrase often used to describe a wide variety of tax-related fraud. The crime under the federal tax laws, however, is a rather specific one, and requires that the government establish specific elements in order to sustain a conviction. This resource focuses on a particular strand of tax evasion: Attempting to evade the assessment …
The Crime of Tax Evasion Section 7201 of the tax code creates the federal crime of tax evasion. The crime of tax evasion has historically served as the principal tax revenue offense. There are two potential offenses under section 7201: (A) the willful attempt to evade or defeat the assessment of a tax, and (B) the willful attempt to evade …
IRS Use of Big Data Leads to 400% Increase in Detection of Tax Fraud by Criminal Investigation Division IRS detection of tax fraud is up nearly 400%, largely from its use of data analytics. According to its recent report, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division identified nearly $10 billion in tax fraud in 2018—an increase from the $2.5 billion it identified …
The Department of Justice Tax Division recently announced its conviction and sentencings of a Texas-based tax return preparer to 42 months in prison. The preparer was convicted of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false tax return and aggravated identity theft. Court documents provide the following description of the scheme at issue: Shermin Marshall …
