Jack Townsend of Federal Tax Crimes blog discusses four tax changes that have been proposed by President Obama relating to criminal sanctions.
Here’s one that caught my eye:
3. Make repeated Failure to File a Tax Felony.
A U.S. taxpayer failing to file for 3 out of 5 years involving an aggregate tax liability of $50,000 or more could be charged as a felony rather than the normal misdemeanor attaching to failure to file. This enhanced felony status would be called an aggravated failure to file. The maximum incarceration period would be five years and the maximum fine would be $250,000 ($500,000 in the case of a corporation).
I would guess that more than half of the non-filers that have sought my firm’s services in the last ten years fall into this new felony category.
Most non-filers “non-file” in bulk.
2 responses so far ↓
1 TaxRascal // May 15, 2009 at 12:47 pm
That seems really extreme. Especially because it means that, once someone is vulnerable to the felony charge, they have no reason not to keep on evading taxes.
2 Peter // May 15, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Tax Rascal,
Good point.
But the government still has to prove criminal intent.
My guess is the government will still prosecute only the more egregious and high profile cases hoping the publicity will scare others into compliance.
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