Federal Tax Matters

Orlando Tax Crime Defense Lawyer

If the government suspects you of tax wrongdoing, you may be the subject of a civil IRS audit or a criminal tax investigation.

A civil tax audit will occur if there is suspicion that you failed to file tax returns or failed to pay the correct amount of tax for:

• Estate tax
• Payroll tax/withholding of employee taxes
• Income tax

A civil audit may also begin because your tax return was chosen at random for review or because you were reported to the IRS by a disgruntled ex-employee, business competitor, or ex-spouse.

Tax audits and criminal tax evasion cases can also arise from failure to report all income or claiming false deductions. Criminal tax cases can also result from tax shelters or other tax issues that the IRS considers an abusive tax shelter or scam to evade taxes.

Avoid Criminal Charges for Tax Evasion

If an IRS auditor suspects personal or corporate tax fraud, they may refer your case to IRS criminal investigators. If the IRS Agent thinks you willfully cheated the government of its money by evading taxes, you can face criminal prosecution that could result in serious fines and a prison sentence. Tax evasion charges can result in jail time even for a person with no prior criminal convictions.

Federal tax law is complex, and there are many ways a person or organization could find themselves on the wrong side of an investigation. Some of the more common criminal tax law issues include:

• Willful failure to collect or pay employee's payroll withholding tax
• Unreported offshore accounts and foreign income
• Federal tax evasion
• Failure to file tax returns
• Filing a false return

Resolving Charges of Tax Evasion for Unreported Offshore Accounts

If you have unreported income from an offshore account, you may benefit from participating in the offshore voluntary disclosure program, a government program that provides amnesty for those with unreported overseas assets and income. However, it is extremely important that you talk to an experienced Orlando criminal tax attorney before you do so.

Protecting Your Freedom with Early Intervention

Very often, a person or business will learn about a federal tax evasion investigation only when an IRS representative shows up to ask questions. Unfortunately, this happens after the IRS has conducted an extensive investigation. Because the IRS criminal investigators are limited in number and have a large caseload, the IRS will not generally pursue a case to the point of sending a criminal investigator to a company's or person's door until extensive investigations and case planning have already been conducted.

The Advantages of Early Intervention

Many companies and individuals do not realize that they can do a lot to help their tax fraud or tax evasion defense if they obtain counsel from experienced Orlando tax evasion defense lawyers early in the investigative process. If allegations are made - regardless of whether they are well-founded - our attorneys can help you even before indictment or before formal charges are brought against you. U.S. tax laws are unique, with specific rules that allow taxpayers under investigation to have conferences with the IRS and the Justice Department, allowing their attorney the opportunity to present information that could prevent indictment and formal charges.

We have experience representing businesses and individuals under investigation for tax evasion and tax fraud. We strive to convince the government to not bring charges. In the cases where formal criminal tax charges cannot be avoided, our early intervention puts us in a position to mount a strong defense.

IRS Criminal Investigations

If you have been contacted by the IRS with a request for a meeting, you are doing the right thing by searching for a lawyer to advise you about your rights. IRS agents may seek to entice you to meet with them in an interview that will not be recorded. If this happens, from then on, the investigation and further action on your tax case will be a matter of your word versus the word of the IRS investigator.

Many clients of the Law Offices of Horwitz & Citro, P.A., have come to us after the damage had already been done in interviews with the IRS criminal or civil agents - and their tax cases became more serious than they had anticipated.

Contact Us Now

Is the IRS agent initiating a civil tax audit, or is he (or she) gathering evidence for potential criminal tax charges? Talk to an Orlando IRS audit lawyer for advice on this and other urgent tax questions.

Call an attorney at the Law Offices of Horwitz & Citro, P.A., at (407) 901-5852 or fill out our online form.