According to a Department of Justice press release, a Missouri amusement business owner recently pleaded guilty to one count of filing a knowingly-false tax return. This story should resonate with and serve as a warning to taxpayers who have failed to file a tax return or taken a position with knowingly false tax positions related to understating income or overstating deductions or credits because they illegally sought to pay less taxes. If you have failed to file a tax return for one or more years or have taken a position on a tax return that could not be supported upon examination or criminal tax investigation, you should contact an experienced tax defense lawyer as soon as possible to determine the best strategy to get right with the government.
Defendant Simply Wanted to Pay Less Tax, Lied on Return and Was Convicted
Court records reveal that Jerry Don Beebe owned and operated Beebe’s Roaring River Waterslide in Cassville, Missouri. Federal investigators believed that Beebe reported far less income relating to the waterslide that he made on his federal tax returns. As a part of an undercover investigation where a federal agent posed as a potential buyer for the waterslide business, Beebe uncovered the true income of the business, which for years 2015 through 2018 was generally more than $100,000 than what was reported for federal income tax purposes.
When the federal agent probed Beebe as to why there was such a disparity between the business’s reported income and its actual income, Beebe indicated that he simply did not want to pay additional income tax. Beebe indicated that he was in the habit of destroying the books and records indicating the true earnings of the business on a frequent basis as to not leave any evidence behind. It is estimated that Beebe’s tax scheme caused more than $50,000 in tax loss to the IRS and nearly $20,000 in tax loss to Missouri.
Beebe will be sentenced early next year and faces up to three years in federal prison. Additionally, Beebe will likely be ordered to serve a term of supervised release upon the completion of any physical incarceration he is sentenced to serve. Lastly, as a part of his guilty plea, Beebe agreed to pay more than $70,000 in restitution to be split between the IRS and Missouri.
Knowing When to Get Help from a Tax Attorney
This case is simple in nature and reflects the sentiment of most Americans who get caught cheating on their taxes: they simply did not want to pay any additional tax. Although the premise is simple, the consequences can be catastrophic. Instead of preparing to spend the holidays with his family, the defendant in the above case now must prepare for the possibility that he will spend several years in a federal prison.
If you have failed to file a tax return for one or more years or have taken a position on a tax return that could not be supported upon an audit or an criminal tax investigation, it is in your best interest to work with a seasoned tax lawyer to get right with the government. Together with your experienced criminal tax defense lawyer, you will establish the pertinent facts of your case and agree on the best strategy to move you into tax compliance. One of the most valuable benefits of being represented by a tax attorney is never having to go up against the IRS alone.
Note: As long as a taxpayer that has willfully committed tax crimes (potentially including non-filed foreign information returns coupled with affirmative evasion of U.S. income tax on offshore income) self-reports the tax fraud (including a pattern of non-filed returns) through a domestic or offshore voluntary disclosure before the IRS has started an audit or criminal tax investigation / prosecution, the taxpayer can ordinarily be successfully brought back into tax compliance and receive a nearly guaranteed pass on criminal tax prosecution and simultaneously often receive a break on the civil penalties that would otherwise apply.
It is imperative that you hire an experienced and reputable criminal tax defense attorney to take you through the voluntary disclosure process. Only an Attorney has the Attorney Client Privilege and Work Product Privileges that will prevent the very professional that you hire from being potentially being forced to become a witness against you, especially where they prepared the returns that need to be amended, in a subsequent criminal tax audit, investigation or prosecution.
Moreover, only an Attorney can enter you into a voluntary disclosure without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (a crime in itself). Only an Attorney trained in Criminal Tax Defense fully understands the risks and rewards involved in voluntary disclosures and how to protect you if you do not qualify for a voluntary disclosure.
As uniquely qualified and extensively experienced Criminal Tax Defense Tax Attorneys, KovelCPAs and EAs, our firm provides a one stop shop to efficiently achieve the optimal and predictable results that simultaneously protect your liberty and your net worth. See our Testimonials to see what our clients have to say about us!
We Are Here for You
Regardless of your business or estate needs, the professionals at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing are here for you. We are open for business and our team will help ensure that your business is too. Contact the Law Offices of David W. Klasing today to discuss your business with one of our professionals.
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Questions and Answers About Tax Evasion
- What is a tax shelter? What are some examples?
- How does the IRS attack tax shelters on IRC Section 183
- Relationship between Section 183 and other tax doctrines
- The difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance
- What is the Step Transaction Doctrine?
- What is the Sham Transaction Doctrine?
- What is the Business Purpose Test?
- What is the Economic Substance Doctrine?
- What is the substance over form doctrine
- What are the passive loss limitation rules
- Does IRC Section 269 Disallow a Net Operating Loss?
- IRC Section 269 and when it disallows a net operating loss
- What are the listed transactions and what do they mean?
- At risk limitation and how it prevents claiming deductions
- What are the reportable transactions?
- Does the government regulate tax advisors?
- Advisor tax opinion letter Circular 230 dictate standards
- Tax advisor fails to meet the minimal competency standards
- Is my tax advisor liable for helping me commit tax evasion?
- Statute of limitations for preparing false tax returns
Questions and Answers on Unfiled Back Taxes
- What are the common issues that non-filers face?
- Risk of audit after filing delinquent prior year returns
- Can substitute return deficiency be discharge in bankruptcy
- Substitute return modified by subsequent delinquent return?
- Do I file every delinquent return for each missing year?
- How does the IRS identify non-filers?
- How important is it to the government that I didn’t file?
- Delinquent tax return criminal prosecution likelihood
- Will I get a refund on a delinquent tax year?
- What happens after enforcement action has begun?
- Should I use an attorney, EA or a CPA to represent me when I re-enter the tax system?
- Why do people drop out of the tax system?
- What happens after the IRS identifies me as a non-filer?
- IRS has not previously filed substitute returns
- Tax attorney representation when re-entering tax system
- How will the government force me to file returns?
- What penalties can IRS impose on delinquent tax filings?
- What should I do to re-enter the tax system?
- Can Law Office of David W. Klasing help me re-enter system?
- Will tax collection taken by authorities affect my credit
- I concealed bank accounts from the government
- Forgetting or failing to file tax return
Questions and Answers for Criminal Tax Representation
- When tax defense counsel parallels tax crime investigation
- Guilty of tax obstruction by backdating documents?
- To be found guilty of tax obstruction must a person actually be successful in impeding the IRS’s functions?
- Help! The Document I Gave the IRS Had False Information
- Tax crime aiding or assisting false return IRC §7206(2)
- What is the crime known as tax obstruction § 7212?
- What is the difference between tax perjury and tax evasion?
- What is the tax crime commonly known as tax perjury?
- What is a Klein Conspiracy?
- Increased possibility of civil action in IRS investigation
- Am I Guilty of Tax Evasion if the Law is Vague?
- What happens if the IRS thinks I committed tax crimes?
- What are ways to defend against a tax evasion charge?
- Difference between criminal tax evasion and civil tax fraud
- What accounting method does the IRS use for tax fraud
- Can I Change Accounting Method to the Accrual Method
- What is the willfulness requirement for tax evasion?
- I didn’t know I committed tax fraud. Can I get off?
- Concealed assets from IRS. Can I avoid tax evasion charges
- How government proves I willfully engaged in tax evasion
- What is the venue or court where a tax crime case is heard?
- Must the IRS prove tax crimes beyond a reasonable doubt?
- Is it a crime to make false statements to the IRS?
- Will the IRS overlook my tax evasion if it’s minor?
- Failed to tell IRS about my nominee account
- Audit risk with cash based business transactions
- How to defend a client charged with tax evasion
- Is it tax evasion if I didn’t file income tax return?
- Government says I attempted to evade my taxes. Now what?
- I forgot to pay my taxes or estimated tax. Is this a crime?
- Government proof I “willfully” failed to pay taxes
- 5 Ways to Respond to Tax Evasion Charges
- Being audited after using a tax professional
- Rules for what an IRS agent can do while investigating me
- How tax preparers, attorneys and accountants are punished
- How the IRS selects tax crime lead for investigation
- How does the IRS prosecute suspected tax crimes?
- Does IRS reward informant leads for suspected tax crimes?
- How the government proves deficiency in a tax evasion case
- Do prior tax crimes factor into new IRS tax convictions?
- Requesting conference before investigative report is done
- Requesting conference after IRS Special Agent Report
- What are my rights during an IRS criminal investigation?
- Avoid prosecution for tax crime with voluntary disclosure?
- Defense tactics that make it hard for to prove willfulness
- How a tax attorney can stop your criminal tax case?
- What can you generally tell me about tax crimes?
- Continuing filing requirement with investigation pending
- Federal criminal code crimes that apply to tax issues
- Penalty for making, subscribing, and filing a false return
- CID special agent’s report for criminal prosecution
- What is the discovery process in a criminal tax case?
- What the IRS includes in indictment for tax case
- What is the hardest element of a tax crime to prove?
- IRS methods of gathering evidence to prove tax crime
- What does a grand jury do in IRS tax crime prosecution?
- Failure to keep records or supply information
- Failure to make a return, supply information, or pay tax
- What is attempting to evade payment of taxes?
- What is income tax evasion and how is it punished?
- What is attempted income tax evasion?
- What is the crime of failure to pay tax? What is punishment
- Crime of making or subscribing false return or document
- Criminal Investigation Division investigation tactics
- Tax crimes related to employment tax forms and trust funds
- Tactics to defend or mitigate IRS criminal tax charges
- How the IRS generates leads about suspected tax crimes
- What is the crime ”evasion of assessment” of tax?
- Specific examples of “attempting” to evade tax assessment
- What is the so-called Spies evasion doctrine?
- Does overstating deductions constitute tax evasion?
- Is it tax evasion if my W-4 contains false statements?
- IRC §7201 attempt to evade vs. common-law crime of attempt
- What are the penalties for Spies tax evasion?
- How government proves a taxpayer attempted tax fraud
- What is a tax that was “due and owing.”
- What is evasion of assessment for tax liability?
- Is evasion of assessment different from evasion of payment
- Does the IRS have a dollar threshold for tax fraud?
- What is the IRS burden of proof for tax fraud convictions?
- Are Tax Laws Constitutional?
- What is the source of law that defines tax evasion?
- Does section 7201 create two distinct criminal offenses?
- Does tax evasion definition include partnership LLC
- What if I helped someone else evade taxes?
- Is it illegal to overstate deductions on my tax return?
- Is it illegal to conceal bank accounts from the IRS?
- Do later losses justify prior deductions?
- Common reasons the IRS and DOJ start investigations
- What is the Mens Rea component of tax crimes?
- What is a proffer agreement and what are the risks?
- Why to have an attorney to review a proffer agreement
- Why enter into a proffer agreement?
- Limited use immunity from proffer agreements
- Difference between civil and criminal fraud allegations
