Awards & Recognition
Panorama City, a thriving community known for its diverse economic activities and growing commerce, is not immune to the complex challenges of federal and California state tax regulations. Many individuals and small businesses in the area often feel uncertain about the intricate tax rules and may not always take a risk-averse approach.
When facing tax audits from agencies like the IRS, CDTFA, EDD, or FTB, certain red flags, such as destroyed records, underreported income, or unfiled returns, can intensify the examination, leading to high-risk eggshell and reverse eggshell tax audits. As such, residents and businesses must be aware of potential criminal tax violations and the signs indicating that they might be under a more rigorous investigation by the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) or an equivalent state criminal tax investigation agency. This is especially so when the taxpayer has a history of blatantly cheating on their California or federal tax returns and is now under audit, thus fearing criminal tax prosecution. Even international tax evasion schemes that utilize remote tax havens are easily detected by the IRS, which works with international tax and law enforcement agencies around the globe and throughout the United States.
The Federal and State (CA) Tax Attorneys at The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing represent taxpayers in Panorama City and throughout Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and the San Fernando Valley on various tax law needs. Our Tax Lawyers, CPAs, and EAs are ready, willing, and able to represent you if facing a Federal or California Tax Audit or criminal tax investigation. For a reduced-rate consultation on your case, contact our tax law firm at 888-640-3408 or schedule online today.
Immediate Action is Crucial to Mitigate IRS Criminal Tax Investigations
Facing an IRS criminal tax investigation necessitates swift and deliberate action. Identifying early indications of an IRS criminal tax probe can shift the outcome in your favor. It’s imperative to promptly engage a dual-licensed criminal tax defense attorney and CPA. Their deep understanding of tax law and insights into the IRS’s clandestine investigation procedures can be instrumental in achieving damage control. The ultimate aim is to resolve the criminal tax investigation or high-risk tax audit without progressing to criminal tax prosecution, thus avoiding an indictment’s accompanying severe negative public attention and life-altering ramifications.
At the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, we will help your understanding of the stages of an audit, criminal tax investigation, tax crime indictment, and prosecution, as well as the red flags that may pique the interest of the IRS or the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) and the Employment Development Department (EDD) and trigger the entire sequence. If you or your small business has been selected for a tax audit in Panorama City or surrounding areas, and you are concerned about a criminal tax investigation resulting from or occurring alongside the audit, engaging our Panorama City Dual Licensed Criminal Defense Attorneys & CPAs services at the onset of a high-risk audit / criminal tax investigation will maximize the possibility of a favorable outcome without escalating to criminal tax charges. We have never had an audit client criminally prosecuted for tax crimes.
With a stellar “A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau and a flawless 10.0 from AVVO, David W. Klasing‘s dedication to premier Civil and Criminal Tax Defense Representation is unwavering. Our firm isn’t just another legal service provider. Instead, it is a beacon of criminal tax defense proficiency, boasting an impressive history of successes, steered by one of the country’s most exceptionally trained tax professionals. In a nation where over a million attorneys and more than half a million CPAs operate, only around 24,000 professionals hold both licenses. And even amongst them, merely about 3,000 have the added distinction of having earned a Master’s in Taxation. David W. Klasing belongs to this elite subset, employing his unmatched education and experience to fiercely advocate for our clients in their civil and criminal tax defense challenges. Additionally, we always keep a mix of civil and potentially criminal tax controversies going simultaneously to keep the IRS guessing.
How IRS Audits Can Lead to Criminal Tax Investigations
IRS audits can vary in approach, depending on the type of audit. Regardless of the method, all audits require you to provide records and documents supporting your tax return information. Here’s how audits are typically conducted:
- Correspondence Audits: These audits are done by mail, where you send the necessary documents to the IRS.
- Office and Field Audits: Sometimes, you may be asked to visit a field office, or the agents may come to your home or business to examine your books and records.
No matter the type of audit, it is crucial to contact a skilled dual-licensed Tax Lawyer & CPA, like those at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, as soon as you learn you are being audited. We have a proven track record of successfully managing Eggshell Audits, where clients typically pay the correct income taxes without incurring more severe civil tax penalties and, crucially, without triggering a criminal tax investigation.
During an audit, the auditor might be assisted by a fraud technical advisor (FTA). The FTA’s role is to identify “badges of fraud,” which are indicators that fraud may have occurred. The matter is usually referred to the criminal investigation (CI) unit for further scrutiny if such indicators are found.
- Involvement of the CI Unit: If your case is referred to the CI unit and they decide to prosecute, the conviction rate is alarmingly high—around 90%.
If you know or suspect that you are the target of an IRS criminal tax investigation, contact the dual licensed Criminal Tax Defense Attorneys & CPAs at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing. We can provide a reduced rate assessment for your first call to our offices at 888-904-4096. By working diligently and honestly to return to compliance, our team can help you develop a defense strategy to prevent criminal tax charges from being pursued.
Don’t Let Your Original Preparer Handle Your Tax Audit or Criminal Tax Investigation!!!!
When facing a tax audit or criminal tax investigation, you may be inclined to turn to the person who initially prepared your taxes. However, this might not be the best approach. Here’s why:
Risks of Exposing Sensitive Information
Your conversations with an accountant or tax preparer are not confidential. If summoned in a subsequent legal tax proceeding, they must reveal any incriminating information you disclosed. It’s also important to note that tax preparers under scrutiny often shift the blame onto their clients to safeguard their license, reputation, and livelihood.
Lack of Legal Protection and Confidentiality
Only an attorney-client relationship can provide the protection and confidentiality you need when handling a tax audit. The attorney-client privilege and the attorney work-product rule protect any admissions or disclosures you make while seeking legal advice. Our dual-licensed Panorama City Attorneys and CPAs have the necessary Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Privileges that will prevent the very professional that you hire from potentially being forced to become a witness against you, especially where they prepare the returns that need to be amended in a subsequent criminal tax audit, investigation or prosecution.
Superior Legal Expertise
A tax attorney has the added advantage of being able to rope in consulting accountants, providing them with a derivative of the attorney-client privilege through a legal instrument known as a Kovel letter. This keeps the information you disclose confidential while leveraging the expertise of accountants. Plus, while accountants focus on accuracy, attorneys emphasize advocacy. A lawyer’s skills are more pertinent and compelling once matters progress to tax law questions and disputes. 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 net worth. See our Testimonials to see what our clients have to say about us!
What is the Difference Between a Civil Tax Audit and a Criminal Tax Investigation in Panorama City?
In Panorama City, it’s crucial to distinguish between a routine civil tax audit and the much more concerning criminal tax investigation conducted by the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID). While an IRS civil tax audit is primarily focused on verifying the accuracy of your tax filings, a CID investigation is centered on gathering evidence for potential criminal tax charges, ensuring that those who intentionally evade the tax system are brought to justice.
CID’s Areas of Focus Include:
- Legal Source Income Tax Violations: This involves individuals who have legally earned their income but illegally avoid paying the taxes they owe.
- Financial Crimes from Unlawful Activities: This encompasses tax offenses, money laundering, and other financial crimes related to illegally obtained money.
- Drug-Related Financial Crimes: CID plays a significant role in combating drug-related crimes by tracking and documenting the financial trails that lead to the key figures in drug operations.
- Counterterrorism Financing: CID collaborates closely with other federal agencies, providing financial investigative expertise in terrorism-related cases.
Can You Prevent an IRS Criminal Tax Investigation Through Voluntary Disclosure?
The IRS and California state’s voluntary disclosure programs allow taxpayers aware of non-compliance in their filing history to come forward with additional information without being coerced through an audit or criminal tax investigation. By using the voluntary disclosure option, many taxpayers can avoid or reduce the penalties and fines they might otherwise face if the government had to seek out the violations themselves.
Our dual-licensed Panorama City Voluntary Disclosure Attorneys and CPAs skillfully navigate the complexities of various federal and California state voluntary disclosures, including domestic, offshore, CDTFA, and FTB voluntary disclosures, streamlined procedures, and delinquent FBAR and international information return submission procedures. As long as a taxpayer in our around Panorama City who has willfully committed tax avoidance (potentially including non-filed foreign information returns coupled with affirmative evasion of U.S. income tax on offshore income) self-reports the federal tax non-compliance 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. Call 888-904-4096 or schedule a reduced-rate initial consultation here at our Panorama City office or one of our other convenient locations across Southern California.
Our Panama City office is conveniently located at:
14500 Roscoe Blvd 4th floor,
Panorama City, CA 91402
888-904-4096
