According to a Department of Justice press release, a Virginia tax professional was recently indicted by a federal grand jury on counts including tax evasion and failure to file a tax return. This story should serve as a reminder to those who may have fallen behind on their tax obligations that the IRS and Department of Justice will not balk at enforcing the nation’s tax laws. 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, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced tax defense attorney to determine the best strategy to bring you into compliance.
Defendant Allegedly Failed to File Tax Returns, Lied to IRS
Court records indicate that the defendant, Willette J. Holland, owned Tax Professionals, a tax preparation business in Virginia. Prosecutors alleged that between 2010 and 2013, Holland failed to file individual tax returns, as required by law. When the IRS contacted Holland about her delinquent filings, she produced false tax returns for the missing years that omitted large amounts of income.
Additionally, Holland allegedly directed her personal income into nominee bank accounts to conceal her ability to pay her IRS tax debt. Prosecutors further allege that even though the IRS contacted her in 2014 regarding her missing 2010 through 2013 individual tax returns, her pattern of failing to file returns continued in 2015 and 2016 when she did not file a tax return for those years. If she is convicted, Holland faces up to five years in prison for each count of tax evasion and one year in prison for each count of failure to file a tax return. She also faces a period of supervised release and monetary penalties, such as restitution.
Coming into Compliance After You’ve Fallen Behind
The defendant in the story described above likely found herself in a very familiar situation. She is alleged to have not filed a tax return for one year, followed by another year, and another year, and so on. It is easy to fall into a pattern of non-filing once you have failed to file once. Indeed, it takes a great deal of will-power to shift the momentum and return to annual tax compliance. For many taxpayers, the resistance becomes too strong to reverse course until the IRS and Department of Justice get involved.
The good news is that an experienced tax defense attorney can shoulder the majority of that resistance and help effectuate a change in direction with minimal effort on your part. Working with your tax attorney, you will first lay out the pertinent aspects of your situation. Then, you will agree on a strategy to bring you into compliance. Your tax attorney will serve as your advocate along the way, meaning that you will never need to go up against the IRS or state taxing authorities alone.
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.
In addition to our main office in Irvine, the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing has unstaffed (conference room only) satellite offices in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Panorama City, Oxnard, San Diego, Bakersfield, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Carlsbad and Sacramento. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff are working from home, but have full virtual meeting capability.
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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
