Tax evasion and other tax crimes are among the most commonly prosecuted federal offenses. Tax crimes are prosecuted under chapter 75 of the IRS Code of 1986, as well as the certain non-tax specific criminal statutes of Title 18 of the U.S. Code: aiding and abetting, false claims, conspiracy, false statements and mail fraud.
Most tax crimes enumerated in the IRS Code have a six-year statute of limitations. This applies to the following offenses:
aiding or assisting in the preparation of a false or fraudulent return under section 7206(2); corrupt or forcible interference with the administration of the tax laws under section 7212(a).
For Title 18 tax crimes, the statute of limitations is five to six years after the commission of the offense. In order to secure conviction on any IRS Code tax crime, the government must prove that the defendant acted willfully. The meaning of the term “willfully” has been subject to interpretations for decades. Today, in the words of the Supreme Court decision in Cheek v. United States, willfulness means that the government must prove that the law imposed a duty on the defendant, that the defendant knew of this duty, and that he voluntarily and intentionally violated that duty. Accordingly, it is a defense against a tax evasion charge that the taxpayer acted on good faith ignorance of the law or an erroneous belief that the law was not being violated. It is also a defense where the taxpayer relied on counsel. To invoke this defense, the defendant must show that he sought the advice of an accountant (or attorney) whom the defendant considered competent, that he made a full and accurate report to that accountant of all the material facts available to the defendant at the time, and that the defendant acted strictly in accordance with the accountant's advice, without having any reasonable basis to believe that the advice was incorrect.
Aiding and Assisting in the Preparation of Fraudulent or False Returns or Documents (Section 7206(2))
Interference with the Administration of the Tax Laws (Section 7212) Title 18 offenses such as Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371) and False Statements and Documents (18 U.S.C. § 1001).
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