Now that the deadline to file tax returns has passed, taxpayers can breathe a sigh of relief or can they? Here are some cautionary tales:
You filed your tax return. You sent it through the computer, dropped it off to the post office or had your accountant handle the whole thing. The stress is over. Taxes are done. Tax day has passed.
But not everyone feels as you do. There are thousands of Americans out there battling with the Internal Revenue Service. Some are serving jail time. Others have been hit with hefty penalties. The reason: they tried to cheat on their taxes. And the people who ultimately are punished for cheating might not fit the image you have in your head of tax cheaters. They aren’t all filthy rich golden-spooners who used offshore bank accounts to conceal income.
In fact, many of the people caught cheating the IRS are just like you and your neighbor. In many cases, they are regular people working nine-to-five for middle-class wages. Take a look at these cases:
Tiffany Cubit, a 29-year-old from Wichita, Kansas woman faces up to five years in prison for making a false claim to the IRS. On her tax return, Cubit claimed that she had been employed with Sonic Drive-in in 2003 and claimed a false refund of $3,951.
Donna Lynn Glock, a Yerington, Nevada, woman and owner of a real estate title company, faces up to five years prison time after pleading guilty to federal identity theft and tax evasion charges. Glock admitted to using her position at the title company to obtain loans from private lenders, then did not report these funds as income to the IRS. In all, she obtained $192,500 in loan money.
Daniel J. Arciola, 60, of New Milford, Conneticut, faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion. According to court records, Arciola filed a false 2000 tax return reporting that his taxable income for 2000 was $37,476. In fact, Arciola had received about $162,273 in cash from Empire Trucking in 2000 and owed an additional $60,711 in federal taxes.
Unlike the cliché of tax cheaters, these people didn’t use sophisticated tax-avoidance schemes. These aren’t made up stories. These are people whose cases come straight out of the court docket. And these aren’t extraordinary people either. They are people you would encounter in every day situations. They serve you dinner. They teach your kids. They live next door to you. They are… you.
Michael Rozbruch is a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and a Maryland CPA.
For more information, please call 818-774-1813 to obtain a free subscription to his newsletter titled The IRS Times & Inquirer.