Thursday, April 13, 2017

DOJ Tax Encourages Taxpayer to Avoid Willful Violation of the Tax Law (4/13/17)

We have seen the usual flurry of announcements of indictments for tax crimes, particularly with respect to return preparers.  Today's -- just 5 days from the filing deadline on April 18 (with the weekend/holiday extensions) -- DOJ Tax has a generic "encouragement" to avoid willful violations of Tax Laws: With the Individual Income Tax Filing Deadline Approaching, Justice Department Warns Willful Violations of Tax Laws Are Criminal, here.  The announcement does offer some examples of misbehavior.

For those who have previously filed returns that may be questionable, a superseding return can be filed by the filing deadline that will be treated as the return against which liability for civil and criminal penalties is tested.  So, the prudent thing to do with respect to a questionable tax return filed early is to file a new return by the filing deadline correcting the problems.

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