tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post4395557850100691057..comments2023-10-24T08:00:53.865-05:00Comments on Federal Tax Crimes: More On Willfulness (6/13/14)Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-29200605664000963112014-06-24T13:13:24.285-05:002014-06-24T13:13:24.285-05:00I had to read this page thrice to understand this ...I had to read this page thrice to understand this blog completely. But as I understand it, even if the contextual definition of "willfullness" is applied differently in tax cases as opposed to nontax cases, the trap is that by a preponderence of the evidence (such as taxpayer's conduct), if a jury is able to find that the taxpayer was at some level aware that his actions were unlawful, then willfullness for breaking the law on the part of the taxpayer could very well be found and a judgment rendered against the taxpayer. This is despite the fact that a few statutes are highly complex and that those highly complex statutes might ensnare a seemingly unsuspecting taxpayer. <br /><br /><br />Taking this a littel further, given that most Americans are not aware of even the BASIC statutes surrounding 7701(b) (worldwide income), 5329 (FBAR), or the terms surrounding it, can an examiner of the IRS, or EVEN a jury, really find a taxpayer guilty of willful conduct just by NOT checking the checkbox at the bottom of Schedule B of their tax returns? It would depend on all the facts and what else the taxpayer did. Indeed even the IRM goes into detail as to what other bad behaviour and illicit deductions the taxpayer had done for those years in question. Willfulness is a very high bar indeed.Milan Madhani, CPAhttp://www.vimlantax.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-78976927431817799742014-06-14T09:47:03.766-05:002014-06-14T09:47:03.766-05:00I delivered 85 Chicago Tribunes for 5 years, 7 day...I delivered 85 Chicago Tribunes for 5 years, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, beginning at at 4:30 a.m. That's when they were 2 inches think on Thursdays and a good 3+ on Sundays. OK, I did go on vacation once a week every year with my family. Kindly, my Father, a non-subscriber, saved my 12 year old back almost every day by "borrowing" Subscriber #85's paper. I'd come home after delivering 84 papers to retrieve #85 and complete the route. That came to a screeching halt the day Subscriber #85 finally called my supervisor to say coupons were mysteriously clipped from the advertising inserts. If only they had investigated further, popped the trunk of his car. I'm guessing about 15,000 counts for coupon larceny were in there.ChiTownTaxAttorneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-65579220807232764152014-06-14T08:07:23.091-05:002014-06-14T08:07:23.091-05:00This strikes pangs of conscience. I once discarde...This strikes pangs of conscience. I once discarded over 120 advertising supplements to the Hudson Dispatch Every other carrier who worked out of the same district office committed a similar crime. The supplements weighed about three times as much as the papers and threatened to break our 12 year old backs. Hopefully the statute of limitations has run.Peter J Reillynoreply@blogger.com