tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post2786866678484254269..comments2023-10-24T08:00:53.865-05:00Comments on Federal Tax Crimes: Sentencing Tax Loss, Unfiled Returns and Deductions (9/15/10)Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-14271884859694221382010-09-20T07:51:33.006-05:002010-09-20T07:51:33.006-05:00Anonymous makes a good point. My experience is th...Anonymous makes a good point. My experience is that the IRS CI agent and the prosecutor will work to obtain a fair tax loss number. Previoiusly unclaimed deductions (whether unclaimed on the original return or unclaimed because of failure to file) that are supportable will reduce the tax loss if they are timely raised. This is particularly true where the parties reach a comprehensive plea agreement which will include the tax loss number.<br /><br />In this regard, one prosecutor taught me a valuable lesson. In a case with little in the way of a defense on the merits, the prosecutor said early on that I should be working the numbers. We worked and re-worked the numbers and got the tax loss down to about one-third the amount originally asserted and ended up with home confinement. Not the same as acquittal, but not bad considering where the Government started off.<br /><br />Most prosecutors are fair and would not want to have tax loss numbers that are not real because known deductions are not allowed. I think the issue of denying now claimed but previously unclaimed deductions probably comes up only in the context where the previously unclaimed deductions are soft in terms of evidence. In those cases, the prosecutor will not want to reach agreement, the Probation Office may not have the resources to resolve the unclaimed deduction issue, and the sentencing court might not want to use judicial resources to sort out which of the uncertain deductions the defendant is entitled to.Jack Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-86174743893567702972010-09-19T10:46:08.125-05:002010-09-19T10:46:08.125-05:00In fairness, and in some cases, our agency and the...In fairness, and in some cases, our agency and the DA has allowed some itemized deductions in a failure to file case (based on reviewed evidence, canceled checks, etc.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com