It’s human nature (good excuse) to try to ‘beat’ taxes! As time goes on the argument for this practice becomes more convincing. After all isn’t it ‘We the People’ who can put our own money to best use? The government DOES NOT have a solid reputation for spending money wisely. Blood boils within America every time we hear about $200 toilet seats! So beating the tax man has become an ego game of “catch me if you can…and if you don’t…I WIN!” But BEWARE…not only does our federal government NEED more cash than ever, but they are stepping up investigations to get the cheaters! If you can beat an audit…no problem! But then have you ever heard of anyone who actually beat an audit?
Here is a list of the top 12 cheaters (aka “The Dirty Dozen”):
- Phishing scams
- Scams relating to the economic stimulus
- Frivolous arguments (people who use unusual constitutional based or ‘off the given path’ ways to take credits or lower their income)
- Fuel Tax Credit Scams (fuel purchase tax credit given mostly to farmers and others who use fuel off of highways for farming equipment etc…)
- Hiding Income By Keeping It Off Shore…(you know, like the Swiss Bank Account thing)
- Abuse of Roth Individual Retirement Plans (trying to hide valuable assets by transferring them at below market price to other places)
- Zero Wages (claiming zero income when an employer provides a W-2 for you)
- False Claims for Refunds or ‘Income Abatement’ (trying to get all income considered null and void due to false claims)
- Tax Preparer Fraud (using forms and unethical and illegal credits to take more fee or gain more refund for the tax payer)
- Disguised Corporate Ownership (setting up a corporation that is illegitimate and sometimes used for money laundering for ‘ill gotten gain’)
- Misuse of Trust Accounts
- Abuse of Charitable Organizations and Deductions.
If you are involved in any cheater games, be aware that Uncle Sam IS WATCHING and red flagging the Dirty Dozen! Getting caught means an automatic $5,000 penalty…not to mention jail
