I'm Darrin Mish. For 32 years I've practiced federal tax litigation — routine audits, Tax Court cases, and everything in between. If you're facing an IRS issue, here's what you need to know first.
Tax evasion is a serious matter.
The story of Connecticut Valley Hospital employee Stephanie Elliot, West Hartford, received a sentence of 14 to 18 months imprisonment for submitting fraudulent W-4s. Numerous exemptions were claimed while no money was withheld from her wages. Elliot claimed on her W-4 that she had 99 exemptions, and also that she was exempt from having any taxes withheld from her wages.
There’s more. From 2007 through 2012, Elliot made no attempt to pay federal or state income taxes. She earned income greater than $515,000. The IRS lost nearly $73,599 in unclaimed taxes.
Estimates show that tax refund fraud has reached a high of $21 billion annually. The IRS admits that part of the problem may be due to its outdated system of detecting fraud. Another reason is that it takes very little to file a claim. All that’s needed is a name, Social Security number, and date of birth. Once a thief has that information, they can file a tax return in anyone’s name. While the IRS is aware of the problem, budgetary constraints have slowed the system down considerably.
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