People who receive a letter from IRS about possible tax evasion charges should start shopping around for a tax evasion lawyer immediately. Tax evasion is a serious charge that can lead to five years of jail time and a hefty fine. You may not know this, but the notorious Prohibition gangster Al Capone was put behind bars because of tax evasion and not because of his many other crimes. There was simply no hard evidence to back up any murder charges, but there was a lot of evidence in the accounting books. If you are trying to find a tax evasion attorney at the moment, here are three tips that can help you.
Find out if tax evasion is his specialty
Some people will advise you to get a referral from a close friend for a lawyer. Unfortunately, our brushes with the law are often not the same, and you may not have a friend who can point you to a lawyer who specializes in dealing with the IRS. You need a tax evasion lawyer who deals with the IRS on a constant basis, and represents clients who have had the same situation as yours. The only way that you can get yourself of this mess is to hire someone who knows what he or she is doing. If anything, you need to keep in mind that if you are brought to trial and are found guilty, you may have to spend half a decade of your life in jail.
Review his track record
You do not want a tax evasion attorney who is just fresh out of college. Your goal is to get someone who has successfully defended clients–not someone who has textbook knowledge about tax law. While there may be no written guarantees that you will win the case, you need to get the assurance that your lawyer will really fight for you . If there is absolutely no way of escaping tax evasion charges because there is compelling evidence against you, your lawyer must be able to convince the court that it was out of neglect or ignorance to lower the fines.
Check the case load
You may think that you scored an awesome deal with a tax evasion lawyer whose retainer or hourly fees fit your budget until you realize that you are working with someone who has too many clients on his hands. Some people eventually realize that they should have hired more expensive attorneys instead since the person will pay more attention to you. The line of thinking is if it keeps your name clear, then the expensive fees are worth it.
Choosing the best tax evasion attorney is difficult especially when you are already quite panicked about having to face the IRS. When shopping around for a Tax evasion lawyer, however, it is extremely important to keep your head cool and choose the one that has the experience and time to help you win or keep your fines as low as possible. Keep in mind that a tax evasion charge is a criminal offense that can have serious consequences for you and your family.