Labelled as the largest tax fraud prosecution in history by prosecutors, a Chicago lawyer has pleaded guilty to helping her very wealthy clients to not pay millions of dollars in tax. Prosecutors said that with many of the lawyer’s clients, tens of millions of dollars were not paid. Visit this blog The Slient News if you’re interested in learning more.
Entering the plea at the U.S. District Court to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. on tax evasion, the charges which have been brought against Donna Guerin, 52, total ten years. Guerin said that she helped clients at a now-defunct company to draft opinion letters which wrongly demonstrated that they were investing in businesses which were legitimate. Guerin told the judge “I knew in my heart then and I acknowledge to your honour today that many of our clients were only interested in reducing tax liabilities”. The judge asked Guerin whether she knew immediately that her actions were illegal and shouldn’t be done. Guerin replied that she discovered this over time and not straight away. Although she has not been sentenced yet, Guerin has admitted that she acted illegally. However, it took a while for her to fully understand what she was doing.
Becoming a lawyer takes several years of training. Throughout that time, students are told about the many laws which clients would have to abide by. What seems highly unlikely is that Guerin did not fully understand that she was involved in illegal activities. As a highly educated individual, a degree of common sense must have been applied even when dealing with important clients. Pleading naivety when she first started to help clients not pay tax will not bode well with the American public.
Other cases of tax evasion
Tax evasion is a worldwide problem. As governments want to have every single penny which they are owed, especially as many countries are still in recession, those that do not pay for their tax are rightfully being hunted. In the UK, HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) recently released a gallery of twenty people who are apparently responsible for £765 million of fraud and tax evasion.
Known as Operation Opulent, the amounts of money which some people did not pay tax on is shocking. Philip McCarthy tried to smuggle 7.7 million illicit cigarettes into the United Kingdom, Timur Mehmet reportedly owes £25 million to the taxpayer whereas the only woman on the list, Emma Tazey, owes £15 million to the taxpayer. Other people who are on the list owe less money to HRMC but their cases are still shocking. For example, Rory Martin McGann is wanted by HMRC for VAT-related issues and his estimated cost to the taxpayer is over £900,000.
For any right-minded person, the crimes which were committed by these and the many other people who are on HMRC’s list are unbelievable. When businesses, such as limited companies and Sole Traders, owe money to HMRC, the vast majority of them will be concerned about how it will be paid. However, as they have deducted the correct percentage from the money they received for their services for National Insurance and Tax, businesses have sufficient funds in order to pay what is owed.
The people who evade tax are no different than those who burgle an elderly couple’s house or rob a shop. The money which they have failed to declare or not pay could be used by the NHS to fund operations or by the government for building social housing. The actions of a few people can have a detrimental effect on the lives of many and when tax evaders are caught, the heaviest possible sentences should be handed down to them. Pleading innocence when the evidence proves otherwise is a shameful act and they should be forced to pay every single penny back which they owe. As the old saying goes, the book should be thrown at them. Locking tax evaders in a cell and throwing away the key might be a good idea as well. They can then start to think about their actions for once and how selfish they were for not paying what they were legally obliged to do. Here is a blog Bumber about further tips for the same.
Tax evaders continue to plague society. As soon as tax evaders are caught, they can then start their prison sentences which will hopefully be very lengthy.
