Beware Tax Scams

Tax Scams: IRS Dirty Dozen

It is tax time, and with it will come many offers to lower your taxes and, in some situations, avoid them altogether. These helpful hints may be grouped together under one heading:

Scams.

Tax scams are prevalent throughout the internet; here are a few that are so obvious that following them as advice will clearly endanger your physical freedom.

Many people have used the defense of “not in the constitution” to stop paying taxes. Schemes abound that offer help in reducing or stopping paying taxes. The biggest offender in years was in Washington State; they planned to use the US Constitution to declare the IRS illegal, and thus, no taxes would need to be paid. Of course, it didn’t work, and the results were 400 people nearly went to prison (3 did) and were faced with stiff fines and penalties. Promotors are everywhere, don’t believe them.

Tax Shelters can be perfectly legal; congress does allow the existence of them IF it helps the overall populace. Offering tax incentives for Solar Energy was one that has worked well. Other than a few, the rest can be phony and allow predators to make their move.

The truth about taxes is simple; taxes need to be paid. BUT only pay what you owe, Congress and the tax code allow for many expenses (mortgages, charity, medical, etc) to be deducted. If your tax bill seems too high, get a second opinion from a licensed tax professional.

When it comes to taxes, the most important rule is this:

“If it sounds too good to be true, it is.”

The IRS publishes its top 12 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams annually; here is the link.

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Completes-the-Dirty-Dozen-Tax-Scams-for-2015