They say a cobbler's children has no shoes and a contractor's house is always under construction. In this case, a CPA didn't file his taxes. But, the difference between these is that in the case of the CPA, that failure to execute his profession for himself is illegal.
From the Department of Justice press release:
According to the indictment, Darryl Sharpton owned The Sharpton Group, a Miami-based public accounting firm that specialized in financial and management consulting, audit and attestation, and tax and wealth planning. Sharpton allegedly filed personal income tax returns for the years 2004 through 2008 and 2010, but failed to pay the reported taxes. Sharpton is further alleged to have failed to file personal income tax returns for years 2011 through 2016 despite his obligation to do so.
The indictment charges that after Sharpton failed to pay his taxes, the IRS audited and assessed additional taxes against him and issued levies and liens in further effort to collect the unpaid taxes. Sharpton allegedly responded by removing himself from his company’s payroll, paying his personal expenses through the corporate bank accounts, and lying to an IRS collections official.
In addition, the indictment alleges that Sharpton failed to timely pay over to the IRS payroll taxes that he withheld from the paychecks of The Sharpton Group’s employees.
If convicted, Sharpton faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the tax evasion charge, five years in prison for each count of failing to pay over payroll taxes, and one year in prison for each count of failing to file tax returns. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Consult an experienced tax controversy attorney
Any allegation of wrongdoing from the IRS, including examples like the one noted above, should be taken seriously. Penalties for violations are often harsh. In addition to steep financial penalties, criminal penalties can also apply. As a result, anyone accused of a tax violation is wise to seek legal counsel.
