What if you are caught with tax evasion?

Every year the government makes repeated appeals and reminders to the tax payers through all possible media.

Caught with Tax Evasion.

There are advertisements on the television and hoardings are placed at all prime locations in all the cities. In spite of all these reminders made by the government, there are quite a good percentage of people who do not pay the taxes.

Tax evasion is an effort made by the tax payers to either completely avoid paying the taxes or pay lesser than they are required too. People show less of income and more of losses to prove to the department that they are eligible to pay lesser taxes.

Tax payers want to pay as little as possible. When the intentions are malicious then it is termed as “tax evasion”.

The consequences

If you are caught cheating on taxes you may invite civil and criminal cases against yourself. You will be charged an accrued interest rate on the income amount for the entire period you have been cheating the income tax department.

If you are found to be evading taxes then you will be made to pay 3005 of the undisclosed income. This means that the amount you conceal from the Income Tax Department while filing returns, will turn out to be three hundred times more expensive than otherwise. The punishment will not get stopped at this, but you will also have to face prosecution which may take years to get resolved.

The Penalties

You may have to pay a huge amount of penalty in the form of hard cash which will include the taxes for as many years as you have been cheating.  An additional amount of interest rate would also be levied on the amount you tried to cheat upon.

Along with this you would receive the punishment of imprisonment, the duration of which would vary from case to case, ranging from a few months to a few years. This is when the case is proven against you.

The way out

The first and foremost solution is to pay the taxes honestly and display the spirits of a good citizen. If you are caught in a trap then you should surely take help of an experienced tax attorney who can help you with the ways of coming out of the problem.

The Government provides enoguh chances for filing returns and doing so without concealing any information on income. There are continuous reminders about the last filing date and also about the consequences one may face.

The best concept is to display the real income and pay the real taxes so that you can be at peace and feel proud of yourself about the fact of being honest. Being caught up by the officials will not only make you undergo economic crunches but will also shake you emotionally leaving you demoralized and drained out. After all, the tax which you are paying to the Government actually comes back to you in the form of services you avail. So, it is always better to be a part of development process of the country rather than inviting troubles for oneself.