As tomorrow's tax filing deadline approaches, the U.S. Department of Justice thought it was necessary to remind citizens that they better pay up...or else.
"No one is above the law or below the radar," the headline for the DOJ's news release reads. "With the annual tax filing deadline approaching on Wednesday, April 15, the Justice Department's Tax Division reminds U.S. taxpayers across the country and around the world of their obligation to file timely and accurate income tax returns."
Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Tax Division reminded taxpayers how they "enjoy many benefits, including the security provided by our U.S. military, the ability to travel on public roads and highways, and the beauty and enjoyment of national parks and monuments."
"Those individuals who choose to accept these benefits and yet turn a blind eye to their federal tax obligations by failing to file required returns, filing false and fraudulent returns, and evading the assessment and payment of tax due will be pursued for their criminal conduct," Ciraolo said.
To drive the message home, the DOJ listed 23 cases of justice being brought to tax dodgers.
One of the most recent individuals to be sentenced to prison for evading income taxes, Hakim J. Sutton, a 33-year-old campaign treasurer, got his own press release explaining how he was guilty of filing false campaign reports related to diverting money from the campaign's bank accounts. Sutton was sentenced to serve 16 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution of $18,231 in taxes and interest to the IRS.
Other cases listed involved various attorneys, tow-truck drivers, physicians and restaurant owners.
Just last week during a speech at the Brookings Institution's Tax Policy Center, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen admitted that the IRS will be forced to reduce the number of audits it conducts due to staff shortages and a lack of resources resulting from five years of federal budget cuts.
"The problem is that our levels of staffing are insufficient to deliver on our mission," Koskinen said. "Consider that the 13,000 employees we've lost since 2010 include 5,000 key enforcement personnel. These are the people who audit returns, conduct election activities, and include the special agents in our criminal investigation division, who investigate refund fraud and other cases.
"We estimate the drop in audit and collection case closures this year will translate into a loss for the government of at least $2 billion in revenue that otherwise would have been collected," Koskinen added.
"If people think they'll not get caught if they cheat, or they're just fed up because they can't get the help they need from us to file their taxes, the system will be put at risk."
