In my years of experience as a tax resolution specialist, I have met many people who hold the misconception that the IRS primarily targets a specific group of people with back taxes–either the wealthy celebrity tax cheats or the Joe Six-Packs. This is simply not true.

Turn to the news and you will find a wide range of people who have been getting in trouble with the IRS.  Just watch Entertainment Tonight and you will see that there is more than the usual glamor Hollywood news surrounding stars such as Nicholas Cage–a Hollywood A-lister and Academy Award winner, who owes Uncle Sam a whopping $6.6 million in back taxes due to a tax lien on his Louisiana property.

Additionally, don’t be surprised to find out that the IRS does not stop at just the living tax cheats who owe back taxes. In October, the Internal Revenue Service filed a tax lien against the estate of Vickie Lynn Marshall in Los Angeles County. Better known as Anna Nicole Smith, Marshall died in Florida in February 2007. The federal government says her estate owes $125,112.86.

Many people are mislead by the media coverage of celebrity tax evasion cases and feel a false security that the IRS is busy going after the “big fish.” But the truth is, the IRS is just as enthusiastic about going after the average folks–taxpayers like you or your neighbor.

Take Blainey J. Nicholas, a 43-year-old doctor in New Orleans who received five years of probation and a $20,000 fine for failing file a tax return that reported the $200,000 he had earned. Or Leonard Widman, a 54-year-old developer from Sherman, Conn. He was sentenced to a year in prison for not paying $170,000 in taxes.

But that’s not all. Even people caught doing one crime can end up finding themselves with tax charges to boot. Take the case of Mary R. Storer, 40, formerly of Wood River, Ill. She was caught embezzling funds from her employer and losing that money at the local casino. Of course, the IRS learned she didn’t report that embezzled income and hit her with tax charges as well.

Don’t be one of the people who underestimate the power of the IRS to come after tax cheats both big and small. The IRS is one of the very few government divisions that is expanding during this recession–this means they have more resources to collect unpaid income taxes. Even if you don’t know of anyone who has been in IRS trouble–don’t believe that it can never happen to you. The IRS will always find those who cheat on their taxes.

Learn more about how to protect yourself from the IRS. Read previous TRS Newspaper articles.

If you owe back taxes to the IRS, our team of TRS tax attorneys, CPAs and Tax Resolution specialists can help you resolve your tax debt.  Find a resolution to your IRS problems today and call TRS now at 1-800-477-9609 for your free consultation.

More Tax Help, IRS News and Tax Relief Tips:

1. Release Your IRS Bank Levy: How a Tax Attorney or Certified Tax Resolution Specialist Can Give You an Advantage
2. Tax Help: Nation’s Leading Tax Relief Expert Shares Tips on How Small Businesses Can Avoid IRS Audits
3. Tax Help For Offer in Compromise Applicants: New IRS Changes to Processing
4. Ask the Tax Expert: Back Taxes Gone Forever? How to Get the IRS Off Your Back For Good
5. Tax Help: How to Resolve Your Back Taxes & Prevent Tax Problems If You’re Short on Cash This Season

Tags: Back Taxes, celebrity tax evasion, Michael Rozbruch, tax attorney, tax expert, tax help

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 1:43 pm and is filed under Back Taxes, Expert Help From Tax Attorney, Tax Liens and Levies, Tax news and tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.