Understanding the Purpose of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and Its Effect on Criminal Investigations and Indictments
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) was formed in July 1, 1862. Federal income taxes were approved by vote of Congress on July 2, 1909 and ratified in 1913. The 16th Amendment established Congress's right to impose a federal income tax. The original purpose of the Internal Revenue Service was to collect taxes in order for the government to operate.
Today the headquarters of the IRS are located in Washington, D.C. The IRS has approximately 80,000 employees and an annual budget of $11.4 billion.
Two-thirds of the Population of the United States Pays No Income Taxes
The population of the United States as of 2016 is approximately 325 million. There are approximately 244 million adults. However, only 122 million Americans pay some form of federal income tax. This means that nearly two-thirds of the population of the United States pays no income taxes.
The burden of paying taxes to the government to enable it to operate falls disproportionately upon the top income earners. Taxpayers who have annual adjusted gross income of more than $429,000 are part of the top 1% of all taxpayers. The top 1 % of taxpayers accounted for more income taxes paid to the government than the bottom 90% combined.
The top 20% of income earners pay 84% of all the income taxes collected annually. Persons earning $134,000 or more annually are included in the top 20%. By comparison, the bottom 40% of wage earners (individuals reporting less than $47,000 of income) pay virtually no taxes in the aggregate. This group actually receives more in refunds and tax credits than they pay into the government.
Special Interest Groups Have Lobbied Politicians to Amend the Internal Revenue Code to Influence the Behavior of Americans
The Internal Revenue Code (Title 26 of the United States Code) contains the rules for reporting and paying federal income taxes. Over the years, special interest groups have lobbied politicians to amend the Internal Revenue Code to influence the behavior of Americans through taxes, tax deductions and refundable tax credits.
For example: To deter the consumption of gasoline, the Internal Revenue Code contains a gas guzzler tax. To encourage the purchase of real property, real estate taxes on personal residences is deductible. To encourage borrowing money to purchase a residence, mortgage interest is deductible, and to encourage charitable giving, contributions to charities are deductible.
Politicians Use the Internal Revenue Code to Create a Quasi Welfare Supplement
However, in recent years the politicians have used the Internal Revenue Code to create a quasi welfare supplement through various “refundable credits”. These are monetary credits given to taxpayers even if the taxpayer has never paid in any taxes during the tax year. For example: the Earned Income Credit, the First Time Home Buyer Credit, the Child Care Credit and Education Credits. These credits have been abused on a massive scale by fraudsters resulting in annual tax losses in excess of $45 billion.
The collection of income taxes each year from taxpayers is the primary source of the funds used operate the government. For the past 15 years the United States government has spent more money to operate than it has collected in taxes. As a result, the national debt has grown each year. In 2000 the national debt was approximately $5.6 trillion. At the end of 2016, the national debt was approaching $19 trillion.
The American Income Tax System is Dependent Upon Voluntary Compliance
The entire American tax system depends upon voluntary compliance by taxpayers. Compliance is affected in a positive manner when the general population perceives that the overall income tax system is fair and everyone is paying his or her “fair share”. When the general population believes that the tax system is unfair and/or broken, voluntary compliance suffers.
The IRS conducts civil audits on less than 1% of the tax returns filed each year. To encourage the voluntary filing of accurate tax returns, the Internal Revenue Code authorizes criminal prosecution of taxpayers who willfully violate the tax laws.
The Internal Revenue Code includes the following criminal tax offenses: Section 7201 - Tax Evasion, Section 7202 - Willful Failure to Collect or Pay Over Tax, Section 7203 - Willful Failure to File, Section 7206 - Filing a Fraudulent Return, and 7212 - Interfering With the Administration of the IRS.
Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions Encourage Taxpayer Compliance
The IRS has indisputable data that reflects that criminal investigations conducted by the Internal Revenue Service and related prosecutions encourage voluntary compliance by the general public. These investigations are conducted by highly trained special agents. The special agents are assigned to and work on a very limited number of cases. The principle objective of the investigation is to gather sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a criminal tax violation has been committed by the taxpayer who is the target of the investigation.
Once a criminal investigation has been commenced, the IRS has an informal policy that the taxpayer cannot resolve the investigation merely by paying the tax that should have been properly reported and paid for the prior tax year now under investigation. The reason for this policy is simple. If taxpayers, who purposefully failed to report and/or pay their taxes, could simply wait until they were investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division to pay the taxes they should have reported and paid to begin with, taxpayers would not be encouraged to voluntarily and accurately report their income and taxes not under investigation. As a result, once a criminal investigation has commenced, offering to pay the correct tax is generally of little to no help.
Criminal Investigations Should Not be Treated as a Civil Audit
Criminal investigations should never be treated by the taxpayer or his representatives as a civil audit. It should be remembered that the job of a special agent is to collect evidence in order to indict and convict the target of the investigation. The agents are trained to be friendly to get the taxpayer and witnesses to talk and provide them information they need to make a criminal case. However, they can also quickly become angry and intimidating to get the taxpayer or witness to talk, if they determine that this is necessary to get the job accomplished.
The Conviction Rate in Criminal Tax Cases is Over 93%
The IRS reports that it is successful in obtaining a conviction in over 93% of the cases that are indicted. The number of investigations initiated during 2013 was 5,314. The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division (“CI”) is the only federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over federal tax crimes. A criminal tax case may take several years to investigate, indict, and go to trial. This year, 2015, CI again boasted the highest conviction rate in all of federal law enforcement — 93.2%. The data for the past 6 six years is as follows:
FY2015 FY2014 FY2013 FY2012 FY2011 FY2010
Investigations Initiated 3853 4297 5314 5125 4720 4706
Prosecution Recommends 3289 3478 4364 3701 3410 3034
Informations/Indictments 3208 3272 3865 3390 2998 2645
Convictions 2879 3110 3311 2634 2350 2184
Sentenced 3092 3268 2812 2466 2206 2172
Percent to Prison 80.8% 79.6% 80.1% 81.5% 81.7% 81.5%
The conviction rate for FY 2015 was 93.2%
The conviction rate for FY 2014 was 93.4%
The conviction rate for FY 2013 was 93.1%
The conviction rate for FY 2012 was 93.0%
The conviction rate for FY 2011 was 92.7%
Less than 1% of All Lawyers Have Won a Criminal Tax Trial for the Defendant
During the past 18 years (1999 through 2016) very few taxpayers won their criminal tax trial and were found NOT GUILTY on all counts. The number of taxpayers acquitted during the past 18 years is as follows:
56 in the Western United States Region: Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.
62 in the Northern United States Region: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Hawaii, and Alaska.
81 in the Southern United States Region: New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The States Comprising the Southern United States Region Has 354,771 Active Lawyers
There have been 81 taxpayers that have been found Not Guilty on all counts during the past 18 years in the Southern United States Region. The states comprising the Southern United States Region has 354,771 active lawyers. The number of lawyers by state is as follows:
New Mexico 5,581 Texas 87,957 Louisiana 19,099
Arkansas 7,320 Missouri 24,922 Tennessee 18,288
Mississippi 7,094 Alabama 14,666 Florida 75,697
Georgia 31,499 S. Carolina 10,208 N. Carolina 23,325
Virginia 24,193 W. Virginia 4,922
One Lawyer Was Responsible For Approx. 10% of the Acquittals in the Southern Region
Out of the 354,771 active lawyers in the Southern Region, there is one lawyer, David M. Garvin, who represented approximately 10% of the 81 taxpayers that won their criminal tax jury trial during the past 18 years. These taxpayers were found Not Guilty on all counts. David M. Garvin represented the following taxpayers in the Southern Region during this period of time.
Taxpayer’s Name Case No. Verdict Date Verdict
1. Charles T. Unkle 98-398 01-28-1999 Not Guilty All Counts
2. Terry Elliott 98-511 06-14-1999 Not Guilty All Counts
3. Demetrios Armadoros 04-20190 06-17-2004 Not Guilty All Counts
4. Helio Castroneves 08-20916 04-17-2009 Not Guilty All Counts
5. John P. Miller 12-CR-60025 09-04-2012 Not Guilty All Counts
6. Julio Robaina 13-20346 04-29-2014 Not Guilty All Counts
7. Raiza Robaina 13-20346 04-29-2014 Not Guilty All Counts
8. Noe Mompoint 15-20258 01-25-2016 Not Guilty All Counts
There Is No Margin of Error for a Taxpayer Who Seeks a Complete Acquittal
Because less than 1% of the licensed lawyers have won (Not Guilty on all counts) a criminal tax trial for the defense, there is no margin of error afforded a taxpayer who intends to go to trial in a criminal tax case and prove his or her innocence.
An Experienced Successful Criminal Tax Lawyer Knows That a Defense Solely Based upon Willfulness Is a Defense of Last Resort
When you are the target of an IRS criminal investigation, retaining a criminal tax lawyer who has actually gone to trial in numerous criminal tax cases and has obtained complete acquittals (Not Guilty Verdicts on All Counts) is imperative. There are a lot of competent tax attorneys that have no concept as to how to try a federal criminal trial. Likewise, there are a lot of competent criminal lawyers who know how to try a case but, have no knowledge of the tax laws. When these lawyers are hired by a taxpayer they often limit their defense of the taxpayer to the issue of willfulness. This routinely results in the defense lawyer ultimately recommending that the client accept a plea agreement which requires the taxpayer to plead guilty to a felony. An experienced successful criminal tax lawyer knows that a defense based upon willfulness is a defense of last resort and is seldom sufficient to achieve not guilty verdicts on all counts.
When Winning Means Everything, the Selection of an Experienced Winning Lawyer is Crucial
Some taxpayers look at the statistics and become overwhelmed with a feeling that maintaining their innocence is futile and obtaining justice from a jury trial is hopeless. However, fortunately there are taxpayers who have the fortitude to go to trial to prove their innocence and share the spirit of the late great Winston Churchill, who once said:
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Winston Churchill
The course of history was influenced and the free world was saved by persons of similar courage in the face of overwhelming odds. In the context of a criminal tax case, when winning means everything, the selection of an experienced winning lawyer is crucial.
Taxpayers Should Use Their Common Sense
There is no substitute for common sense. If you ask the average person the following questions they almost unanimously give the following answers.
Q: If you needed heart surgery, would you hire a doctor who had never
successfully performed heart surgery before, to perform your surgery?
A: No.
Q: If you needed to build a house, would you hire a contractor who had
never successfully built a house before, to build your house?
A: No.
Q: If you needed a pilot to fly you to a meeting, would you hire a pilot
who had never successfully flown an airplane, to fly you to your meeting?
A: No.
When you are selecting the lawyer to represent you in a criminal tax case, why would you select a lawyer without knowing if he ever won a criminal tax jury trial for the defense? Taxpayers should use their common sense. You have the absolute right when selecting a lawyer to ask for the names of the cases and the case numbers of the cases that actually went to trial in which his client found Not Guilty on all counts. Do your homework as if your very liberty depends upon it. Because it may!
Conclusion
In conclusion, being a target in a criminal tax case can be overwhelming. Taxpayers in this situation often find that they cannot sleep. Instead, they lie in bed in the middle of the night starring at the ceiling wondering how they got into this mess and when it will finally end. Nonetheless, it should be remembered that there are taxpayers who do win. However, it is imperative that the defense not make any mistakes. This starts with the taxpayer’s selection of his lawyer.
About the Author:
David M. Garvin is a Florida Bar Certified Tax Lawyer. Mr. Garvin holds a LLM in taxation and is also a CPA. Mr. Garvin’s law offices are located in Miami, Florida. His practice concentrates on federal white collar crimes defense including criminal tax cases. Mr. Garvin accepts cases nationwide.
