Tax Evasion

6 Pages 1455 Words

Tax evasion, while seeming harmless to the person cheating on his or her taxes, can have a great and lasting effect on all of us.

Tax evasion is a problem that affects all of us in the long run. Tax evasion is defined in section 7201 of the Internal Revenue Tax Code. It is a Federal crime or offense for anyone to willfully attempt to evade or defeat the payment of federal income taxes. In the U.S. an individual is required to file an income-tax return if his gross income is greater than the statutory minimum. For Federal tax purposes, the term “gross income” includes salaries, wages, and other compensation for personal or professional services; gains from trade, business, and dealings in property and securities; interest, dividends, and rent; and “income from any other source”. Many people don’t understand the concept of taxation; they feel like not paying their taxes doesn’t hurt anyone. But all of the country’s revenue must be made somehow and that means the rest of us must pay to make up for those who don’t. Taxes seem like a burden to most of us, most of the time, but they are needed to effectively and efficiently run the society in which we live.
Those of us who pay our taxes on time and proficiently must also make up for those who do not. The government must have enough revenue from taxes to run our country, so what ever is not paid by people evading taxes must be made up by law-abiding tax paying citizens. Many people who evade taxes are not caught, but those who do get caught are punished severely. Punishments include heavy fines and even jail sentences. Tax evaders can be prosecuted just as severely as for any other criminal offense. The jail sentences become a “catch twenty-two” for those who pay their taxes. They pay taxes that evaders don’t, and then those tax dollars must go to help pay for jails for the tax evaders. A lot of tax money will also be used for court costs and othe...