You can’t Trump the IRS
The Erie Times-News recently ran a story titled, “Fairview businessman pleads guilty in tax case.” Kevin Hanlon, of Fairview, owned his own business. He would withhold taxes from his employees’ paychecks and pocket the money instead of sending it to the Internal Revenue Service. He spent the money for his own purposes and had the goal of becoming the “Donald Trump” of Erie. I wonder if he spent any of the money on getting his hair done like “The Donald.”
Don’t ignore your tax problems
There is no more aggressive and powerful debt collector than the IRS. The IRS can take money from your bank account, sell your home and, as Mr. Hanlon will likely soon find out, send you to jail. Mr. Hanlon’s story is an extreme one. Most people who owe taxes to the IRS don’t owe as much and aren’t trying to defraud the IRS. However, Mr. Hanlon’s story does remind us that if we owe taxes, it is important to settle up with the IRS as soon as possible in order to avoid the Internal Revenue Service’s aggressive collection tactics.
There are a variety of options for paying your IRS tax debt. You could get on a simple payment plan with the IRS, pay less than the total amount you owe through an offer-in-compromise or pay nothing back on the tax debt if your financial situation is bad enough. The one thing you should not do is ignore the problem.
You don’t need to do it alone
The thought of dealing with the IRS on your own to take care of your tax debt is very scary. It can help to have someone with experience in your corner. There are a lot of fly-by-night companies that advertise on the radio and TV saying they will help you resolve your tax problems with the IRS. You are taking a big risk if you send thousands of dollars to an out-of-state company to resolve your IRS issues. It is much better to hire someone that is local, trusted and well-versed in how to deal with the IRS.
If you find yourself owing money to the IRS, give Steidl & Steinberg a call. Our tax attorneys will review your situation and tell you what options you have for resolving your tax debt. If you ignore your tax problems, you could find yourself in a hairy situation like Kevin Hanlon.