Listen, we recognize that we end up in central New York a little more often than some other corners of the USA, but hey, we got two Syracuse grads in the office so be happy it isn’t salt potatoes, snow and Dinosaur Bar-B-Q 24/7, OK?
In any event, this business news article from the shores of Lake Erie has some great quotes. And as they say ‘we couldn’t have said it better ourselves’ … : (all excerpts from the linked article)
A Historical Perspective:
“For years and years, when clients failed to pay their taxes, we didn’t worry too much about it. We just put them in Chapter 13 for repayment,” said Jeffrey M. Freedman, senior partner at Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys at Law, which sponsored the event. “Today it’s a whole new ballgame. People with lots of back taxes are being charged with crimes.”
The Trend:
Criminal tax fraud prosecutions have increased to 327 in the fiscal year 2009-10, up from just 33 for the same period in 2006-07.
From the Trenches:
“The best advice to give clients,” (William Comiskey) said, “is to treat this money like it doesn’t belong to you — because it doesn’t.”
And finally, the Capstone Sentiment:
“My problem doesn’t focus on cheats; it focuses on the state’s failure to educate people on what they need to do to comply,” said Gabriel J. Ferber, an attorney with Nesper, Ferber & DiGiacomo.
The take away? Due to the fiscal messes that most states find themselves in, aggressive sales tax compliance scrutiny is upon vendors in all jurisdictions. Finding a trusted partner in the sales tax realm is becoming more and more of an imperative.
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“The best advice to give clients,” (William Comiskey) said, “is to treat this money like it doesn’t belong to you — because it doesn’t.”
Could NOT agree more!