Sentencing for Tax Crimes: Giving Credit for Untaken Deductions

March 14, 2013  |  New York Law Journal

In criminal tax cases, the "advisory" Sentencing Guidelines are predicated on an estimate of the "tax loss" resulting from the defendant's conduct. Over the years, the United States Courts of Appeals have split on the issue of whether the "tax loss" computation should be reduced by any deductions the defendant failed to take on his original returns. This article explains the issue, the different approaches taken by the Courts of Appeals and amendments being considered by the Sentencing Commission to address the issue.

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