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DON'T IGNORE MINNESOTA

December 03, 2007

A Des Moines truck driver is accused of not filing Minnesota income tax returns that his CPA prepared for him, and now the icy state is throwing the book at him. Mark Anthony Jones was charged last week in Hennepin County District Court with four felony tax evasion charges.

From a Minnesota Department of Revenue press release:

According to the complaint, Jones lived at several addresses in the Twin Cities area between 2000 and 2006. The defendant worked as a salaried and independent contractor truck driver.

During the investigation, copies of the defendant's federal and state individual income tax returns were obtained for the years 2004 and 2005. These returns were allegedly prepared by a certified public accounting firm based on information provided by Jones, through his mortgage broker, to the accountant. The prepared, but not filed, returns were used to substantiate the defendant's income before granting him a mortgage.

Based on these returns, the Minnesota tax liability is $2,027 for 2004 and $3,442 for 2005.

Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Not a good payoff for saving $5,469.

The press release stresses that the CPA prepared Minnesota returns for Mr. Jones that were allegedly never filed. If you get a Minnesota return from your preparer, then, think long and hard if you don't intend to file it. Minor amounts seem to be no barrier to major legal problems in South Ontario.

Tags: Minnesota.tax crime.

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