Sentencing Commission Will Close A Prosecutor Loophole

If someone neglects to declare a million dollars of income from a business that in fact also had a half million in legitimate business expenses, the courts now look solely at the undeclared income when figuring “tax loss” for sentencing purposes. Unless Congress acts to override, per an amendment from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, that will no longer be the case starting in November. New guidelines require that courts also look at deductions, exemptions and credits that would have been allowed had the income been declared. The Commission in its annual amendments also increased or created new penalties for a number of offenses, including misappropriating a trade secret for the benefit of a foreign government, instrumentality, or agent.