ADVERTISEMENTS

U.S. v. Yip, No. 08-10235 (1-13-10). Death and taxes may be certain, and when it comes to federal guidelines, add relevant conduct. This was a tax conviction. The defendant had an "off the books" business and failed to report income, or disclose foreign bank accounts. In assessing the guidelines for sentencing, the court also looked at unpaid state taxes. The defendant argued that the focus should only have been on unpaid federal taxes. The 9th was unpersuaded, looking at the guidelines both for the offense and relevant conduct, the 9th held that it was not error to consider all unpaid taxes in the loss. The 9th also rejected the argument that the state taxes would be time-barred under a state prosecution. Lastly, the 9th upheld an obstruction of justice enhancement for submitting false tax records to the IRS during the investigation.

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.