Taxes in your practice: 10th Circuit upholds dentist’s prison term for tax scheme

Scott E. Vincent is the founding member of Vincent Law, LLC in Kansas City. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit recently affirmed a 41-month prison sentence imposed on a dentist convicted of tax evasion. In U.S. v. Ulibarri, 1 the court rejected the dentist’s arguments that the sentence was not reasonable due to his reliance on a tax scheme promoter’s alternative tax mitigation strategy and business trust structure to eliminate federal taxes. Ulibarri serves as a reminder to lawyers that the IRS pursues clients of tax scheme promoters, particularly when they significantly and…