Maybe it’s something in the water. But somehow we must look again to what is now apparently the hotbed of tax evasion: Cincinnati, Ohio. A federal jury in Cincinnati found “expert” tax preparer Walter Daulton guilty of assisting in the preparation of fraudulent income tax returns, according to this story on etrucker.com.
Mr. Daulton, who specialized in preparing tax returns for the trucking industry, apparently advised his clients to claim expenses for the mundane. Like putting a tarp of over a truck’s trailer. (Now, the cost of the tarp is a valid business expense. However, you can’t deduct the value of your time when you use the tarp.)
According to the US Attorney, the goal of Mr. Daulton was to make the deductions come to a desired result, no matter whether the deductions were actually incurred. Mr. Daulton faces up to three years in prison for each of 18 convictions.