IRS finds tax fraud evidence in initial Caterpillar investigation

On Behalf of | Jul 11, 2017 | Tax Evasion, White Collar Crime

Everyone seems to be watching every move of the President Trump administration. One of the most watched and anticipated aspects of the administration involves white collar crimes, specifically tax evasion by businesses.

In a recent blog post we discussed the impact that reduction of federal funds for tax fraud investigation and prosecution would result in more small businesses committing tax fraud. This time we look more closely at the investigation of the Caterpillar company to see what approach this administration will take against big businesses suspected of tax fraud and other white-collar crimes.

Caterpillar Investigation

According to a recent article in fortune.com, the IRS has found some information that confirms its suspicion of tax law violations by Caterpillar. According to the article, the IRS suspects Caterpillar of “trying to depress its tax liability in the U.S. by as much as $2 billion, by assigning the profit from sales of replacement parts to customers worldwide to the books of a subsidiary in Switzerland.”

Apparently a report from a Dartmouth professor – commissioned by government inspectors, concluded that Caterpillar has indeed committed tax fraud.

What This Means for Business Owners and Executives

Although this professor’s conclusion is being debated and contested, there are bigger issues at play here for major corporations. It looks like the government will be focusing its limited criminal resources on more significant white-collar crimes by major corporations.

By all appearances, it seems that major corporations need to be particularly careful for the next few years as there might be no loss – and perhaps even an increase – of attention paid to uncovering and prosecuting tax crimes by major corporations.

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