2013 Guidelines Amendments

In a rare and welcome bit of good news for white-collar defendants, however, the Commission also made an important change that will reduce sentences for tax offenses. A current rule in several federal circuits frequently causes “tax loss” to be overstated for sentencing purposes: It directs courts to consider only the amount of undeclared income, thus forbidding consideration of the deductions that would have been available had the defendant reported the undeclared income. The amendment will now require courts to consider the other side of the ledger: related deductions, exemptions, or credits that could have been included on a lawfully filed tax return, thus reducing the tax that was owed.'

The Commission also voted to modify the acceptance-of-responsibility guideline, which gives extra credit to defendants who plead guilty early enough to spare the government the expenditure of time and resources needed to prepare for trial. The net effect is to confine both prosecutors and the courts to that particular factor when deciding whether to withhold the credit. That newly adopted amendment, like all the others, will take effect Nov. 1, 2013, unless Congress modifies them through legislation.”