Directors of the UB School of Law’s Human Trafficking Prevention Project and Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic contributed to a publication intended to assist lawyers and advocates for survivors of human trafficking.
The 28-page publication, An Advocate’s Guide to Tax Issues Affecting Victims of Human Trafficking, offers resources for attorneys and advocates, who likely will encounter more and more trafficking survivors facing tax controversies in the coming year. Other partners on the project, which was released Dec. 17, include the Human Trafficking Legal Center and Ropes & Gray LLP. Funding for the project was provided to the Human Trafficking Legal Center by the Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Greater Palm Beaches.
John B. Snyder III
Although few people associate human trafficking with tax fraud, human trafficking victims often experience both at the hands of their traffickers, according to a news release accompanying the publication. Victims can be haunted for years after they have escaped their traffickers, fending off IRS investigations resulting from the underlying victimization.
“Traffickers often use their power over victims to commit tax fraud. Traffickers fail to pay employer-side taxes, steal their victims’ identities, file false tax returns in victims’ names, and seize fraudulent tax refunds,” the release continues. “Survivors of human trafficking may also encounter tax consequences as a result of a human trafficking settlement or judgment. Tax issues must be handled in the course of litigation to prevent further disruption in survivors’ lives.”
Jessica Emerson, director of the UB Human Trafficking Prevention Project, who works closely with trafficking survivor clients, said, “It has become increasingly clear that it is not enough for trafficking survivors to escape their traffickers. Survivors also need resources to rebuild their lives. I have seen far too many trafficking survivors struggling under a tax burden created through criminal fraud, which then limits their ability to recover from their experiences. Advocates, armed with these tools, can better support survivors as they work to undo the harm that the traffickers have inflicted.”
John B. Snyder, III, director of UB’s Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, explained, “Most attorneys instinctively shut down when they see the word ‘tax,’ causing them to brush tax issues aside. Fortunately for human trafficking advocates and their clients, help is available through Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics nationwide.”
UPDATES/University of Baltimore School of Law 