Time to "batten down the hatches" … hurricane season has arrived. The IRS encourages individuals and businesses to start planning now to safeguard their tax records in preparation for natural disasters. Here are a few simple steps that can help you be prepared should disaster strike.

As American taxpayers, we have the right to contest our tax liability in court. What we don't have, however, is the right to willingly violate or disobey federal tax law. There are those who have advocated willful disregard for the tax laws, and they have used a variety of false or misleading arguments for not filing or paying taxes. As an illustration, the IRS has released a few of the worst offenders.