Tax Planning and Tax Litigation

 

Tax Planning

The Law Office has more than twenty years of experience in federal tax matters.  We provide counsel to corporations, individuals and estates in complex federal tax matters.  We are often called upon to provide memoranda and opinion letters from outside counsel and from accountants who desire our assistance.  A substantial part of our practice includes providing counsel to those taxpayers who are engaging in like kind exchanges under Section 1031. Our office has authored a treatise entitled “Like Kind Exchanges of Real Estate Under IRC §1031”, which analyzes the intricate tax laws involved such exchanges. Income and Estate Tax planning objectives are often intertwined. For example, some transfers are complete for estate tax purposes, but not for income tax purposes. Prudent use of the complexities of the tax law may enhance the estate planning objectives our clients seek to accomplish.   Those interested in learning more about this subject may review our article “Asset Sales to Grantor Trusts: Antidote to New Estate Tax”.

Tax Litigation

The office also represents clients in all facets of tax disputes involving the Internal Revenue Service, in civil as well as criminal matters.  We provide counsel to clients in controversies with the Internal Revenue Service in federal courts, including the United States Tax Court.  The office also represents clients involved in estate and gift tax audits involving the IRS. In addition, the Law Office has more than twenty years of experience in assisting taxpayers with federal and New York State tax litigation matters.  We provide counsel to corporations, individuals and estates involved in tax controversies with the United States and with New York State. The office also assists estates federal and New York State estate tax audits.  We have extensive experience in sales tax disputes involving the New York State Department of Taxation.

We represent clients before both civil and criminal examination inquiries by the IRS and New York. We also frequently work with accountants in providing confidential representation to their clients.  We also handle matters involving filing delinquent federal and NYS tax returns.  At times, our tax practice has involved the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Our range of litigation experience is extensive, and includes representing taxpayers in the federal arena in the United States Tax Court, the United States District Court; and in the state arena in the New York State Division of Tax Appeals, the New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal, the New York State Appellate Division, and the New York Court of Appeals.  To learn more about our litigating experience, please see our articles on this subject, which have appeared in our tax journal, Tax News & Comment: “Winning a Sales Tax Dispute in the Division of Tax Appeals,”     “New York State Tax Litigation,”  and “Article 78 Review of Tax Appeals Tribunal.”

We also have experience in litigating cases involving the New York State Department of Taxation in New York State Supreme Court, where other venues have been exhausted, and remedies lay in the Supreme Court.  We are frequently called upon by accountants or attorneys who have failed to reach agreement with the IRS or with New York and require further counsel in litigation.

Criminal Representation

The office has handles criminal tax matters involving both the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Department of Taxation and the New York State Attorney General.  A phalynx of new federal and New York State statutes impose severe criminal sanctions for tax evasion and other tax crimes.  Taxpayers receiving unannounced visits from criminal investigators of the IRS or New York State do themselves a disservice to waive their right to be represented.  By For further information, please see our articles “IRS Criminal Investigations,” xxx “Revised New York Criminal Tax Statutes,” x.a   “Northern District Finds Successive Tax Penalties Imposed by NYS-AG and NYS-DTF to be Unconstitutional.”        When involved in criminal matters, the attorney-client privilege may extend to accountants engaged by an attorney.  We endeavor to take those steps to protect that important privilege.  For more information, please see our article “Attorney-Client and Tax Practitioner Privileges.”

International Taxation

The Law Office advises individuals and corporations in matters involving United States international tax law.  Since the advent of new IRS disclosure programs, we provide counsel and assist clients in disclosing and securing closure with the IRS with respect to foreign assets producing income. We also work with those of our clients holding assets outside of the United States, and assist them in managing to comply with the laws of the United States as well as the laws of other jurisdictions.  In this context, we are often called upon to review treaties between the U.S. and other countries.  Please see our publications “United States International Taxation,” and our discussion of the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program in the Tax News & Comment Section “IRS Developments” appearing in the October 2012 issue of Tax News & Comment, and a discussion of the program itself in the August 2011 issue of Tax News & Comment, entitled “Voluntary Reporting Program For Foreign Accounts Ending August 31”.