Print PDF Tax Controversies
We represent individuals, businesses, trusts, and estates in disputes with governmental taxing authorities at the federal, state, and local levels. Our practice in this area encompasses representation before administrative agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Ohio Department of Taxation, litigation in trial courts, including the United States Tax Court, federal district courts, and the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, and advocacy before federal and state courts of appeals and the Supreme Court of Ohio.
State and Local Taxation Dispute Resolution
Resolution of tax disputes at the state and local levels involves a diverse set of problems and a wide variety of taxes, including the corporate franchise tax, income tax, sales and use tax, personal property tax, real property tax (including valuation and exemption disputes), and more specialized taxes – such as public utility taxes, motor vehicle fuel taxes, insurance company taxes, and dealer and intangible taxes. Our lawyers represent taxpayers before the Ohio Department of Taxation, County Boards of Revision, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, municipal agencies, and all Ohio courts, including the Supreme Court of Ohio. We have also represented state and local taxpayers in the federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.
Often, clients retain us to provide behind-the-scenes assistance in connection with state and local tax audits, even when those audits are being handled principally by the accountants who prepared the tax returns in the first instance. For example, our lawyers may interact directly with agents in an effort to defuse an issue at the earliest possible time. Our attorneys are skilled at working with taxing authorities, at all levels, to achieve reasonable resolutions of disputes without the need for litigation. We believe that all reasonable settlement options should be reviewed and, if appropriate, pursued prior to the full implementation of a litigation strategy. Where litigation is necessary, however, we have the significant experience and depth that allow our attorneys to prosecute or defend against all kinds of state and local tax claims.
Federal Tax Dispute Resolution
We represent a wide variety of clients - individuals, businesses, exempt organizations, estates and trusts - in all types of federal tax disputes, including income tax, estate tax, and various types of excise taxes. We also assist our clients when penalties are proposed. If a tax liability is ultimately determined, we assist our clients in dealing with collection issues.
At the federal level, dispute resolution may occur in any of three stages: audit, appeals, and litigation. At the audit stage, our involvement typically is limited to advising clients and their accountants on tax issues. Typically, our lawyers do not interact directly with revenue agents. However, when estate tax examiners propose adjustments to an estate or gift tax return as filed, our attorneys often will have frontline involvement in contesting those adjustments.
Our attorneys have significant involvement when disputes cannot be resolved at the agent level and the matter is taken to the IRS Appeals Office. We have established excellent relationships with appeals officers throughout Ohio, and our lawyers work closely with the appeals officers to obtain favorable results that may allow our clients to avoid the cost and burden of litigation.
Finally, we regularly represent our clients in the Tax Court and federal court when a fair resolution cannot be reached at the administrative appeals stage. Our attorneys have significant experience both in working with counsel from the Internal Revenue Service to resolve the dispute prior to trial and in litigating the case through trial where necessary.
