IRS Tax Attorneys I.
Introduction Before delving into the discussion about the functions of IRS Tax Attorneys, it is significant for one to gain an understanding on the concepts and issues relevant to the subject matter at hand.
For this reason, I have included herein brief discussions on the nature of IRS and the definition of 'Offer in Compromise' (OIC).
Moreover, I tackled some issues concerning the possible IRS abuses.
The factual existence of abuses in IRS necessitates the service of IRS Tax Attorneys who will help taxpayers to effectively preclude tax overpayment.
II.
IRS defined What is IRS? The acronym stands for Internal Revenue Service which is a U.
S.
government agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of the revenue laws of the Treasury Department.
Specifically, the IRS, which is a part of the Treasury Department, is assigned with the annual collection of state and income tax from working residents and business establishments.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was formerly known as the Bureau of Internal Revenue until it was formally changed in 1953 following the Treasury Decision 6038.
Later, the Congress enacted Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 that resulted to the four operating divisions including Large and Mid-Size Business (LMSB), Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE), Wage and Investment (W&I), and Tax Exempt & Government Entities (TE/GE).
Under these four divisions the IRS now functions.
III.
What is OIC or Offer in Compromise? The term Offer in Compromise (OIC) is defined as "an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS".
It seeks to resolve the tax debt of a taxpayer.
Accordingly, the Internal Revenue Service is authorized to settle or 'compromise' tax liabilities by allowing a taxpayer to make partial payments under certain circumstances.
The following reasons provide for the conditions wherein a tax debt can be legally compromised.
o Doubt as to Liability- Doubt exists that the assessed tax is correct.
o Doubt as to Collect-ability- Doubt exists that you could ever pay the full amount of tax owed.
o Effective Tax Administration- There is no doubt that the tax is correct.
There is also no doubt that the amount owed could be collected, but an exceptional circumstance exists that allows the IRS to consider a taxpayer's OIC.
For a compromise on this basis, the taxpayer should justify that collection of the tax would inevitably engender economic hardship on his part or would appear inequitable.
IV.
Issues regarding the IRS Abuses Known to the public is the expertise of the IRS at utilizing leverage to bluff, coerce, and intimidate taxpayers and their representatives into unfavorable tax collection based upon specious and inadequate facts and weak legal authority.
The Internal Revenue Service uses this leverage against taxpayers although the IRS agent employs erroneous and incomplete facts and makes determinations on faulty argument and law.
To tax extreme positions on the factual and legal issues is typical for the IRS.
This means that an IRS agent who seems sloppy and incompetent can still get a large and unjustified tax deficiency.
Taxpayers and their representatives who do not have the skills to identify and advocate the factual and legal issues for their clients are often intimidated by the raw power of the agent's position and presumption of correctness.
The "intimidation" strategy of the IRS agent is used deliberately to quickly close cases.
V.
The Functions of IRS Tax Attorneys The discussion about the IRS abuses on the preceding section serves as the pivot around which the discussion as to the functions of the IRS Tax Attorneys revolves.
Although there are other tax professionals (CPA's, accountants, enrolled agents, non-tax attorneys) who are able to help taxpayers avoid abusive tax collection, they may not have a tax specialty which is indispensable in dealing with the technical analysis, legal research, identification of issues, interpretative creativity and insight, negotiating skills, knowledge of the IRS, or technical writing ability necessary to effectively prevent avoidable tax over payments.
This is when the tax attorney comes in.
He can do something an accountant cannot.
A skilled tax attorney can conduct a systematic research on a statute and then master it.
He will be able to know its legislative history and be familiar with the Treasury regulations and IRS rulings on that statute.
As well, he will have access to the many court decisions involving the litigation of the tax statute.
He will have substantially read tax articles and books dealing with the tax statute.
Nonetheless, tax attorneys have different skill levels and abilities.
For this reason, taxpayers should take into account the most important attribute of a good tax attorney when choosing their representatives.
It must be accentuated that a good tax attorney should be 'creative' with the tax law.
Such creativity may arise in various ways.
Using interpretative skill to look support of a tax position is one of the abilities a creative tax attorney can do.
He will be able to search for a tax loophole which allows favorable tax treatment in situations not covered by the statute under consideration.
He will be able to determine inconsistencies by the IRS in its published positions or private ruling letters.
Above all, he has the interpretative skills to spin facts, case law, and regulations in favor of the tax payer.
Furthermore, as between two attorneys, a specialist in tax laws is a better representative for a taxpayer.
A tax attorney has the superior training and experience.
And as between tax attorneys who both specialize in IRS controversies and problems, a firm that has IRS experience has better insight to the inner workings of the IRS.
It is advantageous for taxpayers to choose their representatives who have the knowledge of the administrative processes of the IRS.
VI.
Summary and Conclusion To encapsulate, it is to the taxpayers' advantage to know IRS personnel, how the IRS thinks, and what 'bells to ring' in arguing the facts, the law, and if necessary negotiating a settlement.
Taxpayers should employ the service of tax attorneys in solving their IRS problems so as to prevent IRS coercion, intimidation, and abuse.
A tax attorney has the education, training, technical skill, experience, and overall ability than an adverse IRS agent.
Tax attorneys can easily counter intimidation, stop abusive actions, and reverse IRS bluff.
Therefore, the IRS tax attorneys are in a position to determine faulty logic, argue the correct law, and counteract incomplete factual determinations.
Introduction Before delving into the discussion about the functions of IRS Tax Attorneys, it is significant for one to gain an understanding on the concepts and issues relevant to the subject matter at hand.
For this reason, I have included herein brief discussions on the nature of IRS and the definition of 'Offer in Compromise' (OIC).
Moreover, I tackled some issues concerning the possible IRS abuses.
The factual existence of abuses in IRS necessitates the service of IRS Tax Attorneys who will help taxpayers to effectively preclude tax overpayment.
II.
IRS defined What is IRS? The acronym stands for Internal Revenue Service which is a U.
S.
government agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of the revenue laws of the Treasury Department.
Specifically, the IRS, which is a part of the Treasury Department, is assigned with the annual collection of state and income tax from working residents and business establishments.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was formerly known as the Bureau of Internal Revenue until it was formally changed in 1953 following the Treasury Decision 6038.
Later, the Congress enacted Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 that resulted to the four operating divisions including Large and Mid-Size Business (LMSB), Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE), Wage and Investment (W&I), and Tax Exempt & Government Entities (TE/GE).
Under these four divisions the IRS now functions.
III.
What is OIC or Offer in Compromise? The term Offer in Compromise (OIC) is defined as "an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS".
It seeks to resolve the tax debt of a taxpayer.
Accordingly, the Internal Revenue Service is authorized to settle or 'compromise' tax liabilities by allowing a taxpayer to make partial payments under certain circumstances.
The following reasons provide for the conditions wherein a tax debt can be legally compromised.
o Doubt as to Liability- Doubt exists that the assessed tax is correct.
o Doubt as to Collect-ability- Doubt exists that you could ever pay the full amount of tax owed.
o Effective Tax Administration- There is no doubt that the tax is correct.
There is also no doubt that the amount owed could be collected, but an exceptional circumstance exists that allows the IRS to consider a taxpayer's OIC.
For a compromise on this basis, the taxpayer should justify that collection of the tax would inevitably engender economic hardship on his part or would appear inequitable.
IV.
Issues regarding the IRS Abuses Known to the public is the expertise of the IRS at utilizing leverage to bluff, coerce, and intimidate taxpayers and their representatives into unfavorable tax collection based upon specious and inadequate facts and weak legal authority.
The Internal Revenue Service uses this leverage against taxpayers although the IRS agent employs erroneous and incomplete facts and makes determinations on faulty argument and law.
To tax extreme positions on the factual and legal issues is typical for the IRS.
This means that an IRS agent who seems sloppy and incompetent can still get a large and unjustified tax deficiency.
Taxpayers and their representatives who do not have the skills to identify and advocate the factual and legal issues for their clients are often intimidated by the raw power of the agent's position and presumption of correctness.
The "intimidation" strategy of the IRS agent is used deliberately to quickly close cases.
V.
The Functions of IRS Tax Attorneys The discussion about the IRS abuses on the preceding section serves as the pivot around which the discussion as to the functions of the IRS Tax Attorneys revolves.
Although there are other tax professionals (CPA's, accountants, enrolled agents, non-tax attorneys) who are able to help taxpayers avoid abusive tax collection, they may not have a tax specialty which is indispensable in dealing with the technical analysis, legal research, identification of issues, interpretative creativity and insight, negotiating skills, knowledge of the IRS, or technical writing ability necessary to effectively prevent avoidable tax over payments.
This is when the tax attorney comes in.
He can do something an accountant cannot.
A skilled tax attorney can conduct a systematic research on a statute and then master it.
He will be able to know its legislative history and be familiar with the Treasury regulations and IRS rulings on that statute.
As well, he will have access to the many court decisions involving the litigation of the tax statute.
He will have substantially read tax articles and books dealing with the tax statute.
Nonetheless, tax attorneys have different skill levels and abilities.
For this reason, taxpayers should take into account the most important attribute of a good tax attorney when choosing their representatives.
It must be accentuated that a good tax attorney should be 'creative' with the tax law.
Such creativity may arise in various ways.
Using interpretative skill to look support of a tax position is one of the abilities a creative tax attorney can do.
He will be able to search for a tax loophole which allows favorable tax treatment in situations not covered by the statute under consideration.
He will be able to determine inconsistencies by the IRS in its published positions or private ruling letters.
Above all, he has the interpretative skills to spin facts, case law, and regulations in favor of the tax payer.
Furthermore, as between two attorneys, a specialist in tax laws is a better representative for a taxpayer.
A tax attorney has the superior training and experience.
And as between tax attorneys who both specialize in IRS controversies and problems, a firm that has IRS experience has better insight to the inner workings of the IRS.
It is advantageous for taxpayers to choose their representatives who have the knowledge of the administrative processes of the IRS.
VI.
Summary and Conclusion To encapsulate, it is to the taxpayers' advantage to know IRS personnel, how the IRS thinks, and what 'bells to ring' in arguing the facts, the law, and if necessary negotiating a settlement.
Taxpayers should employ the service of tax attorneys in solving their IRS problems so as to prevent IRS coercion, intimidation, and abuse.
A tax attorney has the education, training, technical skill, experience, and overall ability than an adverse IRS agent.
Tax attorneys can easily counter intimidation, stop abusive actions, and reverse IRS bluff.
Therefore, the IRS tax attorneys are in a position to determine faulty logic, argue the correct law, and counteract incomplete factual determinations.