You saved our bacon. I cannot possibly express the gratitude that I feel in plain words, so just thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
The IRS and California Tax Collections Has Reached An Unprecedented Level of Aggressiveness in the Wake of the Pandemic
The federal government has given away more than three trillion dollars in COVID relief funds. California has been decimated economically by COVID and is facing a massive budget shortfall. The government's plan for resolving this is devastating simple and straight forward: go after those who owe money in taxes using whatever means available.
Let's face facts: raising taxes in a pandemic is not something that is politically popular. The short term fix for the government is either to 1) broaden the tax base or 2) increase the scope and aggressiveness of collection action. That's it.
Recently, Charles Rossotti (former commissioner of the IRS) and Lawrence Summers (former Treasury Secretary) put forward a plan to spend an additional $100 billion dollars toward IRS enforcement. They estimate that doing that will generate more than $1.2 trillion dollars from taxpayers to fill the government's coffers.
Translation: The IRS, desperate for cash, is making a major move to go after the tax paying population. For those that owe, 100k or more and are assigned to the "large dollar collections" unit, you can expect to face a threat like you have never seen before.
The state of California might be in even worse shape. With a pandemic that has devastated the state's economy and experiencing major drops in sales tax, hotel, and tourism taxes, California is doing everything it can to raise tax revenue.
The biggest problem is that California's administrative tax agencies, due to high barriers to getting into and resolving issues in California state courts, virtually operate with never before seen levels of impunity. Unchecked aggression is never a good thing, but especially because California's tax collection system is designed to facilitate state revenue collection, the threat to taxpayers (particularly businesses) has not ever been this high.
Translation: If you owe taxes to the state of California, winter is coming and you need to do everything that you can to get yourself out of harm's way.
There’s a Way Biden Can Raise More From the Rich Without Higher Taxes
December 22, 2020
A California Plan to Chase Away the Rich, Then Keep Stalking Them
December 18, 2020
California is Clobbering Small Businesses with a Retroactive Tax Grab
December 28, 2020
Answer: The window is closing. In light of the risk that your business potentially faces, you need to address this now.
Why us? We are one of the few tax law firms that focuses on high stakes IRS and state of California collections issues.
These issues are technical and difficult to address and are a speciality within a speciality within the area of tax law. Very few firms have the experience being on the front lines of this issue and in dealing with the genesis in this area of law. In order to deal with these issues effectively, you need a legal team who understands not just how the law is written, but how it is enforced.
We think like business owners first, not like a lawyers.
At the end of the day, legal decisions must be analyzed within a business framework or they are of little value to an organization. Yes, the laws are harsh and the cost of compliance can seem daunting, but this is where our firm excels. You need a team that can think outside the box and who is similarly focused on cost/benefit, risk/exposure, and can help you weigh the best path moving forward.
We are a nationally recognized local law firm.
What do you get with us? A team small enough to provide individualized and personal service for our clients with the ability to really get to know their business. But little hinges can swing some pretty big doors. Our firm is nationally recognized for excellence in tax law and are often quoted by major media publications. We have a wide range of experience guiding organizations across industries and those who range in size from start-up to hundreds of millions in annual revenue. That lead us in 2018 to be recognized as the 14th fastest growing law firm in the United States.
As I like to say, our tax experience is an inch wide and a mile deep. We only focus on a few select areas in tax, but we have a depth of experience in our chosen areas of practice and in helping navigate the deep and complex waters that exist in this area of law.
I look forward to meeting you, discussing your company's situation, and, at the very least getting you pointed in the right direction.
