Tax Justice Warriors

When advocating for a client, you do not want to skip to the conclusion.  It is necessary to build up the argument with support – link the law and the facts with words like “because.”  This has applications in law school exams, court arguments, and correspondence-based advocacy.  Correspondence-based advocacy includes government submissions where we are making arguments with supporting documents.  Learn about the IRAC and CRAC methods and how to gain sympathy for your client by painting a picture in words.

This focus on Tax Court concludes with a focus on litigation related to Tax Court.  How do you frame a trial with Tax Court?  How is Tax Court different from other courts?  These items and a dive into certain items like shifting the burden of proof to the IRS and making qualified offers make up the episode.

I mentioned some of this before, but here is an update on changes with the Tax Court due to COVID-19.  The main item I wanted to bring to your attention is the availability of the Clerk’s office with the Tax Court on July 10 if you are timing the filing of a petition based on the Guralnik case.  I discuss the cancellation of Tax Court dockets in the spring and summer, balanced with the scheduling of dockets for the fall.  That leads into virtual trial settings and virtual settlement days.  Also, the Court has not been receiving mail but that changes on July 10.  If you are filing a petition in July, there are the Guralnik case and IRS Notice 2020-23 that affect jurisdiction.  I end with a talk about the changes to the Tax Court case system and the June 2 post on Procedurally Taxing by Keith Fogg.  I hope this helps to understand Tax Court changes for the summer!  Happy 4th of July weekend!

This episode is an introduction to the U.S. Tax Court – information about the Court itself, things to think about when filing a petition with the Tax Court (location, filing fee/waiver, filling out the petition, s case versus regular case), the calendar call, and designated orders from the Court.

This episode focuses on the big picture view of “the new normal for taxes” since there have been several changes connected to the coronavirus pandemic.  Topics discussed include missed opportunities and new opportunities related to the ABA May Tax Meeting, Tax Court, free webinars, Virtual Settlement Days, and more.

Some tips:

• If there were issues with the economic impact payment, some of the potential assistance I know about are the phone number 1-800-919-9835 or using IRS form 3911. Otherwise, the main advice I have is to file a 2019 tax return separately if you need to show on record that you are no longer with the spouse from a joint return so that you can potentially receive the payment as a refund on the 2020 tax return.

• The University of San Diego Law School has for free virtually their 5th Annual Tax Controversy Institute on July 17 looking at tax controversy work during COVID-19, the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, and IRS Fraud Enforcement and Criminal Investigations.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5th-annual-usd-school-of-law-rjs-law-tax-controversy-institute-tickets-93194377893

• Kostelanetz and Fink is holding the 12th Annual NYU Tax Controversy Forum for free virtually on June 18 and 19. By the time this airs, those dates may have passed, but they are available through CPAcademy, which will be rebroadcasting those webinars during the summer.  The webinars will have updates from the heads of several departments at the IRS such as the new Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins and new head of the Independent Office of Appeals Andy Keyso.  They will also have presentations on penalties, fraud, Tax Collections, and enforcement.

https://kflawtaxforum.com/agenda/

• ABA Virtual May Tax Meeting is June 10 through July 30. 19 webinars over 6 weeks covering ethics, Tax Court, international tax, corporate tax (19 or so committees).  Rates range from free to $500 for the entire series, depending on your category.

*All sessions are live in Eastern Standard Time

William Chun was selected as Tax Division Liaison at the American Bar Association.  Will is a law student who is getting experience through tax courses at Rutgers Law School.  Tune in to learn about his responsibility as Tax Division Liaison to get other law students interested in tax.

It's an episode release on my birthday -

Would you give me the gift of listening to my interview with Paul Harrison?  He is the Tax Clinic Director for Ladder Up (formerly the Center for Economic Progress) in Chicago, Illinois.  He has been working at Low Income Taxpayer Clinics in Maine and Virginia since 2001.  This veteran wanted to give out some guidance.  We wound up talking about the economic impact payments and related issues for deceased taxpayers, prisoners, and resident/nonresident aliens.  What are the cutoffs for when a person should be required to return a payment?