Tax Controversies

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner Generally, per Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §6751(b)(1), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is precluded from assessing a penalty unless the initial determination assessment “is personally approved (in writing) by the immediate supervisor of the individual making such determination or such higher level official as the Secretary may designate.” Recently, the Tax […]

Eli S. Noff, Esq. Partner The recent Tax Court’s Alterman v. Commissioner [1] decision is a lesson in Accounting 101 for Cannabisseurs. Well, technically it’s a valuable lesson about record-keeping to all taxpayers who are subject to Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) §280E — but with the currently high audit rates for the marijuana industry, it’s […]

Rebecca Sheppard, Esq. Have you ever considered filing an offer in compromise with the IRS to “settle your debt for pennies on the dollar”? Until recently, filing an offer in compromise was believed to create an automatic hold on collection action–i.e., the IRS would not be able to levy your property once it was filed. […]

Eli S. Noff, Esq. CPA, Partner Wesley Snipes and the IRS have been at odds for many years. From 1999 to 2001, Snipes simply didn’t file returns and failed to pay millions of dollars in taxes. For his part, Snipes has denied being a tax protestor; rather, he claims to have relied on professional advice […]

Eli Noff, Esq.,CPA, Partner The taxpayer in Berkun v. Commissioner1 ultimately raised two collection due process arguments too late for consideration on appeal, but the Eleventh Circuit apparently found them worthy enough to highlight in a published opinion. Although the Eleventh Circuit uses a popular Seinfeld reference to describe its own non-substantive ruling in Berkun […]

In Borenstein v. Commissioner, 149 T.C. No. 10 (Aug. 30, 2017), for the first time, the Tax Court has interpreted the final sentence of IRC §6512(b)(3) as applied to the fact pattern in this case. The Tax Court’s interpretation resulted in the taxpayer losing a significant refund for tax overpayments, because the IRS notice of […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner On May 16, 2018, in United States v. Colliot,[1]the District Court for the Western District of Texas held that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is precluded from assessing a willful Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) penalty exceeding the $100,000 limit provided in Federal Regulation (Reg.) §1010.820. The decision […]

On May 23, 2018, the Maryland Tax Court held that the Maryland legislature’s 2014 attempt to lower the interest rate for refunds resulting from the decision in Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne [1] was unconstitutional.[2]As such, interest paid on Wynne refunds will be at a rate of 13 percent—the same rate for […]

Eli Noff, Esq.,Partner On August 8, 2019, in Soltani-Amadi v. Commissioner,[1]the Tax Court determined that Taxpayer’s early distribution from her Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §401(k) retirement plan (401(k)) used for the purchase of her first home was includible in income and subject to the 10% early distribution penalty. This decision emphasizes the need for careful […]

Eli Noff, Esq., Partner Taxpayers must use FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) to report their foreign accounts if the aggregate value of the accounts exceeds $10,000 anytime during the calendar year.[1] Before 2004, non—willful FBAR violators were not subject to a penalty. However, for non—willful violations on or after […]