Who Needs Emergency Tax Services, Is it Really Urgent?

Who Needs Emergency Tax Services, Is it Urgent or a Scam?

Who Needs Emergency Tax Services

Taxpayers unfortunately have to be very careful when engaging a new tax attorney for a tax matter. That is because some tax attorneys will make everything sound like it is an emergency to quickly get you to part with your money and to charge you exorbitant fees for services that don’t require it. Most tax matters are not emergencies.

Did you receive an IRS notice of a tax Liability?

If you receive a notice that you have an outstanding tax liability, that is not an emergency — while it is very important and something that should be taken care of, that is not something that would require you to pay additional fees for emergency tax services.

Did you learn that you missed filing a certain IRS form?

This too is also not an emergency. Again, it is something that should be handled timely, but not necessarily requiring you to pay additional fees for emergency tax services.

What are some Examples of ‘Emergency’ Tax Services?

Here are some common examples of emergency tax services:

• • • Getting Arrested for Tax Crime

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    • Two IRS Special Agents at your Doorstep

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    • Detainment at the Airport for Taxes

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    • Writ Ne Exeat

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    • Jeopardy Assessment

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There are important (but not Emergency) Tax Services

• • • Final Notice of Intent to Levy

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    • Intent to Lien

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    • CP15 Notice

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    • 90-Day NOD Letter (Notice of Deficiency)

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    • 30-Day IRS Letter

How to Hire the Right Attorney for Emergency Tax Services

It is important to understand how to hire the right tax attorney in case you require emergency tax services. A Tax Attorney you hire for emergency tax services should be Board-Certified and practice exclusively in the area of tax you require the services for (Employment Tax, Sales Tax, International Tax, Criminal Tax, etc.)

*Also, beware of law firms falsely claiming to have Board-Certified tax law attorney specialists on staff.

Becoming a Board-Certified Tax Specialist

Becoming a Board-Certified Tax Specialist is a tough feat — California for example has only certified ~350 attorneys as ‘Board-Certified in Tax’ and most states have significantly fewer specialists (since fewer attorneys are practicing their states).

The specialist exam for Tax specifically, is known for being extremely difficult. For example, in California, there are more than 200,000 attorneys in California, and tens of thousands of them practice in some area of tax. Whether they are full-time tax attorneys or they practice tax law as part of a bigger practice such as estate planning, real estate, divorce, corporate and business law, or acting as outside counsel — tax law is everywhere. 

Is a CPA ‘Board’ the Same as a Board-Certified Tax Lawyer Specialist?

While both CPAs and attorneys may handle tax matters, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Enrolled Agent (EA) is not the same as a tax attorney. The roles of non-legal tax professionals (CPA and EA) are different than the role of an Attorney. Beyond these designations, some tax lawyers are also licensed as Board-Certified Tax Law Specialists, which means they are licensed by at least one State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization.

Recently, we have had taxpayers let us know that they had engaged in an initial consultation with a law firm that claims to have Board-Certified Tax Lawyer Specialists on staff — only to learn that there are no attorneys at the firm who are licensed as Board-Certified Tax Attorney Specialists by any State Bar in the United States. 

The firms claim they are “Board-Certified Tax Law Specialists” because they may have a CPA on staff. Preposterous. The only way to become a “Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist” is for an attorney to complete additional years of specialized tax education, pass a rigorous examination, and officially receive the designation from the State Bar. Many CPAs have no background at all in tax and just because a lawyer obtains a CPA designation does not mean they can call themselves “Board-Certified.”

American Bar Association Article About Attorney Experts

Back in 2013, the American Bar Association published a great article “Think Twice Before Calling Yourself an Expert“ about how the curent theme is that attorneys with about 10-15 years of experience, and a focus on one specific area of law, will suddenly start referring to themselves as experts – and how it is very dangerous territory for the client and attorney.

Here are some of the key highlights:

• • • “You have been in practice for 15 years. After starting out as a general practitioner, you found your caseload to be largely made up of employment law matters and after five years decided to limit your practice to that area. You have family who are union members, and word-of-mouth advertising has been positive.

      • Results from your work have been satisfying to clients, and your familiarity with the various laws relevant to employment matters is now solid. You teach a course at a local law school on employment law and frequently give workshops and guest lectures at seminars on the same topic. Can you now say you are an “expert” in employment law on your website?

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    • “You should think twice before doing so.”

      • “Put another way, use of the term expert is a subjective claim that leaves much to the reader’s imagination. In doing so, it can easily cross the line into false and misleading communication. State bar ethics opinions are unanimous on this point….”

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    • Risk of Discipline?

      • “Lawyers have been disciplined for making misleading claims of expertise. See In re PRB Dockett No.2002.093, 177 Vt. 629, 868 A2d. 709 (2005) (affirming discipline imposed upon lawyer who advertised in the local Yellow Pages as The Injury Experts and used a list captioned by the words “We are experts in” and listed several areas of law; court noted statements carried an “ implicit statement of superiority with a serious potential to mislead the consumer”); In re Wells, 392 S.C. 371, 709 S.E.2d 644 (2011) (lawyer publicly reprimanded and fined for, among other things, making claims of expertise in advertisements without having been certified as an expert); and In re Richmond’s case 152 N.H. 155, 872 A.2d 1023 N.H. (2005) (lawyer suspended for misrepresenting that he had expertise in securities law).”

How Long Has the Attorney Been Licensed?

Most experienced attorneys will have been practicing for at least 15-20 years and specialize exclusively in one area of tax law only.

Have the Attorney Explain WHY You Need to File Immediately

When a law firm advertises or markets as providing emergency offshore tax help, it already puts the client into a false sense of fear.  This is referred to as fear-mongering or scare-mongering.  If the Attorney feels it is absolutely crucial for you to hire a tax lawyer right now, have them explain exactly why it is necessary, and what their immediate actions will be — along with a written timeline.

Get a Second Opinion, First

Especially if the issue involves offshore matters, please be sure to reach out to multiple attorneys before being goaded into representation in a hurry. It seems every general tax practitioner with a handful of cases under their belt is suddenly an expert.

By interviewing multiple attorneys, it will accomplish two things:

• • • If the second (or third) attorney confirms that what the first attorney was correct, it will provide some comfort in his or her advice;

    • If the first attorney was incorrect, it will force you to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion, to help you see the issues most clearly.

Beware of Free “Emergency” Consultations

When the attorney already knows you want to move as fast as possible, this will turn the initial consultation into nothing more than a sales pitch as opposed to an information session, and an immediate “eating away” of the retainer you just paid.

Be Sure to Get a Strategy Punch-List

If a law firm is telling you that you are in a dire tax situation and require emergency tax help, be sure to get the strategy and timelines up-front. Remember, these firms are charging you a premium to handle your tax matter as quickly as possible. If they are taking the position that the matter is so serious that it needs to be done now, before you have time to really digest the information and speak with other counsel, then be sure you have a step-by-step roadmap of what these additional fees are really buying you.

Make Sure they Have the Experience they Claim to Have

Oftentimes, the purpose of getting you to quickly sign the retainer is to avoid you speaking with other, more experienced counsel. Be sure the attorney actually has the experience they claim they do. That way, they will not be charging you for items such as research and review, which can quickly eat away at your retainer, and before you know it, you are out of time…before your tax “emergency” is resolved.

Late Filing Penalties May be Reduced or Avoided

We specialize exclusively in offshore tax matters. For Taxpayers who did not timely file their FBAR and other international information-related reporting forms, the IRS has developed many different offshore amnesty programs to assist taxpayers with safely getting into compliance. These programs may reduce or even eliminate international reporting penalties.

Current Year vs Prior Year Non-Compliance

Once a taxpayer missed the tax and reporting (such as FBAR and FATCA) requirements for prior years, they will want to be careful before submitting their information to the IRS in the current year. That is because they may risk making a quiet disclosure if they just begin filing forward in the current year and/or mass filing previous year forms without doing so under one of the approved IRS offshore submission procedures. Before filing prior untimely foreign reporting forms, taxpayers should consider speaking with a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist who specializes exclusively in these types of offshore disclosure matters.

Avoid False Offshore Disclosure Submissions (Willful vs Non-Willful)

In recent years, the IRS has increased the level of scrutiny for certain streamlined procedure submissions. When a person is non-willful, they have an excellent chance of making a successful submission to Streamlined Procedures. If they are willful, they would submit to the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program instead. But, if a willful Taxpayer submits an intentionally false narrative under the Streamlined Procedures (and gets caught), they may become subject to significant fines and penalties. 

Need Help Finding an Experienced Offshore Tax Attorney?

When it comes to hiring an experienced international tax attorney to represent you for unreported foreign and offshore account reporting, it can become overwhelming for taxpayers trying to trek through all the false information and nonsense they will find in their online research. There are only a handful of attorneys worldwide who are Board-Certified Tax Specialists and who specialize exclusively in offshore disclosure and international tax amnesty reporting. 

Golding & Golding: About Our International Tax Law Firm

Golding & Golding specializes exclusively in international tax, specifically IRS offshore disclosure. 

Contact our firm today for assistance.