11:30 – 12:30 pm:

Registration & Lunch

12:30 – 12:45 pm:

Dean’s Welcome & Housekeeping Items

12:45 – 2:00 pm:

That Belongs to Us!  Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Federal Tax Liens

Join us and get a walk-through of everything you would want to know about federal tax liens.  Our panelists will review the statutory authority for liens, the filing of the Notice of Federal Tax, priority issues of the federal tax lien vs. other creditors liens, and the power of the lien to attach to assets and rights to assets.  In addition, the panel will discuss what practitioners can do about dealing with the tax lien, including withdrawal, discharge and subordination.

Moderator:

• Sara Spodick, LITC Director, Quinnipiac University Law School, North Haven, CT

Panel:

• Debra Reale, IRS Office of Chief Counsel, East Hartford, CT
• Eric L. Green, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT

2:00 – 2:15 pm:

Break

2:15 – 3:30 pm:

United States District Court Mock Trial: Suit to Reduce Lien to Judgment and Foreclose

During this mock-trial you will get to watch a hearing before the Honorable Marvin Garbis as the government seeks to convert its federal tax lien into a judgment and foreclose on the taxpayer’s home. This trial will highlight the issues practitioners and the government face when a tax lien is present and the collection statute expiration is imminent. Our combatants and judge will then hold a panel and Q&A session with the attendees to review what took place and provide insight into what each side’s thoughts and strategies were as the case wound its way to and through trial.

Moderator:

• Lisa Perkins, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, West Hartford, CT

Panel / Players:

• Honorable Marvin Garbis, (soon Retired), U.S. District Judge U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• Christine Sciarrino, Esq. (invited), Asst. United States Attorney, United States Department of Justice, New Haven, CT
• Frank Agostino, Esq., Agostino & Associates, Hackensack, NJ

7:30 – 8:30 am:

Registration

8:30 – 8:45 am:

Welcome / Housekeeping Items

8:45 – 10:10 am:

Tax Compliance & Enforcement Update

Voluntary compliance and enforcement of the tax law are at the heart of our tax system. Over the past several years, the IRS has been challenged to come up with new and more efficient ways to ensure that all taxpayers pay the correct amount of tax. These include adjustments to procedures, being more pro-active, and utilizing technology to help enforce our nation’s tax laws and ensure tax compliance.  These panels provide an update on new developments at the IRS and allow attendees to hear directly from the IRS executives who are charged with these areas.

IRS Small Business Self-Employment Division Update:

• Mary Beth Murphy, Commissioner, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC
• Interviewer: Jeffrey M. Sklarz, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT

IRS Collection Operations Update:

• Paul J. Mamo, Director, Collection, Internal Revenue Service, Cincinnati, OH
• Interviewer: Eric L. Green, Esq., Partner, Green & Sklarz, New Haven, CT

Taxpayer Advocate Update:

• Rhonda Kirby, Executive Director – Case Advocacy, National Taxpayer Advocate, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC
• Interviewer: Lisa Perkins, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT

10:10 – 10:25 am:

Break

10:25 – 11:45 am:

Addressing Conflicts of Interest in Today’s Tax Practice

Practitioners are often faced with ethical conundrums in everyday practice.  The representation of spouses in an exam, discovering information not reported in a prior year, issues with financial information that surfaces after it has been provided to the IRS, etc.  Our panel of practitioner and government experts will review these situations and discuss them so that attendees will know to do (and not do) when these issues arise.

Moderator:

• Caroline Ciraolo, Esq., Kostelanetz & Fink LLP, Washington, D.C.

Panel:

• Karen Hawkins, Esq., Former Director, IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, Yachats, OR
• Ellis L. Reemer, Esq. DLA Piper, New York, NY
• Honorable Marvin Garbis, (soon Retired), U.S. District Judge U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

11:45 – 12:45 pm:

Lunch: Cyber Security Panel Presentation with Marks Paneth

In recent years, hundreds of tax professionals experienced data thefts or breaches that exposed their clients’ personal information to cybercriminals and to tax-related identity theft. As cybercriminals continue to increasingly pursue tax professionals’ data, the tax community needs to protect itself from being targeted by identity thieves. This special lunch program will cover what every one of us needs to consider in order to protect us and our client’s valuable information.

12:45 – 1:45 pm:

Track A: Information Sharing Between the IRS and State Tax Authorities

Whether it is exams, amended returns, investigations, or whatever, there is clearly a link between the Internal Revenue Service and the various state Departments of Revenue.  Our panelists will discuss what information is shared between the various taxing authorities, how this is done and what practitioners should expect when one authority makes changes that impact returns/filings with the others.

Moderator:

• Frank Agostino, Esq., Agostino & Associates, Hackensack, NJ

Panelists:

• Paul C. Borderi (Invited), Internal Revenue Service, Governmental Liaison / Government Information Specialist, Hartford, CT
• Louis Bucari, Asst. Commissioner, CT Department of Revenue Services, Hartford, CT
• Noelle Geiger, Esq., Grassi & Company, Jericho, NY

Track B: The Games Contractor’s Play: IRS Examination of Contractor Returns

Contractors have plenty of opportunities to defer paying tax legally.  Though tax avoidance is perfectly legal, tax evasion is not.  Join our panel of experts as they walk you through the opportunities for contractors to cross the line with their approach to taxes and the potential issues it creates, both civilly and criminally.

Moderator:

• Philip J. Wilson, CPA, Marcum, Irvine, CA

Panel:

• Barry Fischman, CPA, Marcum, New Haven, CT
• Walter Pagano, CPA, CFE, Eisner Amper, New York, NY
• Jeanne M. Wierman (Invited), Internal Revenue Service, North Charleston, SC

1:45 – 2:45 pm:

Track A: Crypto Currency: What Every Practitioner Needs to Know!

The presentation will provide tax professionals with a critical first look at new IRS initiatives on taxpayer compliance and reporting obligations for cryptocurrency transactions. The panelists will discuss the IRS position on cryptocurrency as property rather than cash, analyze IRS monitoring to increase compliance, consider criminal investigations and prosecutions for failing to properly report cryptocurrency transactions and define proper reporting and tax treatment for “mining” and exchanging crypto currency.

Moderator:

• Jeffrey Sklarz, Esq. Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT

Panel:

• James Robnett, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-CI, New York, NY
• Sandy Boxerman, Esq., Capes Sokol, St. Louis, MO
• Michel R. Stein, Esq., Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez, P.C., Beverly Hills, CA
• Sharon L. McCarthy, Esq., Kostelanetz & Fink LLP, New York, NY

Track B: Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Tax Issues in Divorce

Many things come out in a divorce, not least of which are tax and accounting issues like undisclosed foreign bank accounts, fraudulent returns, etc.  This panel will cover what accountants need to know about divorce, the potential tax issues that should be considered before the divorce agreement is finalized.

Moderator:

• Eric L. Green, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT

Panel:

• Sheila Charmoy, Esq., Charmoy & Charmoy, Fairfield, CT
• Walter Pagano, CPA, CFE, Eisner Amper, New York, NY

2:45 – 3:00 pm:

Break

3:00 – 4:00 pm:

Track A: Tax Preparer Investigations and Penalties

The penalty rules for tax return preparers pose significant challenges for tax practitioners and their clients. There often is a great amount of uncertainty about what a “tax shelter” is and when and how to disclose return positions. Practitioners must also wrestle with regard to conducting proper due diligence, understanding the standards of conduct necessary to avoid 6694 penalties and determining when to rely on information provided by clients or third parties. Criminal investigation and prosecution may also lie ahead.  Join our panel of experts as they review the government’s view of compliance and due diligence, what practitioners can do to protect themselves, and how to challenge these penalties when they are proposed.

Moderator:

• Eric L. Green, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT

Panel:

• Kristina O’Connell, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge, Boston, MA
• Steven Hurok, Esq., Citrin Cooperman, New York, NY
• Lucille Jesse (Invited), Internal Revenue Service, New Haven, CT

Track B: Estate Planning Gone Awry: What Happens When Things Don’t Work Out the Way We Planned?

While certain estate tax planning strategies may be effective in minimizing state and federal taxes, and may provide clients with a certain level of comfort and satisfaction, these strategies may result in unanticipated consequences for the beneficiaries either during a client’s lifetime or after the client’s death.  This panel will discuss three types of trusts commonly used in estate tax planning (the QPRT, the ILIT, and the GRAT), and will consider some of the non-tax and familial issues that may arise in attempting to administer such trusts, as well as the tax and financial fallout when things do not go the way the planners thought they would!

Moderator:

• Shelby Wilson, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, Westport, CT

Panel:

• Anthony F. Vitiello, Esq., Connell Foley, Roseland, NJ
• James Grimaldi, Esq., CPA, Citrin Cooperman, New York, NY

4:00 – 5:00 pm:

Track A: IRS Collection & Enforcement Update

Join our experts as they update you on the IRS’s newest initiatives to deal with the ever-increasing inventory of tax cases.  Our panel will review the IRS’s payroll tax initiative, the use of private debt collectors, and preventing the renewal or issuance of passports to seriously delinquent taxpayers.

Moderator:

• Amanda Evans, EA, Green & Sklarz LLC

Panel:

• Fran Obeid, Esq., MFO Law PC, New York, NY
• Paul Mamo, IRS Director of Collections, Cincinnati, OH

Track B: Tax & Estate Planning Opportunities and Pitfalls Under the New Tax Act

The 2017 Tax Act made many changes to both the income tax sections of the code, as well as the estate and gift areas.  Our panelists will review what has changed, what has not, and what planners need to be thinking about and advising their clients about as we approach the end of year 2018 and beyond.  There will also be some discussion of how planners should consider the various state initiatives in their plans when sitting and formulating them with clients.

Moderator:

• Shelby Wilson, Esq., Green & Sklarz, LLC, Westport, CT

Panel:

• Anthony F. Vitiello, Esq., Connell Foley, Roseland, NJ
• Crystal Germanese, CPA, Andersen Tax, West Hartford, CT
• Steve Eliach, Esq., Marks Paneth, New York, NY

5:00 pm:

Frank Agostino’s Giveaway!

Conference giveaway sponsored by Agostino & Associates

5:00 – 6:00 pm:

Cocktail Reception