“The Nuts & Bolts of a Tax Representation Practice”
Schedule: Thursday, November 18, 2021
All times are EASTERN
8:30 – 8:40 am:
Opening Remarks / Housekeeping Items
8:40 – 10:45 am:
IRS Enforcement Update
Voluntary compliance and enforcement of the tax laws 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 report and pay the correct amount of tax. These panel interviews provide us with an update on new developments at the IRS.
Panels:
- SB/SE – Darren Guillot and Delon Harris, interviewed by Caroline Ciraolo
- Criminal – Jim Lee, interviewed by Barbara Kaplan
- Appeals – Andrew Keyso, interviewed by Jeffrey Sklarz
- Fraud Enforcement Office – Damon Rowe, interviewed by Frank Agostino
- Office of Promoter Investigations – Lois E. Deitrich, interviewed by Eric Green
10:45 – 11:00 am:
Break
11:00 – 12:00 pm:
The Role of Tax Compliance in IRS Representation
Everything we do to resolve a taxpayer’s issue starts with “Tax Compliance”, but what exactly does that mean? Our panel will review the requirements for being in compliance, and what steps practitioners should take to make sure the client gets into compliance so they can move on to resolving the taxpayer’s issue.
Moderator:
- Amanda Evans, EA, Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT
Panelists:
- Beverly Winstead, Esq., Director, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore, MD, and Law Offices of Beverly Winstead, PC, Linthicum Heights, MD
- Nina E. Olson, Esq., Center for Taxpayer Rights, Washington, DC
12:00 – 12:40 pm:
Lunch
12:40 – 2:00 pm:
How to: The Nuts and Bolts of Tax Representation Practice
This panel will review the nuts and bolts of everyday tax representation, including Powers-of-Attorney, Transcripts, the Collection Statute, responding to IRS requests for information, requesting collection appeals, and managing your tax practice. The panel will also address the current pain points of dealing with the IRS, including phone delays, mail processing issues and other headaches practitioners are dealing with in the post-COVID world of an IRS workforce that is working offsite.
Moderator:
- Sara V. Spodick, Esq., Director, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, Quinnipiac University School of Law, North Haven, CT
Panelists:
- Amanda Evans, EA, Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT
- Roger Nemeth, EA, Tax Help Software, Tallahassee, FL
- Caren Zhan, EA, Agostino & Associates, PC, Hackensack, NJ
2:00 – 3:00 pm:
Tax Liens 101: Mechanics and Impact of the Federal Tax Lien, and What to Do With It?
The IRS does not need to do anything to create a tax lien. IRC § 6321 creates a lien automatically when demand for payment is made and no payment is forthcoming. However to protect its interest the IRS often will file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. Our panel will review the mechanics of how tax liens work and what their impact is on taxpayers. The panel will also review the options for resolving the issue and the lien, such as discharging assets, having the IRS subordinate its lien to another creditor, and having the lien withdrawn.
Moderator:
- Eric L. Green, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT
Panelists:
- Debra Reale, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT
- Steve I. Hurok, Esq., CPA, Citrin Cooperman, New York, NY
- Michael Sardar, Esq., Kostelanetz & Fink, LLP, New York, NY
3:00 – 3:15 pm:
Break
3:15 – 4:30 pm:
Collection Statute Expiration Date: Calculating CSED and Challenging the IRS Mod A
The IRS considers its transcript system to be the holy grail of its enforcement efforts, and calculates the Collection Statute Expiration Date in its Module (“Mod”) A. The problem is sometimes events are miscoded or codes to release tolling events are not entered, and clients may be pursued for amounts that have long since expired. This panel will review how to read a transcript and what can be done to challenge the IRS’s CSED calculation in its Mod A.
Moderator:
- Frank Agostino, Esq., Agostino & Associates, PC, Hackensack, NJ
Panelists:
- Roger Nemeth, EA, Tax Help Software, Tallahassee, FL
- Fran Obeid, Esq., MFO Law, PC, New York, NY
4:30 – 5:30 pm:
Foreign Forms 101: The Forms Every Practitioner Should be Familiar With
With IRS enforcement around foreign assets and reporting continuing, and more and more taxpayers having reporting requirements, we thought it would useful to bring together some experts to walk you through what international tax forms every tax practitioner should be aware of when they are assisting taxpayers comply.
Moderator:
- Lawrence A. Sannicandro, McCarter & English LLP, Newark, NJ
Panelists:
- Cecil Nazareth, ACA, CPA, MBA, Nazareth CPAs, Norwalk, CT
- Caroline D. Ciraolo, Esq., Kostelanetz & Fink, LLP, Washington, DC
Schedule: Friday, November 19, 2021
8:30 – 8:40 am:
Opening Remarks / Housekeeping Items
8:40 – 9:45 am:
IRS Enforcement Trends: PPP Loans, Employee Retention Credits, Crypto-Currency
Our panel will review what the current trends are in IRS enforcement, what is hot, what is not, and what practitioners should be on the watch for in the upcoming year.
Moderator:
- Guinevere M. Moore, Esq., Moore Tax Law Group, Chicago, IL
Panelists:
- Daniel Mayo, JD, LL.M., Withum Smith & Brown, PC, Whippany, NJ
- Julie Foerster, Director, SB/SE Exam Headquarters, Internal Revenue Service
- Michael A. Villa, Jr., Esq., Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins, Crouch & Ungerman, L.L.P., Dallas, TX
9:45 – 10:00 am:
Break
10:00 – 11:00 am:
The IRS’s Use of Data & AI in Enforcement
With the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence the IRS has been able to match and see trends like never before, the results of which are more focused audits and an increase of criminal referrals of 42%.Our panel will examine what the IRS is doing and what the impact of this information means for taxpayers trying to comply or resolve tax debts, and the fallout for those that do not.
Moderator:
- Zhanna A. Ziering, Esq., Moore Tax Law Group, New York, NY
Panelists:
- Marcus Dyer, Esq., CPA, Withum Smith & Brown, PC, Princeton, NJ
- Sara G. Neill, Esq., Capes Sokol Goodman & Sarachan, PC, St. Louis, MO
- Robert Hayden, Office of Fraud Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service
11:00 – 12:00 pm:
Ethics Panel: My Client Lied, The Documents are False. Now What?
Every practitioner’s nightmare is what to do when they realize the client has been lying to them, and the return or documents provided to the IRS in good faith are really false. Our experts will review what the ethical responsibilities are for the tax professional caught in this situation, and what the next steps are to extricate yourself without being charged by the IRS or sued by the taxpayer.
Moderator:
- Lisa E. Perkins, Esq., Director, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, CT, and Green & Sklarz LLC, West Hartford, CT
Panelists:
- Karen L. Hawkins, Esq., Attorney at Law, Yachats, OR
- James Grimaldi, Esq., Citrin Cooperman, New York, NY
- G. Michelle Ferreira, Esq., Greenberg Traurig, LLP, San Francisco, CA
12:00 – 12:45 pm:
Lunch
12:45 –1:45 pm:
Voluntary Disclosure: Where Are We Now?
Our will update you on where the IRS stands on voluntary disclosure for domestic and foreign issues and how best to use the program to save your client from their past misdeeds. They will also cover topics with the IRS disclosure form 14457 and issues you need to address with the client before filing!
Moderator:
- Eric L. Green, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT
Panelists:
- Laura L. Gavioli, Esq., Alston & Bird, New York, NY
- John Nail, Esq., Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry, Atlanta, GA
- Daniel N. Price, Esq., Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel, Austin, TX
1:45 – 2:45 pm:
Non-Filers, SFRs and NODs: Now What?
In May of 2020 TIGTA reported that the IRS had identified more than 10 million non-filers, many of which were high income earning. Our panel will review where enforcement is right now in terms of the non-filer situation, what practitioners should know if an IRS Examination notice or Notice of Deficiency arrives, and how to handle the issue for those taxpayers not yet contacted.
Moderator:
- Josh O. Ungerman, Esq., Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins, Crouch & Ungerman, L.L.P., Dallas, TX
Panelists:
- Philip Wilson, CPA, Marcum LLP, Cosa Mesa, CA
- Walter Pagano, CPA, CFE, Eisner Amper, LLP, New York, NY
- Fran Obeid, Esq., MFO Law, PC, New York, NY
2:45 – 3:00 pm:
Break
3:00 – 4:00 pm:
Section 108: Understanding COD and the IRS Form 982
Struggling taxpayers often receive a 1099-C when a financial institution writes off that old debt. Taxpayers do not realize they now have a taxable event that needs to be handled properly to avoid setting off an IRS collection battle. Our panel will review IRC § 108 COD income, what the exceptions are, and how practitioners should handle the 1099-C. The panel will also discuss what to do if the client shows up and has already missed the issue on the return and is now in collection.
Moderator:
- Jeffrey M. Sklarz, Esq., Green & Sklarz LLC, New Haven, CT
Panelists:
- Barry Fischman, CPA, Marcum, LLP, New Haven, CT
- Brian Peterson, Esq., SBSE Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, Atlanta, GA
4:00 – 5:00 pm:
Dealing with the RA or RO from Hell: Where to Go For Help?
What do you do when the client appears to have been selected to deal with Revenue Officer Satan or Revenue Agent Beelzebub? Our panel of experts will review the options for taxpayers to seek help, and when and how the client can choose the nuclear option.
Moderator:
- Lisa E. Perkins, Esq., Director, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, CT, and Green & Sklarz LLC, West Hartford, CT
Panelists:
- Philip Wilson, CPA, Marcum, LLP, Cosa Mesa, CA
- Nina E. Olson, Esq., Center for Taxpayer Rights, Washington, DC
- Frank Agostino, Agostino & Associates PC, Hackensack, NJ