The Internal Revenue Service is very adept at using leverage to intimidate, coerce and bluff
taxpayers and their representatives into adverse tax determinations based upon weak legal
authority and incomplete or insufficient facts.
The IRS agent is both "prosecutor" and "jury." The IRS agent raises issues and comes to
conclusions that are presumed to be correct under present law. Also, taxpayers, not the
IRS agent, must prove the accuracy of their deductions.
This leverage against a taxpayer applies even if the agent uses incorrect or incomplete
facts or makes determinations on erroneous or flawed argument and law. When the agent uses
incomplete or weak facts and weak legal authority against a taxpayer - it is a "bluff." The
agent can be sloppy and incompetent and still get a large and unjustified tax deficiency.
The raw power of the agents position and presumption of correctness is intimidating to
taxpayers - more importantly, it is intimidating to the representatives of the taxpayer
who do not have the skill or ability to identify and expose the "bluff." The "intimidation"
of the IRS agent is used as a tool to close cases quickly. It is well documented that the
IRS has a high error rate. Accordingly, taxpayers significantly overpay their tax liability,
penalties and interest.
Our Tax Reduction Services protects taxpayers by reducing or eliminating redundant tax
liability, penalties and interest. We specialize in exposing these defective IRS tax determinations.
If you are a sports fan, you know how a defensive football line matches up against the offensive
football line. One or the other can dominate and win the game. There is a similar match-up
between the IRS agent and your tax attorney. An IRS agent is generally an accountant who
has not been to law school. The agent has a high case load with limited experience and perhaps
eight weeks of training at an in-house IRS training facility. Note that the IRS has made
substantial reductions of its employees and is generally understaffed. Match that agent up with
a trained and experienced tax attorney who has: superior education and tax knowledge; superior
interpretative, analytical, writing and research skills; many years of high-level IRS Chief
Counsel experience; knowledge of IRS thinking; no pressure to close the case and resolve
issues; and who is prepared to pursue all administrative and legal remedies. We are prepared
to identify and rebut adverse tax determinations of the IRS based upon incomplete facts and
flawed argument and law. If anything, this match-up is intimidating to the IRS agent.
Call "Alvin Brown & Associates" before you settle with the IRS when you think that you have
no other alternative. It is best to call us as early as possible on difficult, serious or
important tax matters so that we can maximize use of all administrative procedures and legal
remedies. However, even if an adverse tax determination is in collection, tax liabilities can
be reduced and even eliminated in some cases.
Even worse is the fact that the mind-set of an accountant is to see "black and white" rather
than the "gray" because they are trained to be precise with numbers. Tax law is drenched with
ambiguity where there is mostly no answer that is right or wrong. Tax lawyers are trained to
seek and find the ambiguity in the law (i.e., the "gray"). Tax law ambiguity can be used as
a "sword" to attack and IRS position and also as a "shield" to protect the taxpayer.
However, not all tax attorneys are equal just as, for example, professional golfers have
difference levels of skill and ability. Tax attorneys have different levels of creativity,
insight and skill.
The most important attribute of a good tax attorney is to be "creative" with the tax law. This
creativity may arise in many ways. A creative tax attorney will use interpretative skill to find
support of a taxpayer position. A creative tax attorney will find a gap in a statute or regulation
(a "tax loophole") that permits favorable tax treatment in situations not covered by the statute
under consideration. A creative tax attorney will be able to identify inconsistencies by the IRS
in its published positions or private ruling letters. A creative tax attorney will use interpretative
skills to spin facts, case law, regulations in favor of the taxpayer. Creativity is unlimited in its
potential to interpret and apply the law or the ability to develop that knowledge through research
skills.
