Are you facing a Federal Tax Lien on your Cincinnati property? Federal Tax Liens are serious legal instruments used by the Internal Revenue Service to collect delinquent taxes. Right now, you may be fearful, confused or even enraged. But your actions today will have a dramatic impact on your future. Continue reading to learn about the dangers these Liens pose and the advantages of contacting a Cincinnati Tax Law Attorney.

Once the Internal Revenue Service files a Federal Tax Lien against your property, you will receive written notice of:

• The property address against which the Federal Tax Lien is filed;
• The Lien amount;
• The county in which the Lien is recorded; and
• Contact information for the Internal Revenue Service.

How Do Federal Tax Work?

Despite their urgent calls and letters to you, the Internal Revenue Service is patient. Once they file the Federal Tax Lien, they wait as long as it takes for you to sell your property. The Lien stays in place until you or even your heirs finally sell. At that time, the Internal Revenue Service will be there to take as much profit from your home sale as needed to pay off your Lien. They take funds before you or even your mortgage company, if any, can take anything. Even as the property owner, your right to determine how to spend your own home sale profits is taken from you.

Taxpayers often do not understand the many ways Federal Tax Liens can harm them. Consider your:

• Relocation Options: Does a higher paying job appear to be your best option to pay down all your debts, including your Lien? If this dream job requires you to move, you might not be able to afford it. After selling, the Internal Revenue Service will take from your profits to clear your Lien; you could be left unable to afford a down payment on your next home, or even moving expenses and an apartment deposit. Federal Tax Liens can determine the next job you take.

• Retirement Plans: Would your home’s equity help with your retirement plans? When you someday sell to collect that equity, the Internal Revenue Service has first rights to it; after they take what they want to clear your Lien, you could be left broke. Federal Tax Liens can ruin your retirement plans.

• Home Value: If your home’s value has diminished lately, selling it may not completely remove your Federal Tax Lien. Imagine selling your home and not making enough to remove your Federal Tax Lien and pay-off your mortgage, if any. Worse still, you may have nothing left for a down payment on another home. Federal Tax Liens can erase all the financial progress you have made up until now.
• Credit Score: Your credit score may nosedive once Experian, Equifax and TransUnion learn about your Lien. Higher interest rates could await you, as well as the withdrawal of credit, insurance or employment offers. Federal Tax Liens can wreck the creditworthiness you built over a lifetime.

Help Me Clear This Federal Tax Lien

A Cincinnati Tax Law Attorney can help you. Plan to do this alone? Consider these questions:

• How much do you really know about Internal Revenue Service code and procedures? How many Federal Tax Liens have you personally cleared?

• If you did not stop the Lien from being filed yourself, can you really remove it yourself without endangering your financial future?

• Often the Internal Revenue Service credits small payments as payment in full on Federal Tax Liens, if such a settlement has been negotiated. They probably did not tell you that, did they?

• The Internal Revenue Service looks out for its own interests. Who looks out for your interests?

Prior run-ins with aggressive creditors or even ill-tempered litigants may not equip you to battle against a Federal Tax Lien. Battling the Internal Revenue Service means battling the United States Federal Government, in its vast reach and powers. Battling them alone is naïve and risky.

Take bold, wise actions today.  Contact a Cincinnati Tax Law attorney. Get someone who will look out for your interests.

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Until recently, you may never have heard of a Federal Tax Lien. But once you began receiving harassing phone calls and letters from the Internal Revenue Service trying to collect your Federal Tax Debt, you probably hear about Federal Tax Liens much more than you care to. On a positive note, you are not alone. In this weakened economy, more and more Bostonians are having trouble keeping up with their Federal Tax Debt. On a negative note, though, this Federal Tax Lien can make your life very difficult. Consider getting help from a Boston area attorney licensed in Tax Law right away.

You might think you do not need help from an attorney with your Federal Tax Lien. You may have fought off aggressive creditors before or have experience with a prior lawsuit. No matter what financial or legal difficulties you have survived thus far, know that fighting the Internal Revenue Service and a Federal Tax Lien are unlike anything you have ever done before. You are not battling a bank or someone in a courtroom. When you fight the Internal Revenue Service, you are fighting the United States Federal Government. This is serious, perhaps more serious than you may realize.

How Does a Federal Tax Lien Work?

In layman’s terms, a Federal Tax Lien gives the Internal Revenue Service the legal right to receive money from the sale of your home before you do. And the Lien does not expire, so it stays in effect until you sell your home, whether that happens in one year or forty years. As soon as you sell your home, the Internal Revenue Service will step in and collect the full amount of your Federal Tax Lien from your home sale proceeds before you ever receive a dime.

Once the Internal Revenue Service levies a Federal Tax Lien against your property, you will receive written confirmation of:

• The property address against which the Federal Tax Lien is filed;
• The Federal Tax Lien amount;
• The county in which the lien is recorded; and
• Contact information for the Internal Revenue Service.

The Internal Revenue Service uses Federal Tax Liens because they are incredibly effective. They know that if you cannot pay your Federal Tax Debt, more often than not you cannot pay other debts, too. Perhaps you need to adjust your standard of living by moving into a more affordable home. You may plan to sell your current home, using some of the profit to make multiple payments on several debts as well as making a down payment on a more affordable home. Your Federal Tax Lien will prohibit you from doing so; that home sale profit you are counting on to pay down debts and make a down payment on a more affordable home will now go to Internal Revenue Service. You have very little power on your own to stop them.

You may not yet have realized other ways that your Federal Tax Lien can change your financial plans:

• Paying-Off Your Federal Tax Debt: Most Bostonians would be shocked to learn that your Federal Tax Lien can actually make it harder for you to pay-off your Federal Tax Debt. In the best situation, you would find a higher paying job that would allow you to quickly pay-off your Federal Tax Debt. But if that dream job is a distance away, you may need to sell your current home and relocate, using some of your home sale profits as a down payment on a new home near this dream job. Everything changes with your Federal Tax Lien. Your home sale profits go to the Internal Revenue Service until your Federal Tax Lien is satisfied. You may not have enough money leftover for a down payment on that home near your dream job. In this scenario, you may be unable to take the very job that would allow you to pay-off your Federal Tax Lien, all because of your Federal Tax Lien.

• Your Credit Score: The Federal Tax Lien could damage your credit score with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, the major credit-reporting agencies. Unfortunately this could cost you more in higher interest rates on future credit, as well as prevent you from getting future credit at all or even cause you to lose out on insurance or employment opportunities.

• Retirement or Other Large Financial Decisions: If you have planned your whole life to sell your home at some point and use your equity to fund retirement or college, your plan may need revisiting. Your Federal Tax Lien keeps you from using your equity the way you desire, since the Internal Revenue Service will be first in line to use it against your Federal Tax Lien.

Are you beginning to see that Federal Tax Liens can damage your family’s future?

But it can get even worse. Should you decide you have had enough hassles with the Internal Revenue Service and you just want to sell your home to get rid of the Federal Tax Lien, you still may not be rid of the Internal Revenue Service. Particularly in areas of Boston where housing prices artificially low, your home sale profit may not cover what you owe the Internal Revenue Service. Should that happen, the Internal Revenue Service will still be after you, and you will be without a home or a down payment to get another one.

Even worse than that, after the Internal Revenue service takes what they can as payment against your Lien, you might not have enough left to pay-off your mortgage. So you could be without a home, unable to make a down payment on another home, possibly still in debt to the Internal Revenue Service AND still owing on your former home that someone else now owns.

So How Can I Hope to Survive This?

Before doing anything else, contact a Boston area attorney licensed in Tax Law. Stop thinking that you can fight the Internal Revenue Service and win on your own. Were you able to resolve the problem before they started threatening you with a Federal Tax Lien? Remember, the Internal Revenue Service is not your average adversary. They have the full authority and resources of the United States Federal Government behind them, and they are good at getting money out of people who really do not want to pay.

Here is one last point to consider. Frequently the Internal Revenue Service will accept a small percentage of what you owe as payment in full of your Federal Tax Debt. You have probably yet to hear them offer you that option. But reaching a deal on a lower payment takes prior experience, expertise, and knowledge that most people simply do not have. In all likelihood, all of your conversations and correspondence with the Internal Revenue Service thus far probably have not improved your situation at all. Stop wasting your time and risking your family’s security. Make a smart decision. Find an advocate in the Boston area who can help you with your tax problems today.

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Excerpts from a news article posted by Robert Snell of the Detroit News on Monday, May 20, 2010 at 12:32 pm, read: “Golf star John Daly may have slimmed down, but he’s got a big, fat tax debt. The chain-smoking, beer-swilling Hooters patron and reality-show star owes more than $1 million in delinquent federal income taxes, according to public records. Daly, 44, won the 1991 PGA Championship and 1995 British Open but his career has been plagued by personal problems.

Though Daly has earned more than $9 million during his career, he made only $248,501 on tour in 2007 and $56,017 in 2008. The IRS filed a $1,050,733 lien against Daly on Monday with the Shelby County (Tenn.) Register of Deeds. According to they lien, he owes income taxes from 2007 and 2008. The address on the lien is his home in Memphis, Tenn. It is for sale for $698,000. A Daly spokesman could not be reached immediately for comment.”

Many of you who live in or around Memphis, Tennessee, may have recognized this article, but even famous sports stars like John Daly can have trouble with their taxes. Taxation within the United States is a complex system and includes a wide array of taxation entities. There are a variety of governments that can tax you. They include: taxation from local governments possibly including one or more of municipal, township, district, and county entities; regional entities such as school, utility, and transit districts; state governments; and the federal government. Each of these government entities have their sets of complex laws, so, it is very hard for the average citizen to go through life without having some type of taxation problem. Being famous may even make you a tax target.

To complicate matters even further, within each government entity, there can be a variety of different sources used to tax you. You can pay tariffs, sales tax, income tax, recessive taxes, social security taxes, property taxes, progressive taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, corporate taxes, excise taxes, estate taxes, transfer taxes, gift taxes, and this list is not conclusive . Is there any wonder that a legion of bookkeepers are hired by the private and public sectors just to keep up with the various taxes in order to help alleviate the problems? Also, with so many different sources of taxation and entities you must annually satisfy, is there any wonder that mistakes are made? Are these complications made by our lawmakers for a reason?

For the most part, most of these government entities will try to help you alleviate the mistakes by providing you with educational material through free publications, websites, and call help centers. Most will help you figure the math on what you owe and will work with you in wide variety of ways. In the event you do have problems, you still have legal rights. The Taxpayers Bill of Rights III was enacted July 22, 1998 for the purpose of protecting your rights as a taxpayer under federal law. One of the most important rights you have as a taxpayer is the right to representation before any taxing entity. With all the complications and different laws for each individual taxing entity and sources, do you think it would be wise to have help in facing tough taxing issues? I bet if you asked sports star John Daly that question, he would say yes without any hesitation.

So, it doesn’t matter whether or not you are famous sports star or an average person, you have to pay taxes, but you do not have to get ripped by the taxing entities in doing so. The real question should be then, what is your fair share of taxes within each taxing entity? Each individual taxpayer will have to answer that question for his or herself. If you live in or around the area of Memphis, Tennessee, stop allowing the taxing authorities to rip you on what is too complicated for you to understand. Contact us today and we will get you in touch with a tax professional in your area who will be able to help you answer all the questions you may have about tax law.

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The Texas War for Independence against Mexico concluded with the surrender of the Mexican President and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. The Republic of Texas was the result. Prior to Texas independence, Mexico, only fifteen years earlier gained its independence from Spain in 1821 with the signing of the Treaty of Cordoba. On October 4, 1824, Mexico adopted a new constitution which defined the country as a federal republic with nineteen states and four territories. The former province of Spanish Texas became part of a newly created state, Coahuila y Tejas, whose capital was at Saltillo, hundreds of miles from the former Texas capital, San Antonio de Bexar, now known today as San Antonio, Texas

The new Mexican country emerged from their war for independence bankrupt, and with little money for the military, Mexico encouraged immigration from the United States to Tejas for protection against hostile Indian tribes. The immigrants were promised no property taxes for ten years to immigrate. As the drove of immigrants came to take advantage of the low taxes and living expenses, it was not long before the Mexican-born settlers in Tejas were vastly outnumbered. By 1834, it was estimated that over 30,000 Anglos lived in Coahuila y Tejas, compared to only 7,800 Mexican-born citizens. By 1836, there were approximately 5,000 slaves brought into Tejas by the mostly southern immigrants. To address this situation, President Anastasio Bustamante implemented several measures on April 6, 1830. Chief among these was a prohibition against further immigration to Tejas from the United States, although American citizens would be allowed to settle in other parts of Mexico. Furthermore, the property tax law, intended to exempt immigrants from paying taxes for ten years, was rescinded, and tariffs were increased on goods shipped from the United States. Bustamante also ordered all Tejas settlers to comply with the federal prohibition against slavery or face military intervention. For the most part, the Texians ignored the new laws. The rest of the story is history.

It might be amazing to know how many Texans today realize that one of the major disputes that spawned our state was a dispute over taxes. Taxation without representation is what spawned the United States of America. As a result, our Constitution guarantees us that we as citizens will not be taxed without representation. Today, it is the law for you to be represented before any taxing authority. Our federal government spells out your right to be represented on their Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website. The site lists your Taxpayer Bill of Rights, and states you, as a US taxpayer, have the right to:

• be treated professionally, fairly, promptly, and courteously by IRS employees and Private Collection Agencies contacting you on behalf of the IRS;
• disagree with your tax bill;
• meet with an IRS manager if you disagree with the IRS employee who handled your tax case;
• appeal most IRS collection actions;
• have your case transferred to a different IRS office if you have a valid reason;
• be represented by someone when dealing with IRS matters;
• and receive a receipt for any payments you make.

I suppose there is nothing that will make a free-minded person more angry than to feel you have not been represented fairly when it comes to being forced to pay taxes. These feelings are so strong that they have even caused wars, so, is there any wonder about the emotions that can occur between a taxpayer and a taxing entity responsible for the collection of the taxes?

To make matters worse, our tax laws are complicated. It doesn’t matter whether or not the taxing entity is federal, state, or local, they all seem to be complicated. It doesn’t matter what nationality you are because the complication of these laws seems to be in all countries. The complication of tax law within our American system is why most people need a representative, to even out the playing field, to make it fair. In Texas today, these representatives are called tax attorneys. If you live in or around the metropolitan area of San Antonio, and you have been faced with a taxing dilemma, contact us today and we will get you in touch with a tax professional in your area who will be able to help you answer all the questions you may have about tax law.

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The phrase “No Taxation Without Representation!” was coined by Reverend Jonathan Mayhew in a sermon give in Boston, Massachusetts in 1750. By 1765, the term “no taxation without representation” was in use in Boston, but no one is sure who first used it. Boston politician James Otis was most famously associated with the phrase, “taxation without representation is tyranny.” The phrase eventually became a rallying cry for the British colonists who eventually rebelled against the British Crown to gain independence during the American Revolutionary War. As Americans today, we owe the justice minded spirit of the Bostonians great homage for their willingness to speak freely their minds. Certainly taxation without representation was not for the Bostonians back then, and certainly it is not for the Bostonians today. Therefore, it does not surprise me that they have protected their right to representation throughout the years.

Being the most populous city in Massachusetts, Boston surely influenced the state legislature when it wrote the Massachusetts Taxpayer Bill of Rights. One of the tenets within the Taxpayer Bill of Rights publicly displayed on the Massachusetts Department of Revenue website plainly states, “you may obtain representation at any point in your dealings with the Department.” To some, this statement may seem insignificant or automatically taken for granted, but there are many places around the world that do not enjoy that type of freedom, let alone right. Please notice that in the statement it says you may obtain representation “at any point.” I do a lot of legal research, have been researching all the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, and Massachusetts is the only one I remember that includes the phrase. Many states leave out your right to representation, say only that you have the right to be represented, remind you of your right to represent yourself, but only Massachusetts thought it important enough to remind the taxpayer you have a right to be represented “at any point.”

There are many states that do not have a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Thank goodness our federal government hasn’t forgotten our history so fast. They passed their own Taxpayer Bill of Rights and is posted on the Internal Revenue Service website. It states you, as a United States taxpayer, have the right to:

• be treated professionally, fairly, promptly, and courteously by IRS employees and Private Collection Agencies contacting you on behalf of the IRS;
• disagree with your tax bill;
• meet with an IRS manager if you disagree with the IRS employee who handled your tax case;
• appeal most IRS collection actions;
• have your case transferred to a different IRS office if you have a valid reason;
• be represented by someone when dealing with IRS matters;
• and receive a receipt for any payments you make.

Yes, you have a right to be represented by someone when dealing with IRS matters. By the way, it is also your Constitutional right. It is covered under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution and is a part of your Constitutional Bill of Rights. Of course, the right to counsel in the Sixth Amendment is talking about criminal cases, but sometimes dealing with tax matters has led to these type cases.

I do personally believe with all my heart that taxation without representation is tyranny. The good news is that you have the right to representation. The bad news is at any point, not all things will go right for every taxpayer. You can be facing an audit, levy, seizure, foreclosure, or incarceration, and if this is so, it is a good idea that you exercise your right to have representation by getting in touch with a tax attorney. If you live in or around the metropolitan areas of Springfield, Worcester, or Boston in Massachusetts, and you have been faced with a taxing dilemma, contact us today. We will get you in touch with a tax professional in your area who will be able to help you answer all the questions you may have about tax law.

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I do a lot of legal research, and I have been researching the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. This movement, led by taxpayer protests and the state of Colorado in 1992, has gained momentum in recent years and many states have joined the bandwagon. There are a lot different ways the states have approached the movement. Many state legislatures have taken the bull by the horn and passed Taxpayer Bill of Rights laws. Other states have allowed their Department of Revenue write their legal policies and procedures when it comes to dealing with the state’s taxpayers. Some of these Bills of Rights are good, and frankly, some of them are, in my opinion, a downright insult to taxpayers. States, when dealing with the issue of our taxpayer rights, should deal with the single issue alone in a professional and non-condescending manner.

The Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) has put out a publication for the purpose of  informing you, the taxpayer, of your rights under Arizona tax laws. According to the publication, “the legislature passed these laws to promote fairness, confidentiality, and consistency of application of the tax laws. Arizona was the first state to have a Taxpayer Bill of Rights in 1986, and the 1994 updated version again puts us in the leadership role of protecting taxpayer rights, while ensuring that all taxpayers pay their fair share of the tax burden.” An overview of the Arizona version of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights goes like this, you have a right to:

• always be treated fairly and with courtesy by our employees;
• personal and financial information will be kept confidential;
• have your questions answered promptly and accurately regardless of the method you contact the DOR;
• have the knowledge the DOR does not evaluate any of their employees by the amount of taxes they collect or assess;
• publications explaining the collection, reporting, and payment of the taxes for the appropriate taxable classifications;
• have refunds promptly delivered to you;
• any interviews regarding deficiency in payment of any tax conducted at your place of business or at the closest Department of Revenue office and held at a reasonable time;
• have only one proposed assessment for any particular tax period for which cannot be increased except in specific limited circumstances;
• a six year statute of limitations on levies for the purpose of collecting taxes; and
• ask for an installment plan to pay the taxes.

Although these rights are not all inclusive, in my opinion, I do believe they are a refreshingly honest attempt at being professional and informative. In Contrast, the federal government has listed its Taxpayer Bill of Rights on its IRS website. It states you, as a taxpayer, have the right to:

• be treated professionally, fairly, promptly, and courteously by IRS employees and Private Collection Agencies contacting you on behalf of the IRS;
• disagree with your tax bill;
• meet with an IRS manager if you disagree with the IRS employee who handled your tax case;
• appeal most IRS collection actions;
• have your case transferred to a different IRS office if you have a valid reason;
• be represented by someone when dealing with IRS matters; and receive a receipt for any payments you make.

The main difference in the two Bill of Rights is that the Federal Bill of Rights explicitly states you have the right to be represented before the taxing entities. Not all things will go right for every taxpayer faced with being audited, so, it is a good idea that you have a tax attorney to represent you. If you live in or around the areas of Phoenix or Mesa, Arizona, and you have been faced with a taxing dilemma, contact us today. We will get you in touch with a tax lawyer in your area who will be able to help you answer all the questions you may have about tax law.

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Dawn Wells was born in Reno, Nevada in 1938. She later went on to become Miss Nevada and then became even more famous as an actress playing Mary Ann Summers on TV’s Gilligan’s Island during its run from 1964 through 1967. She ultimately starred in many TV series and a few lesser known movies.

Today, after a successful career, Wells finds herself owing the state of California more than $80,000 in delinquent taxes. The tax problem surfaced last year after the 71 year old actress filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy in California. After declaring in bankruptcy court $1.5 million in liabilities with only $1.38 million in assets, the state of California filed an $80,520 lien against Wells on March 24 with the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds. That means the former Miss Nevada and actress is in a lot of tax trouble.

You don’t have to be famous, an actress, or a Miss anything to be in tax trouble. If you live in or around the areas of Reno or Las Vegas in the state of Nevada, you are not alone when it comes to having tax problems of one sort or the other because there is more than one type of tax problem.

Taxation within the United States is a complex system and includes a wide array of taxation entities. There are a variety of governments that can tax you. They include: taxation from local governments possibly including one or more of municipal, township, district, and county entities; regional entities such as school, utility, and transit districts; state governments; and the federal government. Each of these government entities have their sets of complex laws, so, it is very hard for the average citizen to go through life without having some type of taxation problem. To complicate matters even further, within each government entity, there can be a variety of different sources to tax you. You can pay tariffs, sales tax, income tax, recessive taxes, social security taxes, property taxes, progressive taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, corporate taxes, excise taxes, estate taxes, transfer taxes, gift taxes, and this list is not conclusive .

For the most part, most of these government entities will try to help you alleviate the mistakes by providing you with educational material through free publications, websites, and call help centers. Most will help you figure the math on what you owe and will work with you in wide variety of ways.

In the event you do have problems, you still have legal rights. The Taxpayers Bill of Rights III was enacted July 22, 1998 for the purpose of protecting your rights as a taxpayer under federal law. Most states also have their own bill of rights when it comes to tax questions, but Nevada is one state that has not passed one as to date. Nevertheless, the federal government has posted its Taxpayer Bill of Rights on its IRS internet website. It states you, as a United States taxpayer, have the right to:

• be treated professionally, fairly, promptly, and courteously by IRS employees and Private Collection Agencies contacting you on behalf of the IRS;
• disagree with your tax bill;
• meet with an IRS manager if you disagree with the IRS employee who handled your tax case;
• appeal most IRS collection actions;
• have your case transferred to a different IRS office if you have a valid reason;
• be represented by someone when dealing with IRS matters; and

receive a receipt for any payments you make.

If you live in or around the areas of Reno or Las Vegas in the state of Nevada, and you are having problems resolving tax issues with any of the previously mentioned government entities, you have the right to be represented by a tax attorney. It is the law, so contact us today, and we will get you in touch with a tax lawyer in your area who will be able to help you answer all the questions you may have about tax law.

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If you live in or around the area of Chicago, Illinois, there is a special program to help you with tax problems that cannot be resolved through normal IRS channels. (This information can be found at www.irs.gov on publication 594). “The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm, who are seeking help in resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels, or who believe that an IRS system or procedure is not working as it should. You may be eligible for assistance if you:

• are experiencing economic harm or significant costs which would also include fees for professional representation;
• have experienced a delay of more than 30 days to resolve your tax issue; or
• have not received a response or resolution to the problem by the date promised by the IRS.

According the IRS website, this service is free, confidential, tailored to meet your needs, and available for businesses as well as individuals. There is at least one local taxpayer advocate in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Because advocates are part of the IRS, they know the tax system and how to navigate it. If you qualify, you will receive personalized service from a knowledgeable advocate who will:

• listen to your problem;
• help you understand what needs to be done to resolve it; and
• stay with you every step of the way until your problem is resolved.

You may contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service by:

• calling their toll-free case intake line at 1-877-777-4778 or TTY/TTD 1-800-829-4059;
• writing or calling your local taxpayer advocate whose address and phone number are listed in the government listings in your local telephone directory and in Publication 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service of the IRS – How to Get Help With Unresolved Tax Problems;
• filing Form 911, Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order, with the Taxpayer Advocate Service; or
• asking an IRS employee to complete Form 911 on your behalf.”

Obviously, the IRS is making an attempt to overcome the complexities of our tax system. The old days of harsh dealings with most tax payers has been replaced with this modern version of compassionate understanding and education. Contrary to some held views, many of the IRS employees do care about their work and their clients-you. They demonstrate how much they care by donating their time to help you resolve some difficult issues at no additional costs. The service is real and works for many.

Unfortunately, there are some that do not qualify for the program or that the program fails to help. You should try this program before seeking out legal alternatives. In the event you still need legal counseling, you will need to consult with a tax attorney. If you live in or around Chicago, Illinois,  contact us today at and we will get you in touch with a tax lawyer in your area who will be able to help you answer all the questions you may have about tax law.

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I do a lot of legal research, and I have been researching the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. This movement, led by taxpayer protests and the state of Colorado in 1992, has gained momentum in recent years and many states have joined the bandwagon.

There are a lot different ways the states have approached the movement. Many state legislatures have taken the bull by the horn and passed Taxpayer Bill of Rights laws. Other states have allowed their Department of Revenue (DOR) write their legal policies and procedures when it comes to dealing with the state’s taxpayers. Some of these Bills of Rights are good, and frankly, some of them are, in my opinion, a downright insult to taxpayers. States, when dealing with the issue of our taxpayer rights, should deal with the single issue alone in a professional and non-condescending manner.

In New Jersey, they begin their Taxpayer Bill of Rights by stating the taxpayer’s right to know. They say, “as a taxpayer, you have the right to obtain information about:

• the tax implications of any situation or transaction
• your liability and how it was determined
• any notice you receive from the Division
• your responsibilities and rights”

So, I wonder if the New Jersey governing authorities think the sum total of your rights really is in your right to know. Certainly, there is power in knowledge, but is part of your rights the knowledge of your responsibilities? Or, is asking you to understand what the government thinks is your moral obligation a  judgment that should be made by our taxing authorities? In other words, what do they mean when they say it is your right as a taxpayer to know your responsibilities?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines responsibilities as the quality of the state of being moral, legal, or mentally accountable. It also can mean something for which someone is responsible or has a burden. In my opinion, it is one thing to inform us of our rights as a taxpayer and quiet another to condescendingly expect us to act within some moral framework of the taxing authorities design and understanding that they hold us accountable. After all, isn’t the difference exactly why courts have come into existence?

What your rights should be as a taxpayer, is the right to be protected against unscrupulous collection activities from an overzealous state. Therefore, the onus of any taxpayer bill of rights should be pointed toward the state, not the taxpayer.  I realize that it must be hard for taxing authorities to collect taxes, and I certainly believe it is not always pleasant or a nice job. Some people just do not want to pay.

The majority of us, I believe, really do not mind paying their fair share of taxes. Where the rub comes is in determining what is fair. Our tax laws should spell out what is fair in a way that is complete and cannot be misunderstood by the greatest majority of taxpayers.

If taxing authorities really have the taxpayers rights in mind, then it may be a good thing to consider when addressing a taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, they consider only how that taxpayer may be protected from the taxing authorities and the human errors they can make. We, as taxpayers, already know all too much what our responsibilities are when it comes to paying taxes. We simply pay.

The primary and most import right that both New Jersey and the federal government should include in their Taxpayer Bill of Rights is that you have the right to be represented before the taxing entities. Not all things will go right for every taxpayer faced with being audited, so, it is a good idea that you have a tax attorney to represent you.

If you live in or around the areas of the Middlesex, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties of New Jersey, and you have been faced with a taxing dilemma, contact us today and we will get you in touch with a tax lawyer in your area who will be able to help you answer all the questions you may have about tax law.

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Al Capone, born in Brooklyn, New York  in 1899, quit school by the sixth grade and associated with a street gang becoming one of its members. Johnny Torrio was the street gang leader at the time Capone joined the group. In 1920, Capone joined Torrio in Chicago where in became an influential lieutenant in the Colosimo mob. Five years later, Capone became mob boss when Torrio was seriously wounded. Despite his reputation of all his years as a mobster racketeer, Capone was never successfully arrested and convicted of any substantial crime until 1931. On June 16^th, 1931, Al Capone was found guilty of tax evasion and prohibition charges. He was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison, fined $50,000, and charged $7,692 for court costs. In addition, he was charged $215,000 in interest and back taxes. It took the IRS to finally get the notorious Al Capone.

If you live in or around the Nassau and Suffolk counties of New York, you are probably already familiar with the biography of Al Capone, but what is interesting to me about his life is that it took the IRS to bring the notorious mobster down. Typically, the IRS investigates such things as financial fraud and tax issues, but nevertheless, of such notoriety is what has made the IRS reputation jump to life. In our modern society, the IRS has come a long way to help bridge the gap between the old IRS horror stories that use to dominate local lore of being able to strong arm the little man as they did the great criminal, Al Capone, to a more gentle approach of education. Our government, along with the rest of us, has recognized how complicated our system of tax collection really is. The new approach is helping but not necessarily alleviating all the problems. Probably the most important rights you have is being able to be represented when the need arises. Even though the IRS has come a long way in trying to work with the common taxpayer, they still have unparalleled authority when it comes to implementing the law. Paying your income taxes is the law despite what many believe or have said. The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1913 giving Congress the power to “lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

There are a few horror stories still hitting the news upon occasion, so, the IRS still has a long way to go in alleviating its negative image, but today, it is different than in the days of Al Capone. You have protected rights by law that are recognized and openly posted on the IRS website, something not available during the Capone era. You, as a United States taxpayer, have the right to:

• be treated professionally, fairly, promptly, and courteously by IRS employees and Private Collection Agencies contacting you on behalf of the IRS;
• disagree with your tax bill;
• meet with an IRS manager if you disagree with the IRS employee who handled your tax case;
• appeal most IRS collection actions;
• have your case transferred to a different IRS office if you have a valid reason;
• be represented by someone when dealing with IRS matters; and
• receive a receipt for any payments you make.

Maybe it took the IRS to get Al Capone, but tax problems can happen to anyone, and they are not apt to have the same outcome as they did for Al. For what ever reasons, some of you will still have problems and misunderstandings with the IRS that seem to be unsolvable. When this happens, you are going to need legal counsel from a tax attorney. If you believe you have unresolvable problems with the IRS, it is your right by law to be represented. So, if you live in or around the Nassau or Suffolk counties of New York, contact us today and we will get you in touch with a tax lawyer in your area who will be able to help you answer all the questions you may have about tax law.

Need Help with your Unpaid Taxes?

Complete the Free Tax Case Evaluation form below and an experienced Tax Professional will contact you to discuss your situation. Don't Wait -- Get Help Today!