Nixon Peabody represents clients in all aspects of controversies with the Internal Revenue Service and with state and local tax authorities. We handle audits, coordinate exams, administrative appeals, and both civil and criminal tax cases in federal and state courts. Our attorneys are skilled in obtaining favorable rulings from the tax authorities and the courts.
We understand that most clients prefer to resolve tax controversies without litigation. We begin every engagement by clearly understanding the client’s priorities and pursuing them. Our attorneys have the substantive skills to “dig in,” isolate the necessary facts and issues, accurately determine the settlement parameters of the tax authorities, and negotiate a settlement that protects the client’s interests. We are uniquely qualified to achieve these results because many of our attorneys are also CPAs, CFPs, or CMAs, and many have experience working in the industry, for the IRS and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Not all tax controversies can or should be settled. In some cases, effective representation of our clients is only achieved when the tax authorities understand that we are prepared to take the dispute to the courtroom. We have demonstrated success in a wide variety of cases involving an array of tax issues.
Tax Controversies & Litigation experience
- Timing of income and deductions, including IRC Sec. 263A
- Valuation-based tax issues involving income tax credits, and gift and estate taxes
- Employment taxes
- IRS procedure problems, including delinquent elections or returns
- Tax exempt organizations’ status, excise taxes, and unrelated business income
- Captive insurance companies
- Passive holding companies
- Nexus for state income or sales tax purposes
- Apportionment methodology, including sales factor sourcing
- Transfer pricing
- Add-back of intercompany expenses
- Forced combination
- Unitary group determinations
- Tax treatment of mergers and acquisitions
- Sales/use tax exemptions
- Eligibility for tax credits and other incentives
- Pass-through entities
- Tax treatment and disclosure of reportable transactions
- Voluntary disclosure agreements
- Penalty abatement
- Responsible person liability
- Unemployment insurance
- Abandoned property
- Property tax exemptions
- Realty transfer taxes