What Is a Tax Lawyer?
Taxes and lawyers might be two of the most unpopular topics in America. But tax lawyers, ironically, provide an essential service to people and businesses that can be quite helpful. Usually the adversary to the tax lawyer is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) itself, because the attorney is hired to help their client pay as little taxes as possible. To do this, they use their extensive knowledge of the tax code, as well as decisions in tax-related cases.
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Identification
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A tax lawyer is one who specializes in issues related to taxes. Experts of the Internal Revenue Code and administrative tax law, they can prepare tax returns, but can also go far beyond the ability of an accountant in estate and financial planning issues with potential tax consequences. Like other lawyers, a tax lawyer has gone to law school and been accepted to practice by a state bar association. In addition, they might also have an additional degree or degrees in accounting, business, finance, economics, or a related area.
Function
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Tax attorneys have two major roles. The first is to help prevent tax problems. Businesses, especially, employ the services of tax attorneys to help structure their organization in a way that legally minimizes their tax obligations. Individuals, on the other hand, with large estates consult with tax attorneys when creating trusts, wills or taking other steps that will affect the way their assets are taxed during their lifetime and upon their death.
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Significance
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The other, equally important, role of the tax attorney is to represent taxpayer clients in disputes over taxes. While any person can help another prepare his tax return as an unenrolled agent, only an attorney, a certified public accountant (CPA), or some other enrolled professional can argue a taxpayer's case to the IRS is a tax dispute. Enrolling as an agent involves taking a special examination. Tax attorneys who have gone through this process can represent a client in all matters with relation to the IRS.
Considerations
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An area of tax law not often considered is criminal tax law. If someone is charged with tax evasion or some other tax related crime, and prosecuted in a federal court, her attorney need not be a special enrolled agent. It certainly helps, however, if the person providing his defense is a tax expert in his own right and is able to make a convincing case. Because a federal criminal tax case involves issues of intent as well as action, a criminal tax attorney has to combine the skills of traditional criminal defense with the specific knowledge of the tax code necessary to exonerate a client (or at least show a lack of criminal intent).
Features
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As with other lawyers, a tax attorney has several options about where and how they want to practice. A lawyer with a strong accounting and tax background can work for the in-house legal counsel of a corporation, or as part of a major law firm handling mostly corporate clients. On the other hand, because the services of a tax attorney are so universally in demand, it's relatively easy for a tax attorney to go into private practice and serve individuals. Often, a tax attorney will open an office with an accountant or other tax specialist to provide a full range of tax and estate planning services to clients.
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