Tax Litigation Attorney

In the rare event that your tax audit is not resolved administratively then your case may have to be taken to trial before the United States Tax Court, District Court, the Court of Federal Claims or the Bankruptcy Court. There are even times when filing a petition to United States Tax Court is procedurally necessary and can help lead to a settlement with the IRS. Although most cases are properly settled at an administrative level, it can be worthwhile to begin the process with court in mind. Many decisions made at early stages can impact the course and success of litigation at later stages.

Abajian Law has handled multiple multi-million dollar liability tax issues before the United States Tax Court. Vic is a recognized leader in representing clients in high-stakes tax disputes with the IRS. He has extensive recent experience as a tax litigation attorney defending clients against the IRS’ vigorous attacks on taxpayers. In 2011 alone, he had more than a $100 million in asserted tax adjustments, penalties and interest at stake before the Tax Court and two cases that resulted in significant trials.

One of these cases involved a large mining company, several unique parcels of real property and use of a 501(c)(3)(15) captive insurance company structure. The trial took course over a one week long special trial session and involved a total of five expert witnesses.

Another case involved the issue of determining reasonable compensation paid to the CEO of a radio broadcasting company that owned several FM stations. Although reasonable compensation is a typical issue before the IRS, this case involved a novel spin. Vic retained Martin Wertlieb, one of the nation’s leading experts in the area of compensation, and successfully presented the expert’s report to the Tax Court despite a motion in limine filed by the IRS to exclude the report. Vic, with the help of his expert witness, also presented a strong attack against the expert retained by the IRS. These types of tax issues should only be handled by an IRS tax litigation lawyer with specialized experience.