Publications

During my 30-plus year career working for and against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), I read many different books and articles on the subject of tax representation. Some of the reference materials I read were technical in nature and recited the IRS code and regulations verbatim, and others were nothing more than robotic step-by-step procedural manuals. Most of the books were too complicated because they were code and regulation-driven, and I became frustrated trying to understand all that mumbo jumbo (technical tax term of art). None of the books I read nor seminars I attended were very interesting or informative, and none of them taught me the tools of my trade—the nuts and bolts of representing a client before the IRS.

In February of 1990, I left the IRS to begin my tax practice. I shared a small office with another attorney who was also just starting out on her own. I did not have a single client, and I was worried about so many things such as how to build a client base, how I was going to pay my monthly office rent, and even small details such as when I would be able to buy my first copy and fax machines. I was also concerned that, as a sole practitioner, I did not have a mentor willing to teach me how to effectively run and manage a tax practice.

In the early days of my practice, I searched without success for a how-to guide that would provide me with step-by-step instructions on what to do and what not to do while I was representing a client. I was looking for a book that would lay out in plain English—without referring to code sections, sub-sections, and regulations—the tools, techniques, and procedures that, over time, would allow me to become a successful tax representative. What I hoped to learn when all else failed was a series of sound and battle-tested principles, philosophy, and methodology that I could rely on when I was confronted with difficult decisions to make on a case.

Well, twenty-three years have passed by so quickly, like a blink of an eye. When I first started my practice, most of my clients were older than me, and now, most of my clients are younger. The Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 2,800 when I began my practice, and now, as I write this introduction, the Dow is over 15,000. That is why I thought it was about time for me to take the initiative and to put down in writing my experience and the things that I learned while representing my clients over the years.

The title of these books, “The Art of Tax Representation IRS Audit & Appeals / IRS Collections,” is illustrative of what I believe tax representation is. It is truly an art form. Effective tax representation is the ability to manage client expectations, deal with IRS personnel (personalities, competence, and experience levels), understand complicated technical tax and procedural issues, have the ability to choose the right procedure at the right time, and the experience to make the correct judgment call in crunch time.

The art of tax representation is being proactive instead of reactive to the ever-changing facts and circumstances of a case. It’s the ability to strategize and figure out a way to arrive at a global resolution of a client's tax problems for all the years at issue instead of just the isolated tax year under examination. It’s looking at tax representation with a big picture, bottom-line approach and mentality. As you can see, there is a lot to learn, and it’s not an easy thing to master.

Some of the techniques discussed in this book are obvious, and other skills need to be developed over time and through years of practice. But if the techniques are consistently practiced and applied, they will yield great results. So please consider these techniques; study them and work with them, and the confidence that you gain through hard work and experience will be evident to your clients and, more importantly, to the IRS Agents that you work with.

Your ultimate goal professionally is to develop a “feel” for your case. What I mean by “feel” is having the ability to understand where you are in the audit and knowing exactly what to do to win it—both procedurally and technically. “Feel” is also having the ability and the experience to stop and re-evaluate your case before making your next move because something the Agent said or did is out of the ordinary and just doesn’t feel right. Some representatives go through their entire careers never knowing, understanding, or experiencing what “feel” is. I hope that you will read “The Art of Tax Representation” and be one of the few who does.