Focused Areas of Legal Practice
Employee Retention Credit
When Covid-19 hit America in 2020, people stopped going out and started working more from home, becoming more and more isolated in an effort to reduce exposure to the deadly virus. Obviously, this significantly affected commerce and caused a significant downturn for many businesses due to lockdowns or limited operations.
When it became apparent that there was no immediate end in sight, Congress started to become concerned about the well-being of the American economy, as well as businesses and the individuals employed by those businesses. As a result, Congress enacted several pieces of legislation providing financial assistance to individuals as well as businesses. One such opportunity for relief was the Employee Retention Credit, or ERC for short, with its main purpose being an incentive for businesses to maintain and continue to pay employees, thus keeping them on payroll, so they could, in turn, provide for their families during the crisis.
ERC is a credit against federal payroll taxes for qualifying wages paid from March 13, 2020, through December 31, 2021. Some taxpayers claimed the credit right away, while others did not claim the credit but still had the opportunity to do so. If you are a business owner trying to determine if you are entitled to claim the credit, Deborah can assist you in answering that question. There are basically seven questions you need to ask.
1. Did your business pay W-2 wages or health insurance in 2020 or 2021 to qualify for the credit?
2. Was the operation an actual business or charity?
3. What are the business's qualifying criteria? (Qualifying criteria are either a significant decline in gross receipts or shutdown or partial shutdown of operations due to a government order related to Covid-19.)
4. Which wages are eligible for the employee retention credit?
5. How much ERC does the business qualify for?
6. How and when should the business apply for ERC?
7. What are the costs and risks of applying for the credit?
Recently, the IRS has also indicated its intent to seriously scrutinize claims made for ERC due to significant fraud already detected as the result of questionable businesses claiming the credit to which they say they are entitled, as well as fraudulent solicitors enticing business owners to claim the credit in circumstances that clearly do not warrant entitlement to the credit.
In any case, it is important to determine eligibility and then educate yourself regarding the process should a determination that eligibility for claiming the credit is appropriate so that you can properly prepare for an audit should the business be selected after the credit is claimed. As a business owner, you do not want to claim a credit to which you are not entitled, but at the same time, you do not want to forgo significant funds to help prosper your business to which you are rightfully entitled. Additionally, a little-known factor often not considered by businesses claiming the credit is that even when the credit is properly claimed, because the credit results in a reduction of actual payroll taxes paid by the business, it affects the deduction originally taken against income for the employment taxes paid and requires an amendment to the business income tax returns.
With Congress’s passing of the Covid-19 legislation and ERC in particular, Deborah became interested in the legislation and its impact on the economy and taxpayers, recognizing the likelihood of significant IRS audit potential due to the complexity of the legislation as well as the likelihood of fraudulent or aggressive claims filed by taxpayers. As a result, Deborah has lectured on numerous occasions regarding eligibility for the credit and representing taxpayers during the audit process.
Estate Planning
While nobody likes to consider one's own mortality, the reality is that from the time we are placed on this earth, the one thing we can count on is that there will come a time when we will no longer be on it. With that in mind, Deborah can assist you in preparing for a time when you are no longer able to take care of your loved ones and ensure that any assets accumulated during your life can be maintained and utilized for and by your loved ones when you are no longer able to do so for them. Regardless of the size of your estate, you don't want to let your hard work during this life go to waste, and Deborah can assist you in preparing your last will and testament, any trusts that are necessary to facilitate a plan to take care of your loved ones, as well as health care proxies and powers of attorney to be utilized while you are still alive but no longer able to make decisions regarding your health or finances. Estate planning is not just for the wealthy. Every dollar earned in this life has value, and given the current federal and state tax exemptions, most individuals need estate planning not solely, or at all, for tax reasons but rather to provide for their loved ones when they are no longer here and able to do so.
Estate Administration or Probate
When a loved one dies, it is a very traumatic and often confusing time for family members. Unfortunately, it is at this time of significant grief that individuals are expected to put their business hats on and take care of the affairs of their deceased family member or loved one. This process does not need to be difficult or overwhelming. Beginning as a student in law school, Deborah had a clerkship with the late Surrogate Judge Joseph Mattina and began working in the Court assisting families dealing with the assets and distribution of assets to loved ones following a death. Deborah can assist you and your family in administering an intestate estate or probating a testamentary estate involving a last will and testament so that all parties are fairly represented, and the transfer of the decedent’s estate is administered and distributed in a timely and organized fashion.
Sales Tax
In no other area of tax law is there more confusion than that surrounding New York State sales tax. The various issues that arise regarding the taxability of goods and services and the timing of taxability and responsibility for payment can boggle the mind of even the most learned professional. Deborah has spent decades representing taxpayers before the New York State Department of Tax and Finance in relation to the appropriate application of sales tax and is particularly versed in the various alternate methodologies utilized by the State to project sales when taxpayers are not able to provide complete records, which pursuant to New York State law requires receipts for each and every individual transaction and sale. Additionally, because state sales tax is considered a trust fund tax, addressing a liability involving sales tax from a collection perspective is more limited in terms of options for resolution solely by the nature of the trust fund classification of the debt. As such, an offer and compromise, as well as dischargeability in bankruptcy, are impacted by the classification, and as such, utilization of the avenue of resolution is impacted significantly. If you are facing a New York State sales and use tax audit, don't do it alone. Let Deborah assist you with her decades of experience preparing for the audit, providing documentation, determining appropriate rationales regarding the computation of gross sales, and negotiating an ultimate resolution to the audit and outstanding liability, if any.
Audit Representation
When a taxpayer is selected for audit, the steps as to how best to proceed are not always obvious, and if there are issues anticipated by the taxpayer to have potential risk in relation to the audit, the situation may be scary and intimidating. Deborah has represented hundreds of taxpayers audited by the IRS and the State Tax Department and will assist you in preparing for the audit, responding to requests for information and documentation, and negotiating a resolution of the audit should issues arise, and the best part of her representation is that you never have to deal with the taxing authorities so you can focus on what you do best in your work and enjoy most in your life.
Collection
Owing money to the IRS or the state taxing authorities can be very intimidating for anybody. The IRS and the state taxing authorities have a wide array of collection devices not available to consumer debt collectors and can collect from you administratively by seizure and levy without obtaining a judgment requiring a legal proceeding. Deborah can assist you in reviewing your financial situation to determine the most appropriate strategy for resolving your outstanding tax liabilities. This includes consideration of an offer and compromise, the negotiation of an installment payment agreement, or, if your financial situation warrants, a determination that you currently have no ability to pay. Deborah can also assist you in dealing with lien issues in relation to your ownership, sale, or financing of your property should a lien be in place requiring representation to address the lien to allow for the sale, financing, or peaceful ownership of the property. Whatever the situation, Deborah can assist you in dealing with your outstanding tax liabilities because keeping your head in the stamp sand won't make the situation go away, and as any prominent sports figure will tell you, the best line of offense is a good defense.
Innocent Spouse
Taxpayers are often not aware that in signing and filing a joint return, they agree to be liable for all tax reflected as due on the return, as well as any amount of tax, penalty, and interest later determined to be due by the IRS after an audit or mathematical adjustment of the return. And given the statistics regarding divorce and the fact that the Internal Revenue Service, in general, has three years to review and propose an additional tax, six years if there is a substantial understatement on the return, and forever if the IRS suspects fraud in relation to the return, 50% of the time you may no longer be married to the spouse with whom you filed and signed the return under audit. The Internal Revenue Code provides three areas of relief to taxpayers who believe that they should not be held liable for a tax liability of their spouse’s or ex-spouse’s income. However, in each of the avenues for relief, there are limitations and procedures by which obtaining the relief must be understood, utilized, and implemented. If you are liable for tax reflected on a joint return, and you do not consider yourself to be liable, Deborah can assist you in determining if innocent spouse relief is appropriate in your circumstances, as well as obtaining relief from the IRS or the state tax authorities.