“My two partners and I owed a business which was struggling financially. I was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the business and was not aware that payroll taxes were not being paid. Ultimately, the business failed and I walked away from the business, losing my entire investment. Then, to matters worse, the IRS came along and wanted to make me personally liable for the business’ unpaid payroll taxes. I told them I wasn’t actively involved in the business and didn’t know anything about the past dues taxes, but they said I would have to personally pay the tax debt because I was an owner and officer of the business. I hired Joseph to represent me and he convinced the IRS that while I was a “responsible person” with respect to the business’ payroll taxes, I could not personally liable for the payroll taxes because I not “willfully fail to pay” the taxes. Without Joseph’s help, the IRS would have ignored my claims and I would have owed those taxes.”

“After a difficult divorce and bankruptcy, leading to a year of personal depression, I stopped filing tax returns for several years. Eventually, the IRS caught up with me, demanding that I file the past due tax returns. I had no idea where or how to find my financial records and the task of compiling the necessary records to prepare the tax returns. I didn’t know what to do. I was referred to Joseph who introduced me to an accountant to help me file the past due tax returns. It was a lot of work with the help of Joseph and the accountant, I got all the tax returns filed; but, once the tax returns were filed I owed a huge tax debt to the IRS and California Franchise Board. Joseph prepared state and federal Offers in Compromise for me, settling my tax debts for an amount I could afford to pay. It wasn’t easy and the process took a year, but thanks to Joseph, my state and federal tax debts are now resolved and I can sleep at night knowing the “tax man” is no longer on my back.”

“I have been a self-employed physician for over 30-years. I used the same payroll service for about 20 of those years. When the owner of the payroll service died unexpectedly, his daughter took over his business and assured me there would be no change in the services they provided. About a year later, the IRS contacted me and informed me they had not received my payroll tax returns or nor payroll taxes for the past year. I discovered the daughter did not know what she was doing and hadn’t filed my tax returns or paid my taxes, despite receiving all the information and money from me. Luckily she didn’t spend the money and still had it in a trust account. I got my money back and hired another payroll service to file the past due tax returns and pay the taxes, but the IRS assessed thousands of dollars in penalties for failure to file and failure to pay. I asked the IRS to abate the penalties but they wouldn’t. I hired Joseph and he appealed the IRS rejection of request for abatement. Through the IRS Office of Appeals, Joseph got all the penalties abated; a complete reversal of the IRS’ position when dealing only with me.”

“My ex-husband invested in a tax shelter and claimed large losses on our joint tax return, offsetting my husband’s regular income. After our divorce, the IRS audited us and disallowed the losses from the tax shelter. My husband’s accountants fought the IRS but the IRS prevailed in the U.S. Tax Court, which held that the tax shelter was a sham and the losses were not deductible. Joseph represented me before the IRS and later the U.S. Tax Court arguing that I was an “innocent spouse” and not liable for the taxes due on the losses improperly deducted by my ex-husband. Although the IRS initially refused to relieve me from liability, after the trial in the U.S. Tax Court, the IRS conceded the case completely and completely relieved me from liability for the tax debt.”

“I own retail jewelry business that was audited by the California Board of Equalization. I tried to represent myself in the audit and that resulted in the BOE assessing nearly $1 million in taxes, penalties and interest. I hired Joseph to appeal the audit and he settled the case for the taxes I actually owed; then he worked with the BOE to set up an installment agreement allowing me to pay the correct amount over three year with a monthly payment I could afford. There is no way I could have resolved this matter without Joseph’s help.”

“I own a company that provides security guards to business all over the United States. Because my corporate offices were located within the City of Los Angeles, it was subject to the Los Angeles City business tax. The City of Los Angeles audited my business and claimed I owed taxes on all of the business income, even income earned in other cities and other states. Joseph appealed the City’s audit and settled the case for a small fraction of the amount the City claimed I owed. Then, Joseph worked with my accountants to reorganize my business so that only income earned within the City of Los Angeles could be taxed by the City of Los Angeles, saving by business tens of thousands of dollars every year going forward.”