WHEN SEARCHING FOR A COMPANY TO RESOLVE YOUR TAX DILEMMA, CHECK THE FIRM’S CREDENTIALS!

Demand to talk to the attorney in charge- not the sales agents

Don’t be a Victim!: In August 2010, the state of California entered a $34 million lawsuit against Roni Deutch, television’s “Tax Lady,” for orchestrating a “heartless scheme” that swindled thousands of people facing serious and expensive tax collection problems with IRS. J.K. Harris & Co. and Tax Masters have been forced into bankruptcy for unfair business practices.

Above are the certificates on the wall in my office. If you are shopping for a tax attorney or tax resolution firm navigate through the company website and make sure that you find someone that not only has a law degree (J.D.), but also look for someone that has an advanced law degree called a “Masters of Law (LL.M) in Taxation”. Additionally, make sure that they are in good standing with their state bar organization and that they are authorized to practice before the United State Tax Court, the Federal District Courts and the Federal Bankruptcy Courts. Additionally, an attorney that also has a CPA designation should be qualified. I recently took the “REG” section (covers Tax and Law) of the CPA exam (there are 4 total sections) and received an award for achieving the highest grade in the state of Kentucky for Q4, 2012.

If your tax resolution specialist has any of these credentials they will certainly display them on their website. Otherwise, they might just say “Enrolled Agent” and, thus, cannot practice law. In addition, they are likely much more expensive because of their sales and marketing expertise.