A tax lawyer, also known as a tax attorney, is an attorney who deals with tax matters. Tax law is a field of criminal law in which government or publicly sanctioned bodies, including state and federal governments, use a governing body of laws and systems to assess and collect taxes from citizens in a legal context. This system involves taxation, which is collected by the government from people, in return for their voluntary contributions to the country’s revenue. The voluntary contributions are called taxes by which the government charges interest and collects other kinds of revenue from its citizens.
Taxation is a very broad topic and it can have many shades. However, some general principles may be known to all. The taxation system is based on progressive taxation; that is, income is taxed each year higher than it is the year it is first earned. Thus, the person who earns the money in the first year has less taxable income than the person who earns the money in the second year of income. In addition, while a property tax is levied on a home or any building used as a residence, there are no personal taxes levied by most states on real estate, either for sale or purchase.
There are many kinds of tax law applicable to people in various circumstances. However, tax lawyers deal exclusively with taxation and many specialize only in one type of tax code. One example is the federal tax code, which covers many kinds of tax law, including income tax, corporate tax, and property tax. A tax lawyer specializing in the federal tax code might be expected to have extensive knowledge of the many facets of this complex tax code.
Tax lawyers also specialize in tax litigation, which is a specialized area of practice. This involves preparing and filing returns for tax purposes that bring up numerous issues regarding the filing of taxes. Examples include errors on the federal tax return that causes the refund to be understated or claims that tax credits were improperly claimed. Tax litigation involves a great deal of work in obtaining the proper classification and adjustments to tax liabilities as well as claims for excessive taxation. It is a high level of specialized legal work.
Many state tax laws are similar to the federal tax codes, but they are often even more complex and difficult to understand than the federal tax codes. One type of tax lawyer job description that is quite common is that of certified public accountant (CPA). Certified public accountants are required by law to hold a university degree and at least five years of experience within the state in which they practice. A CPA is required to calculate the taxes on behalf of individuals or businesses. Certified public accountants must analyze the financial records of companies or individuals and provide advise on the amount of taxes due or any penalty for the delinquent taxes.
A tax lawyer can also help to levy assets for you if you owe back taxes or are involved in an audit situation. A levy is an order by a court that allows a third party to take ownership of a property until the full owed back taxes are satisfied. The tax attorney might need to negotiate with the IRS on behalf of the client to get all of the fines removed or at least some of them reduced. The tax attorney might need to file motions with the courts to get the property owner’s records opened so that tax issues can be checked.