Taxation

I first met Carley about 15 years ago when we were both involved with the Tax Section of the Sacramento County Bar Association.  It didn’t take long for us to become friends once we realized we had interests in common beyond the world of tax, including doing home improvements. It’s always good to have a friend you can discuss tax topics with as well as air-nailers and tile saws!  Carley is one of the most intelligent, driven, thorough, and decisive… Read more

It is an honor and a joy to be here today to present this award to Ciro!   I met Ciro around 2010, through the Taxation Section of the Sacramento County Bar Association. I think I spent our first three meetings trying to correctly pronounce Ciro’s first name!  It didn’t take long, however, to realize what a smart, dedicated, and enjoyable person Ciro is to be around. In preparing my remarks today, I wanted some historical information concerning Ciro’s career path… Read more

Edward Robbins1 who introduced Erin: This year's award winner of the Joanne Garvey Lifetime Achievement Award is Erin Collins, our National Taxpayer Advocate.   And more importantly, is my wife.  I have the honor of introducing, Erin for this award.  I've been observing Erin very closely for the last 36 years.  And I think I know something about her character.  She has some very interesting character traits that I believe would be interesting to this audience, particularly the younger lawyers who… Read more

I am deeply touched and honored to have been selected for this award. It is especially meaningful to receive this award from people whom I hold in such high regard. The members of the Tax Section are such a wonderful group of people. I feel so lucky to be able to work with you. This award was named after the first chair of the Tax Section. The more I do this job, the more I appreciate the role of the… Read more

California Lawyers Association’s Taxation Section is California’s only statewide tax bar association. It’s 3,000 members include, not only attorneys, but accountants, state and local tax administrators, financial planners, pension and trust administrators, and other tax specialists. Read more

For over 30 years, the Taxation Section (first as part of the California Bar Association, and now part of the California Lawyers Association) has sent an annual delegation to bring California tax lawyers and their ideas to Washington, D.C. Delegates are members from the Taxation Section of the California Lawyers Section who share their ideas and engage in lively discussions with key tax officials and staff members from the following government offices, depending on availability and interest: Read more

This proposal was prepared by Amy Spivey. Contact Person:     Amy SpiveyUC Law San Francisco200 McAllister StreetSan Francisco, CA 94102Ph: (352) 870-6100 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Low-income California taxpayers have few options to receive pro bono representation on their state tax controversies with the Franchise Tax Board (“FTB”) and the Office of Tax Appeals (“OTA”).  The lack of sufficient pro bono programs often means that many California taxpayers are forced to represent themselves pro se, which places a burden on government employees… Read more

This paper proposed changes to the way California the Franchise Tax Board assesses and reviews penalties. These changes are designed to better harmonize FTB and IRS tax administration with respect to penalties. Harmonization it important because it is the same behavior that causes penalties at both the Federal and State level. Differences between IRS and FTB enforcement of penalties inevitably force taxpayers to compare the two agencies and how they were treated fairly by both agencies. Usually these comparisons are framed in negative terms and focused on if they believed they received procedural due process. Worse treatment is defined as which agency they believe “did not listen” to their request. More often than not, this comparison leaves taxpayers with negative impressions of the FTB if the IRS abates a penalty or offers taxpayer favorable procedures and California applies stricter scrutiny.  Read more

California law should be changed to fully conform to IRC Section 1031 on like kind exchanges. With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97, Dec. 22, 2017), IRC Section 1031 was changed to only apply to real property held for business or investment purposes, effective for exchanges completed after December 31, 2017. Prior to this change, the like kind exchange gain and loss deferral rule also applied to many types of personal property (tangible and intangible) held for business or investment purposes. Read more

Currently, California tax agencies require taxpayers to submit a different set of financial statements to each agency for tax collection purposes, even though each agency’s forms request mostly identical information. This burdens taxpayers with multiple submissions if they have outstanding liabilities with more than one agency. It is especially cumbersome for those who already face financial and compliance difficulties. Read more