Taxation

The Tax Practice at Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP has substantial expertise and significant experience in all areas of the tax law. Our tax attorneys support all areas of practice of the firm so that tax planning is considered in connection with every transaction.
 

The Tax Group's services covers the following areas:

• Federal income taxation of entities (e.g. partnerships, limited liability companies, Subchapter C corporations, Subchapter S corporations) and individual tax planning.

• Tax planning for transactions, mergers and acquisitions and disposition of real estate.

• California and local income taxation.

• Tax controversy matters including IRS and Franchise Tax Board audits, administrative appeals and litigation with the Internal Revenue Service and Franchise Tax Board.

• California real property tax assessment appeals and tax planning for transfers of real property.

• Closely held business succession planning working with the estate planning group.

Our tax attorneys are closely involved with transactions involving our clients and in providing guidance in structuring transactions in a tax advantaged manner. For example, we recently structured an acquisition which was initially to be taxable to the shareholders into a partially tax-free organization saving the selling shareholders significant amounts of taxes, yet still providing sufficient cash consideration to the selling shareholders.

In connection with entity formation, we assist in drafting the partnership and operating agreements in order to comply with partnership tax rules such that the parties' desired economic results will be respected by the tax authorities.

In the controversy area, we are currently representing several taxpayers who participated in tax shelter investments, which investments are being audited by the Internal Revenue Service and the Franchise Tax Board.  We are providing a vigorous defense to these taxpayers with a goal to achieve a favorable result, including a possible settlement.

In some instances, it is necessary to request a private ruling from the IRS.  We have been successful in obtaining several significant private letter rulings from the Internal Revenue Service for our clients involving income tax, generation-skipping transfer tax and estate tax matters.

In property tax matters, we have appeared before the San Francisco Assessment Appeals Board successfully achieving substantial reductions in assessed valuation for commercial properties such as the San Francisco Shopping Centre, Mission Bay, and JCDecaux.

In addition, the Tax Group has handled many large complex estate tax audits resulting in significant reductions in proposed estate tax deficiencies. A few years ago, an estate tax dispute resulted in litigation eventually concluding before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with a favorable decision for the taxpayer in the case of McClatchy v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, establishing new case law for determining how assets held at death are valued.

Effective tax planning requires consideration of both estate and gift tax issues and how they integrate with income tax issues in achieving a desired result for our clients.  Our tax attorneys are also knowledgeable and experienced regarding estate planning and closely held business succession planning.

One of the unique strengths of the Tax practice is the breadth of knowledge and experience of many of its members in all phases of income taxation as well as estate and gift tax planning and transactions. By not being narrowly limited to a few areas of taxation, the attorneys in the Tax Group can assist the client in integrating all of the areas of taxation in their planning.