The Van Dusen Law Firm LLC
353 Main Street
Longmont, Colorado 80501
Ph: 303-709-6740
Fax: 844-278-3678
bill@vandusenlawfirm.com
www.vandusenlawfirm.com

Tax Matters

Bill Van Dusen is a skilled attorney with over 25 years of legal experience in both the public and private sectors. He brings his extensive knowledge from a broad range of legal fields, including contract and business agreement drafting, estate planning, probate, and administrative hearing matters, to his Tax Audit and Litigation practice.

Bill holds a Master degree in tax law (LLM) from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. Since then, he has devoted a majority of his practice to representing clients in tax planning, strategy and audits. He has successfully defended over 500 clients in dealing with IRS and state tax issues. He works closely with clients and the IRS to obtain favorable results. Bill enjoys helping personal and business clients with tax planning to reduce federal and state tax burdens to the fullest extent of the law. Bill’s intricate knowledge of the IRS and State Tax Codes and Department Regulations helps him counsel clients based on their specific needs and goals. Bill knows that a smart tax plan and strategy will save you thousands down the road.

If you are audited, Bill will be your front line man on defense. Bill provides vigorous and passionate representation in tax audits, including negotiating installment agreements, offers in compromise, helping with liens and levies, and litigation before the IRS Appeals Division and the United States Tax Courts.

Early in his career, Bill worked as a deputy district attorney, assistant attorney general and assistant city attorney. In addition to his current of counsel position at the Firm, Bill teaches classes in professional ethics including business ethics, and has written and lectured on FERPA issues. His publication on student record privacy rights (FERPA) is used by university advisors, administrators and faculty throughout the country.

Looking in the mail and finding an IRS or state audit notice is one of the most disturbing things that can happen to you. The stress and overwhelming anxiety of receiving one of these notices is overwhelming and leaves you panicked and unsure about any options that you might have.

Emotions like these are not irrational, but with expert audit representation from a knowledgeable tax attorney, you can avoid many audit pitfalls that lead to great financial difficulty.

The IRS can and does have far-reaching powers to turn your personal and business world upside down. The possible penalties that the IRS can hold you accountable for are:

• 20 percent penalty – You can expect to pay this on the portion of any tax underpayment associated with negligence, disavowing IRS regulations, or a significant understatement of tax liability.

• 75 percent penalty – Watch out if you’ve made a serious underpayment to the IRS through fraud. You can be hit with a 75 percent penalty in this situation and it is up to you to prove that your underpayment is NOT fraud. If you can’t prove this to the satisfaction of the IRS, you can expect to pay 75 percent penalty on the entire underpayment.

• Interest – If the IRS charges you with fraud, failure to file on time, negligence, or undervaluation of your property, you’ll also have to pay interest that accumulates from the time your return was due – including extensions – until the day you pay your penalty. In some cases, no interest is charged if the penalty is paid within 21 days.

• Incarceration – Serious cases of tax evasion can bring more significant fines, loss of assets, and even in some cases prison time.

Our law firm provides top notch representation in an audit. We understand the entire audit process and, as such, we always find innovative ways to negotiate and find solutions to your tax issue. We believe that the tax audit is your opportunity to convince the State or IRS that your return is correct. Many taxpayers instinctively turn to an accountant to represent them during audits but this is often the wrong choice. Mistakes made during the audit can leave you no choice but to litigate and may seriously damage your chance of success. Our tax attorney holds an advanced degree in tax law and understands the nuances of audits. He will stay by your side through every step along the way. Our firm will establish facts and law that will benefit you in every phase of the audit process and, if necessary, beyond. Let us assist you in your audit to maximize your tax position and minimize your personal and business exposure during an audit.