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Scott E. Fink focuses on civil and criminal federal and state tax controversies and litigation. He represents corporations, partnerships, estates and individuals before the Internal Revenue Service, and state and local tax authorities in examinations, collection problems, administrative appeals, and in court.

In Polselli v. IRS, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether the IRS, pursuant to powers granted in Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 7609(c)(2)(D)(i), is entitled to issue third-party summonses, without notice, for bank account records in which the taxpayer targeted by the summons does not have a legal interest.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Affirms IRS Power to Summons Bank Information Without Notice to Delinquent Taxpayer

On April 3, 2023, the U.S. Tax Court ruled in Farhy v. Commissioner[1] that the IRS lacks statutory authority to assess Form 5471 penalties under I.R.C. § 6038(b)(1) or

Continue Reading IRS Lacks Statutory Authority to Assess International Information Return Penalties: U.S. Tax Court

The proposed regulations demonstrate that the IRS is taking a proactive approach in addressing the APA challenges to its method for identifying listed transactions. The IRS makes clear that it will continue to aggressively pursue syndicated conservation easement transactions.
Continue Reading Responding to Recent Taxpayer Victories, IRS Issues Proposed Regulations Identifying Syndicated Conservation Easement Transactions as Listed Transactions

On Oct. 19, 2022, the IRS issued a warning to employers about what it calls “third parties” who promote claiming large employment tax refunds from improperly claiming the Employee Retention

Continue Reading IRS Warns Employers About ‘Third Parties’ Falsely Claiming Tax Refunds from ERC

On Aug. 29, the IRS released a new section to the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM), 20.1.1.3.3.2.2, providing penalty relief for certain taxpayers filing 2019 and 2020 returns in response to
Continue Reading IRS Revisions to Internal Revenue Manual Clarify Who Is Eligible for Late Filing Penalty Relief

The Fourth Circuit in Cook v. United States held that federal tax penalty assessments and the payments the debtor made were not voidable fraudulent transfers that generally allow debtors to
Continue Reading 4th Circuit Holds Tax Penalty Obligations Are Not Voidable Fraudulent Transfers