Steven M. Walk
Business & Tax Consulting
Steven M. Walk J.D., CPA*
Services
1. Tax Minimization
Identify tax savings opportunities for:
a. Federal income tax
b. State income tax
c. Local income tax
d. Personal Property and Real Property tax
e. Sales and Use tax
• Unique process specifically designed for small business to reduce company time involvement.
• Comprehensive review of the business structure
• In depth review of the “tax efficiency” of present business operations.
• This review will identify opportunities for tax savings, determine what items are being handled correctly and highlight issues of possible exposure.
2. Tax Audit Management Services
When the IRS (or state examiner) chooses your business for audit are you prepared to handle the management of the examination process?
• Over 20 years of experience, including five years as an IRS attorney, has led to dozens of successful audits.
• Inside knowledge of IRS procedures and policies has been instrumental in causing most audits to be quick completed with favorable results (many with no additional tax due).
• The goal is to expedite the audit so the IRS can quickly review the books and not disrupt the business operations.
• All requests for information and documents are reviewed with the IRS to eliminate misunderstandings and allow for an efficient audit process.
• Tax issues are resolved with the IRS at the earliest possible time, in a cost effective manner.
• Highly experienced in dealing with the IRS to resolve tax issues at the auditor level.
3. IRS Appeals and Tax Court Services
When dealing with the IRS or state auditors tax disputes often arise. A business needs to resolve these issues at the audit level. Sometimes this is not possible.
• When a tax issue needs to be appealed administratively or litigated in the U.S. Tax Court an experienced representative is needed to navigate the issue resolution process.
• The Appeals Protest letter should be drafted to allow a speedy and efficient resolution of the tax issue.
• If a settlement is not reached at the Appeals level a seamless transition to litigation is only possible when you have a experienced US Tax Court litigator handling both the Appeals and litigation aspects of you tax matter.
4. Property Tax Minimization Services
State and Local governments are under pressure to raise as much revenue as possible and a big source is the revaluation of real and personal property.
• A complete review of personal property tax returns and real estate property tax bills is the starting point of this review. Many times problems are immediately apparent due to excessive revaluations by local officials. Other times the problems are more difficult to spot.
• In some situations property taxes are the largest single tax paid by a business but for the most part these are not given the attention needed. Special rules for inventory, obsolete property and allocation of basis need to be applied properly or the result may be excessive tax.
5. M & A Consulting and Due Diligence
Structuring an acquisition in a tax efficient manner can mean the difference between an acquisition that makes economic sense and one that fails to live up to expectations.
• Examining the all the tax alternatives that fit in the specific business situation is crucial. The eventual business structure, business plan and financing alternatives must be considered.
• Credible pro forma projections must be completed so that the deal can be evaluated. M&A knowledge is crucial. Combining knowledge in one advisor will allow a business to get top notch advice without having the cost and coordination issues that you have with multiple advisors.
• A proven resource to provide due diligence reviews of a target is invaluable when doing a deal. A small investment in a due diligence review will usually return a multiple of its costs by identifying unrecorded or undervalued assets and potential liabilities. By using an experienced person with a combination of legal, tax and accounting skills you get a better result at a lower price that the larger professional firms.