Guinevere Moore, managing member of Moore Tax Law Group, is an expert in helping taxpayers resolve both civil and criminal disputes with the IRS and other agencies. Her years of experience in various stages of the examination process and in the courtroom have given her a unique view on how accountants and attorneys can help prepare their clients for success.
Guinevere is a featured speaker at this year’s Tax Planning Forum®, including both in-person programs in Las Vegas on October 30-31 and in Orlando on December 11-12 and at all six of the virtual programs starting in October and wrapping up in January.
As managing member of Moore Tax Law Group, what services do you provide your clients?
We are a tax controversy and tax litigation firm. We represent United States taxpayers from all over the world in disputes with various taxing agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing agencies, when there is a significant disagreement about the amount of tax that is due.
What is your approach to resolving tax disputes?
When it’s a civil case, we’re trying to resolve the case as efficiently as possible, with as little money due as possible. We’re truly experts in the process of representing taxpayers before the IRS and working to resolve those disputes, either at the IRS examination level or at the IRS Office of Appeals level. If we are unable to resolve those disputes, then we litigate on behalf of our clients.
When it comes to criminal cases, we represent taxpayers who are in disagreement with the Department of Justice or the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division on whether the dispute over the amount of tax that is due is criminal in nature. With criminal cases, we’re trying to resolve the case without criminal charges or minimize the potential criminal charges. The best possible result in a criminal case is for the government to agree not to criminally charge our clients, after that the best possible result is an acquittal after a trial, or to negotiate a very favorable plea agreement. We always aim to avoid the investigation from becoming a case to be litigated.
While I love trying cases, it is better for my clients if I can resolve a case without going to trial. Luckily we have a lot of great experience with both resolving cases without going to trial and trying cases.
Who are your typical clients?
We work with a lot of partnerships and very high-net-worth individuals and the companies that they own, including multinational businesses. Our clients are from all over the world. We deal with clients who are US taxpayers living abroad, who are being taxed in a way that is complicated. We deal with corporations abroad that have a connection with the United States, leading to them being taxed here.
What do you enjoy about practicing tax litigation?
One of the really wonderful things about being a tax litigator is the client counseling aspect of it, because when somebody has a significant dispute with the IRS, it is often the most difficult problem that they’ve faced in their lives. It weighs on them. Their first question almost always is, am I going to jail? And what I really enjoy is working with my clients to counsel them through this process and being able to explain everything start to finish, whether it’s civil or criminal. The thing that I have that clients need the most is the knowledge and experience of how the IRS works.
You’re a speaker at the upcoming Tax Planning Forums. What will you cover in your talk?
I’m going to talk about best practices for defending an IRS examination of a partnership. This is a really complicated topic that, quite frankly, could be a whole course in and of itself. But anybody who represents clients and is doing planning or tax return preparation or both should know about these basic, high-level rules of the road when it comes to representing clients before the IRS. That’s because we want the people who are preparing the return to understand how to best set their clients up for success in the event of an audit.
I’m going to talk about various strategies to make sure that the frontline group of planners know the basics, so that they can make sure they set their clients up for success if they are ever audited.
How do you typically work with tax accountants?
For 20 years my role has been to collaborate with my clients’ longtime trusted advisors to get them through the audit process, because I know these procedures inside and out, and I know what needs to be done. I’m able to advise on the relevant issues and procedures, and I also have an excellent relationship with the IRS, so I’m able to leverage that to the extent that it’s possible to do so. I see myself as a team member for a season, and I work to set you up for success, to put procedures in place so that this type of audit doesn’t happen again, or if it does, you’re better prepared.
Are there common mistakes that accountants make in tax planning for partnerships?
One of the biggest mistakes that I see is not thinking through the benefits of designating the right partnership representative. Under the old audit regime, it was a tax matters partner. A tax matters partner had obligations to the IRS, the partnership, and the partners. But under the law that was enacted in 2015, it’s now a partnership representative. Unless the partnership agreement or state law so provides, that person has duties to the IRS, but no duties to the partnership or to the partners.
It’s critically important that anybody who is preparing a partnership return—before they put the name of the partnership representative down, make sure that person has obligations to the partners, either contractually or by state law or some other mechanism. I think a lot of partnerships are still operating under their old agreements that were executed under this old regime.
How do you help set up clients for success during an audit?
When a taxpayer has a dispute with the IRS, the commissioner’s determination is presumed to be correct. That’s the opposite of a criminal case, where one is innocent until proven guilty. However, there are procedures by which a taxpayer can shift the burden to the IRS, but there are a series of things that have to happen, and a lot of them have to do with what happens during an examination. So when I am involved in an exam, I’m always thinking about how I am going to position this taxpayer to shift the burden of proof to the IRS if we have to litigate.
Ironically, defending an examination this way, taking the steps that are required to shift the burden of proof at trial, often results in a favorable settlement for the taxpayer that avoids the need for a trial.
How can accountants help protect their clients from IRS criminal or civil cases?
Almost every criminal case that has ever come to me has been a result of a taxpayer entrepreneur whose business is becoming very successful, but the taxpayer’s CPA doesn’t have the skill level to keep up with that growth. If I can just wave a magic wand and say, what is the number one way for people to avoid their clients ever needing me? It’s learning when to raise your hand and say, I’m in over my head on this. Let’s bring in somebody else to help.
On the civil side, I would say the accountant is the first line of defense. However, the BBA audit rules are so complex and there are so many traps for the unwary that this is the perfect example of a place where we can be in the background advising. Don’t be afraid to raise your hand and ask questions.
Interested in attending one of our programs? Guinevere’s expertise is just one of the many reasons to attend a Tax Planning Forum program this year. For more information about our available programs, visit our program schedule and details page or contact our program coordinator Michelle Petrus at (800) 286-4760 or m.petrus@taxforums.com.