Tax Court Lawyers in Clarks Summit

Tax Courts serve the same purpose as any other court: they're there to resolve legal disputes in a fair and orderly fashion. Tax courts are simply specialized to oversee tax disputes.

At the federal level, there is the United States Tax Court, which has courthouses all over the country, including one in or near Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania.

Tax courts in America handle the vast majority of legal issues that concern federal tax obligations of a person or other legal entity, such as a corporation. There are various procedural rules that are meant to funnel tax concerns into tax courts, without strictly requiring them to be heard there. For example, only tax courts can hear tax cases where the tax in question has not yet been paid. The courts of general jurisdiction - known as the U.S. District Court - can also hear tax cases, but they can only hear tax cases if the disputed tax bill has already been paid.

Tax Court Procedure in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

Claims dealing with tax law can come from any conflict that has to do with one's duty to pay taxes in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. This typically happens when the state or federal tax authorities allege that someone has failed to pay their taxes, and therefore owes the government money. If the taxpayer disagrees, a tax court has to resolve the issue.

The judges who preside over U.S. Tax Courts are appointed by the President. They serve terms of 15 years. When their terms expire, the vast majority of these judges are simply re-appointed by whichever president is in office at the time, so most tax court judges effectively serve for life, or until they retire.

In the U.S., tax courts have some unique features. Most interestingly, individuals who are not licensed attorneys in Pennsylvania, or anywhere else, are, in some cases, permitted to represent clients before tax courts. Non-attorneys who practice before tax court are almost always accountants, and any non-lawyer who wants to practice before the U.S. tax court must pass a difficult written exam that tests their understanding of American tax law. Licensed attorneys, however, may practice before the tax court without taking this exam.

Most frequently, a resident of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania will find themselves in tax court because the relevant tax authority (usually the IRS), suspects that they have not paid all of the taxes that they are required to pay. To initiate a legal action against the taxpayer, the IRS will send them a letter laying out its allegations. Once this is received, the taxpayer has a moderate period of time (about 90 days) to go to the nearest U.S. tax court and respond. If you find yourself in this position, and want to dispute the allegations against you, you MUST file a response in a tax court in a timely manner. If you don't, you can easily lose your right to ever dispute those allegations again.

Do I Need a Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania Tax Attorney?

Although federal tax court permits, under some circumstances, non-lawyers to represent taxpayers, the practice of tax law is extremely intricate and specialized. Many attorneys who practice tax law do not practice in any other area.

If you are going to tax court, it should be discernible by now that you should seek the advice and assistance of a good Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania tax lawyer. This is not a knock against the non-lawyers who are licensed to practice before tax court; the vast majority of them are perfectly competent. However, if a licensed attorney seriously mishandles your case, you will have a great deal of legal recourse against them, more so than with a non-attorney.