Tax Court Lawyers in Charleston
Tax courts perform roughly the same function as any other court: they provide a forum to resolve legal disputes in an orderly, fair, and efficient manner. The only difference with tax courts is that they specialize in resolving disputes that have to do with tax law.
At the national level, we have the United States Tax Court, which has locations all over the country. This means that there is an U.S. tax court in or near Charleston, West Virginia.
The United States Tax Court handles most legal disputes that have to deal with federal, as opposed to state, taxes. These are not courts of "general jurisdiction" (courts that hear the vast majority of civil and criminal cases). Tax courts are able to hear cases where the tax bill in dispute has not yet been paid (effectively permitting a court to rule on the validity of a tax bill before the taxpayer pays it). The courts of general jurisdiction in the U.S. (called the U.S. District Courts) can only hear tax cases if the tax bill has already been paid.
Tax Court Procedure in Charleston, West Virginia
Any claim dealing with federal tax law in Charleston, West Virginia can end up in tax court. Most commonly, a dispute ends up in tax court when the government claims that someone has not paid all of the taxes that they are legally obligated to pay. If the taxpayer disputes the factual basis of the allegation, or believes the IRS has misinterpreted the law, U.S. Tax Courts have to decide those contentions.
Federal tax courts are presided over by judges who are appointed by the President of the United States. These judges serve 15-year terms. Judges whose terms expire are routinely re-appointed by the sitting President, so most tax court judges effectively serve for life.
U.S. tax courts are unique in that individuals who are not licensed to practice law in West Virginia, or any other U.S. jurisdiction, are authorized to represent clients before tax court. Non-lawyers who want to practice before the Tax Court do have to take an exam demonstrating that they have a good understanding of tax law. Usually, non-lawyers who practice before the tax courts are experienced accountants. However, licensed attorneys can practice before tax courts without taking the special exam.
Usually, residents of Charleston, West Virginia will end up in tax court because the IRS, or another tax agency, has alleged that they have failed to pay all the taxes that they owe. In the interest of due process, the IRS will send the taxpayer a letter informing them that they owe back taxes. At this point, the taxpayer will have something like 90 days to go to Tax Court to fight these allegations, if they so desire. If you do not file a response within the allotted time, the tax bill will become final, and you will have no legal means to contest it.
Do I Need a Charleston, West Virginia Tax Attorney?
As mentioned earlier, federal law lets some non-attorneys practice before U.S. Tax Courts. But tax law can be extremely complex, and the practice of this area of law is highly specialized - so much so that most lawyers who practice tax law do not practice in any other field.
So, if you plan on going to tax court, it should go without saying that you should hire a Charleston, West Virginia tax attorney. While a non-lawyer admitted to practice before tax court may well give you qualified representation, you will have much stronger recourse against a licensed attorney if they negligently botch your case.
There is none better than Joel. He is intelligent and sensitive when it comes to highly personal matters. Let him fight your battle!
He is the kind of lawyer who would sit down and explain things on how things works in legal matter but he is still fighting for me hard and he is very patient and very understanding with me being deaf and we have not got the results yet but he is trying very hard during week and weekends on getting results real fast and he don't take no bull from other companies and I would advice people to use him as your lawyer
Joel is very professional and I would recommend him for anyone.
This lawyer shows real commentment to his cases
This guy is awesome. The best of the best.
Mr. C. has been responsive, he's explained everything clearly and has asked questions that I had not thought of. He's not like the typical laywer profile - he's courteous and very patient with me. I would easily recommend him. I'm going to assume his service is a good value for my money although we're not at that stage yet.
Mr.C. is a excellent lawyer he always kept us well informed on the case, I am very satisfied with the work that he has done and I am sure that anyother person who were to hire him will be too. Also he took the time and patience to talk to me personally after all the work he had. I would strongly recommend him. Very very good.
I had a great experience with this lawyer. I highly recommend him to anyone. Emails and phone calls were returned promptly. My questions were answered with a clear understanding. If he did not know the answer he would research it and get back to me quickly. I believe he worked very hard to gather the information we needed for the case. If i ever need another lawyer in the future, i will definitely hire him again.
Joel kept in constant contact with me. I really liked that about him. Most lawyers dont even talk to you, they have their secretary take a message. Joel did not once do that. Joel believed in me and my case. I would recommend him to anyone and use him again if I ever have to do this again. He cares about the situation and had my best interest at heart.
Joel had excellent response time, he spent time with me on the telephone discussing possibility's of my case. I highly recommend Joel, he was very easy to talk to and spoke to me in layman's terms so I could understand what was going on, he sent me numerous e-mails in regards to my case. He was willing to go the extra mile for me and that was something very special.
He was great and very easy to work with. I would definately use and/or refer him again.
I was very pleased with the Mr. C.'s response. As much as I deeply appreciated the time he took in looking over the information, I decided it was best not to pursue the issue. He was very kind and I will most defintely keep his name should I ever need assistance in the future.