Update on 2023 Arizona Tax Legislation and Tax Litigation

James G Busby Jr Related Seminars and Products

Senior Member

The Cavanagh Law Firm PA

is a Senior Member of The Cavanagh Law Firm, a Phoenix-based law firm where his practice involves all areas of state and local tax including sales, use, gross receipts, privilege, excise, and severance taxes as well as income, real and personal property taxes. Before entering private practice, Mr. Busby served as Chief Auditor and Principal Tax Analyst for the Transaction Privilege (Sales) and Use Tax Division of the Arizona Department of Revenue. During his time at the Department, he argued and settled cases for the Department, advised the Director on tax policy issues as a member of the Uniformity Committee, and acted as liaison to the Attorney General's office. As Chief Auditor, he employed a staff of 125 professionals to administer Arizona's sales, use and severance tax audit programs including the Cities Program, which conducts audits for 75 Arizona municipalities. In his law practice, and before that while working for two of the world’s largest accounting firms (Arthur Andersen and Deloitte), Mr. Busby has successfully advised and represented numerous clients of all sizes and from numerous industries in a variety of tax matters. Active in the business, professional and nonprofit communities, he is a past Chair and the current Legislative Liaison for the State Bar of Arizona’s Tax Section, a board member at the Arizona Tax Research Association, on the Advisory Board for the Phoenix Tax Workshop, and a member of the Business Advisory Council for the Streamlined Sales Tax Project. Mr. Busby lectures extensively on state and local tax topics, co-authored the chapter regarding the Judicial Review of Taxation in the Arizona Appellate Handbook published by the State Bar of Arizona, and authors a monthly column on state and local tax topics entitled A Dash of SALT for the AZ CPA Magazine. He earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from Arizona State University and his B.A. from Brigham Young University. Mr. Busby is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the State Bar of Arizona and the Utah State Bar. Direct dial: (602) 322-4146. E-mail address: JBusby@CavanaghLaw.com
(01/2015)

Brandon Anthony Keim Related Seminars and Products

A Certified Tax Law Specialist, Best Lawyers® honoree, CPA, and senior partner at Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold LLP, Brandon Keim combines litigation experience and a strong understanding of accounting and business concepts in tax matters to represent clients in defense of taxing authorities and provide strategic tax advice before a dispute arises.

Brandon joined Frazer Ryan after serving as a senior trial attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. At the IRS, he received the Chief Counsel National Award for Superior Achievement in Outstanding Litigation, and he was frequently recognized for his service as a trial attorney.

In 2015, Brandon successfully litigated the first Section 831(b) captive insurance case before the U.S. Tax Court; he litigated a second captive insurance case in 2016. For over four years, he oversaw and advised IRS attorneys and revenue agents auditing captive insurance transactions nationwide. Brandon also acted as an advisor to IRS attorneys on partnership and estate and gift tax matters and was an instructor at a national course designed to train new IRS trial attorneys on all aspects of practice.

Since his service as a senior trial attorney at the IRS, Brandon has fought hard to defend, and obtain successful results for, his clients, including:
• obtaining the first full IRS concession of a Section 831(b) captive case in Tax Court, after the IRS attorneys disclosed testifying experts and engaged in extensive discovery;
• obtaining full IRS concession of a $3.5 million civil fraud case involving unreported foreign bank accounts, where the client was forced to admit that returns were false;
• winning court determination that, in a quiet title action filed against the IRS, there was not a fraudulent transfer of property;
• discontinuance of an IRS criminal investigation, after referral to the Department of Justice for prosecution, involving allegations of tax evasion related to employment taxes;
• saving clients more than $40.3 million in federal income taxes through negotiated offers in compromise;
• obtaining IRS concession of a civil fraud case involving unreported business income that resulted in the client receiving a refund of a portion of the original tax paid;
• discontinuance of an IRS criminal investigation involving allegations of tax evasion and false statements in the offer-in-compromise process;
• winning dismissal of the IRS’s attempted disallowance of a $1.5 million charitable contribution, where the IRS failed to follow the proper partnership procedures;
• discontinuance of an IRS criminal investigation involving allegations of tax evasion and failure to report foreign bank accounts;
• obtaining “no-change” results for clients in IRS “wealth squad” (Global High Wealth Industry Group) audits;
• securing full IRS concession of a business valuation adjustment in an estate tax case; and
• winning court determination that the IRS acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it calculated foreign bank account reporting (FBAR) penalties.
Brandon’s clients benefit from his knowledge and experience in a broad scope of tax controversies. His services include:
• defending clients in civil audits by the IRS and local and state taxing authorities involving all types of tax, including income tax, employment tax, transaction privilege tax, excise tax, unemployment tax, and civil penalties;
• providing strategic prefiling tax advice to help clients avoid costly disputes with taxing authorities while ensuring clients pay no more tax than is legally due;
• representing clients in offensive litigation against the IRS and the United States involving wrongful collection actions, including seizures and liens, and suits to obtain refunds where the IRS has denied or ignored such requests;
• resolving unpaid taxes through collection alternatives, including offers in compromise;
• representing clients in litigation involving Section 831(b) captive insurance; Section 280E cannabis issues; complex corporate, partnership, collection, and estate and gift tax matters; employment tax; property tax; international tax matters, including FBAR penalties; abusive transactions; fraud; and worker classification;
• defending clients in IRS and Department of Labor audits involving ESOPs and allegations of prohibited transactions under the Tax Code and ERISA;
• addressing offshore assets and foreign reporting requirements, including the IRS’s voluntary disclosure programs; and
• representing clients under criminal investigation, including allegations of tax evasion, failure to disclose foreign assets, and failure to pay employment and income taxes.