When your company is in trouble, you want to hire an experienced expert that specializes in your specific type of problem. You wouldn’t hire a dermatologist to save your life from colon cancer, would you? You know all doctors are not trained in the same specialties. You may love your dermatologist, but this is your life you are talking about. You know you need a colon cancer specialist to have the best chance of surviving cancer. So why would you hire an IRS specialists to deal with your company’s Florida sales tax problems? Probably because your dermatologist would not claim to be a colon cancer specialist, but far too many IRS tax controversary firms have no problem claiming to be sales tax specialists. Perhaps it might also be because you don’t consider the sales tax audit as something your company needs to worry about? Think again! The average Florida sales tax audit results in more than $100,000 being assessed and the Florida Department of Revenue has the power to impose 50% penalties, 12% interest, freeze bank accounts, levy funds from bank accounts, revoke your sales tax registration, impose 200% of tax penalties on each and every responsible owner, and even put you in jail for 5+ years for as little as $301 of collected but not remitted tax. Yes, they really do arrest people for sales tax fraud in Florida. So, why would anyone even consider hiring an IRS controversy firm to handle your company’s sales tax problems? Whether you realize it or not, that sales tax audit notice is your company’s colon cancer warning and you better hire a specialist to deal with it. The potential consequences are far too high.
I have been getting at least a dozen calls a month from owners of companies that hired an IRS controversy firm they found by reading a sales tax article online on that IRS Controversy’s firm website. They call and the law firm’s “sales team” (who is likely paid by commission) tells the taxpayer how they handle the sales tax all the time and have experts that know what they are doing. They sometimes offer to slash the tax liability for significantly less, which usually can't even be done in IRS cases. Tens of thousands of dollars later in fees, the company not only owes much more sales tax than they should have, but they also have 50% penalties and their appeal rights have often passed because that firm doesn’t really do Florida sales tax protests or litigation.
The really bad calls I get are after the business owner had a sheriff show up to arrest the owner for sales tax fraud because the IRS “specialist” kept treating the sales tax problems like IRS debt. But sales tax is a trust fund and its criminal to not remit it to the state. That “IRS specialists” didn’t pay attention to the fact their IRS stall tactics pushed the case into a sales tax criminal investigation and they kept playing stall tactics like they would with the IRS. If your “specialists” is waiting for an investigator to say how much the company owes, then you are waiting to be arrested because that is NOT the investigator’s job. Are you ready to get arrested, finger printed, mug shots (great for your next Christmas card), and spend a night in jail - only to wake up with your face on the morning news paper? This is no joke. I really do have business owners or their spouses (because the owner is still in jail), calling me personally needing help to get them through the mess they are in all because they hired an IRS controversy firm that did not REALLY specialize in sales tax.
Don’t get me wrong, IRS controversy firms like J David Tax Law and Tax Smith may very well be great IRS controversy firms. In fact, I’ve referred company’s to both of these firms over the years for IRS problems. But both of these firms have been taking Florida sales tax cases. I know because I’ve been hired by former clients of both of them for big sales tax issues. Other IRS controversy firms like attorney Darrin Mish’s firm www.GetIRSHelp.com, attorney Marry King’s firm www.FloridaTaxLawyers.com, or attorney Ira Zuckerman's firm www.TaxmanianDevil.com are very good IRS attorneys that send me their clients with sales tax problems because they know what they are good at and stay in their area of expertise. Our law firm does no IRS controversy work and refers out any clients with IRS problems to the experts in IRS law. It pains me every time I get the call when the IRS controversy firms don’t have the same care and respect for their clients with sales tax issues. Helping clients should be priority one.
I would be remis if I didn’t also warn you to seriously think twice before hiring one of these national IRS controversy mill houses. I’ve been hired by an untold number of clients that originally hired a “national” IRS controversy company, who are not even law firms, out of California, Colorado, Tennessee, Illinois, etc because these companies claimed to be able to help with the company’s FLORIDA sales tax problems. These out of state company’s usually find the unsuspecting Florida based company because the Florida Department of Revenue filed a tax warrant (lien) against the company, which becomes a public record. Tracking tax liens and cold calling the taxpayer to “help” them is a billion dollar industry in the USA. These companies may be great for IRS tax liens, but in my experience, they butcher Florida sales tax cases regularly. What is even worse, the taxpayers often end up paying more money to these IRS mill houses than what my firm would have charged to handle the whole case from the start. My advice, if you get the cold call for tax help for the sales tax problem, find an expert in Florida sales tax issues that is based in Florida and handles Florida sales tax issues for companies like your every day.
At the end of the day, you don’t have to hire me for your sales tax problems. But I implore you to take your sales tax issue seriously and contact someone that REALLY knows Florida sales tax laws with substantial experience focused on Florida sales and use tax controversy. Find that person and talk through your company’s history, your sales tax processes and issues, and KNOW what you are getting into BEFORE you contact that Florida sales tax auditor, collector, or (heaven forbid) investigator. Find out that person’s sales tax experience, what percentage of their work is focused on sales tax, how many companies in your industry have their helped, and what were the worst ones. Until you get detailed war stories of people in your industry, you won’t know if some really focuses on sales tax controversary work for your industry. Ask how often they file protests to sales tax cases. What about Chapter 120 petitions (the most common type of litigation for sales tax cases in Florida)? Ask them about section 213.29 (the 200% penalty statute). Hopefully you are armed to do your research and hire someone that is a real Florida sales tax expert now.
If you do end up calling my firm, I will speak to you personally about your case with no pressure to hire our firm. I will talk through your whole case, what I think the game plan should be to navigate through the mine field of sales tax issues, and you can make an informed decision on how to proceed. I have more Florida sales tax war stories than you can imagine and I wager that I will even make you laugh a little about them. Sometimes a little laughter is just want the doctor ordered to deal with these issues. Try me.
About the Author: James Sutton is a Florida licensed CPA and attorney as well as a partner in Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, PA. Mr. Sutton is charge of the Tampa office of the firm and practices almost exclusively in the area of Florida Sales & Use Tax Controversy. Mr. Sutton handles audits, protest, litigation, criminal cases, revocations, collections, and consulting engagements all in the area of sales tax. Mr. Sutton is an active member in the FICPA, AICPA, AAA-CPA, and FIADA. Mr. Sutton is also the State and Local Tax Chairman for the AAA-CPA and past president of the Florida AAA-CPA. For 2022 to 2024, Mr Sutton was the Chairman for the State Tax Committee for the FICPA. Otherwise, you can learn more about Mr. Sutton in his firm bio HERE and you call call him directly at 813-775-2131.
About the Firm: At the Law Office of Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, PA, our primary practice area is Florida taxes, with a very heavy emphasis in Florida sales and use tax. We have defended Florida businesses against the Florida Department of Revenue since 1991 and have over 150 years of cumulative sales tax experience within our firm. Our partners are both CPAs/Accountants and Attorneys, so we understand both the accounting side of the situation as well as the legal side. We represent taxpayers and business owners from the entire state of Florida. Call our offices today for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION to confidentially discuss how we can help put this nightmare behind you.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Protest a FL Sales and Use Tax Audit, published August 8, 2019, by Matthew Parker, Esq.
Florida CPAs - Your Client Owes Sales Tax and They will Blame You, published July 18, 2016, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
FL DOR Sales Tax Criminal Investigations - What You Need to Know, published July 1, 2023, by Matthew Parker, Esq.
FL SALES TAX COLLECTIONS ACTIONS – NOTICE OF WARRANT FILING AND ENSUING ACTIVITY, published July 8, 2024, by Matthew Parker, Esq.
FL DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE BANK FREEZES – A SUMMARY FROM START TO RELEASE, published February 15, 2024, by Matthew Parker, Esq.
FL SALES TAX AUDIT – FROM AUDIT NOTICE (DR-840) TO NOPA, published September 17, 2023, by Matthew Parker, Esq.
NOTE - While Mr Sutton is very focused on Florida sales tax controversy, he is NOT board certified in Tax by the Florida bar.
© 2024 James H Sutton, Jr, All Rights Reserved