As we head into the tax filing season, taxpayers are always looking for ways to lower their tax burden. As Judge Learned Hand once wrote: “Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes. Over and over again the courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands.”

I often counsel and represent people and businesses with past and current tax problems. By “tax problems” I mean they owe back taxes and/or they have not been filing tax returns. The start of a new tax year provides these people and businesses the opportunity to start off the year correctly and to stop the bleeding from the past mistakes.