Cox Smith’s tax law capability includes more than twenty lawyers focusing on tax and related issues.  Equally important as our size and scope is the combination of skills our lawyers bring to serving client tax needs. We take an entrepreneurial viewpoint to tax issues, reflecting business realities for large and small companies alike. Members of our tax group have LLMs in taxation, are Certified Public Accountants or are Board Certified in Tax Law and related fields by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, so we have the technical credentials to deal with the most complex tax issues. And because we have good working relationships with state and federal taxing authorities, we understand their viewpoints and objectives and use that understanding to represent our clients more effectively. Our tax lawyers represent Fortune 100 corporations, privately held companies of all sizes, not-for-profit organizations and wealthy individuals and entrepreneurs.

Tax planning

The Byzantine world of tax law requires our lawyers to be knowledgeable of every rule and requirement to help businesses and individuals minimize their tax liability to the maximum extent permitted by law. The Cox Smith tax group can put that experience to work for you. We can help you reduce the effective tax rate of your business, structure a transaction in a tax advantaged manner, avoid a tax disaster or resolve a dispute with a taxing authority efficiently and advantageously. Some of the areas our tax lawyers work in include:

Privately held business structuring and succession planning: Our tax group focuses on evaluating and structuring privately held businesses to achieve the owner’s tax and business goals. A key consideration for many private business owners involves exit planning. We have experience counseling business owners through the challenging management, operational, family and tax issues owners encounter when transitioning business ownership. Our tax lawyers have experience with exit transactions involving management and family buyouts, private equity transactions and public offerings. We have particular experience with ESOP transactions as an exit and succession planning tool.

Mergers and acquisitions: Tax implications play a key roll whenever businesses consider mergers, acquisitions or dispositions. Our tax group works with our corporate M&A team in structuring the transaction to achieve optimum tax results. We have experience structuring taxable and tax-free transactions for public and private businesses.

Personal tax planning: With sound, long-term, sophisticated planning, we help our individual and family tax law clients pay the absolute minimum tax required – and often are effective at dramatically reducing tax liability through every provision that the tax law allows. Even if financial planning needs involve issues relating to family businesses or natural resource assets, we can handle it to maximum advantage under the Tax Code. Our team is knowledgeable of creating a variety of trusts and lifetime gifts to shelter assets and minimize tax impact, while diversifying and structuring investments for maximum tax flexibility.

Not-for-profit tax planning: Cox Smith counsels many leading regional public charities, private foundations and charitable trusts, making sure that that their organization and structure meet all Tax Code requirements for tax-exempt status. Our lawyers make status applications to the Internal Revenue Service, secure letters of determination, and respond to audits and inquiries involving Section 501(c)(3) charitable and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations.

Also, not-for-profit healthcare providers throughout South Texas seek our help to handle all their tax related concerns, and particularly to secure and maintain their tax-exempt status under the Tax Code. Because many tax-exempt healthcare organizations own or are in business arrangements with operations that generate taxable revenue, an important part of that counsel involves the tax treatment of unrelated business income. By the same token, hospitals and other healthcare organizations get the help they need on the tax treatment of divesting for-profit subsidiaries and divisions, and on mergers or joint ventures with other for-profit entities.

International taxation

Reflecting the pivotal South Texas role in the cross-border economy, we advise many companies headquartered in Mexico and other countries on the form and structure their U.S. operations should take for effective tax treatment. That includes investment incentives, royalties, dividends and interest generated by the operations, as well as international tax treaty provisions. In addition to the tax aspects of ongoing operations, we advise domestic and foreign companies on the tax implications of cross-border mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.

Cox Smith is experienced in representing companies and individuals from Mexico in the tax implications of their U.S. business and investments. And our global tax focus also extends to clients in many other parts of the world, from Australia to the United Kingdom.

Tax controversies

Cox Smith helps clients with tax controversies involving all types of taxing authorities, including the IRS, and state and foreign governments. We represent our clients in audits and administrative appeals, in estate planning tax controversies, and in litigation before the United States Tax Court and other federal and state courts.

Administrative: We have experience resolving our clients' tax controversies at the audit and administrative levels of the IRS, the Treasury Department, and state and local taxing authorities. Much of our effectiveness is founded on strong relationships that we have built with Internal Revenue Service field offices, not only in Texas but in locations as varied as Wilmington, DE (a key corporate tax venue) and Rochester, NY. and Cox Smith also has experience in large case team audits.

Estate administration: Our lawyers combine preparation of estate, gift and income tax returns, with counsel in estate tax controversies involving the Internal Revenue Service and other tax agencies. Most disputes are resolved without litigation through negotiated settlements; however, when necessary, we have a formidable litigation capacity.

Litigation: We represent clients in Tax Court, District Court and the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals. Our tax attorneys are thorough and conscientious advocates for taxpayers, and in many instances that enables us to use alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as technical advice, mediation and arbitration, to resolve tax controversies. But if settlement is not possible, we are vigorous advocates for our clients at trial. If litigation is necessary, particularly in U.S. Tax Court or other federal courts, we work for the best resolution, using our thorough familiarity with the procedures of the IRS and other taxing authorities to challenge administrative actions and reduce penalties.