Tax Controversies & Litigation

Steptoe's Tax Controversies Group includes experienced litigators who have served as Justice Department trial and appellate attorneys, judicial law clerks, and Treasury officials. We combine trial-tested litigation skills with up-to-date substantive tax experience. This combination enables us to take on the most challenging cases and achieve outstanding results for our clients. Over their careers, our lawyers have litigated cases on a wide variety of federal and international tax issues, including economic substance, transfer pricing, civil penalties, foreign tax credits, insurance taxation, APA claims, white collar matters, various tax incentives such as research credits, as well as numerous other substantive and procedural issues.

Our lawyers have proven skills and extensive experience in all aspects of tax controversy and litigation, including managing IRS audits, filing and presenting protests to IRS Appeals, negotiating litigation settlements, trying cases, arguing appeals and representing clients in Congressional investigations and white-collar investigations.

Our active controversy and litigation docket keeps us at the cutting edge of evolving administrative and judicial practice and procedures, strategy, and tactics.

Steptoe also represents clients with respect to international tax controversy matters before the IRS, the US Department of the Treasury, the US Congress, and foreign tax authorities. Our tax controversy lawyers have proven experience at the IRS and in court across a broad range of subjects. Our efforts include:

Advocating positions effectively throughout the IRS administrative process and in the courts
Working with experts to develop the facts and documentation necessary to prepare and defend positions
Achieving success in demonstrating the infirmities in expert work performed for the government in tax controversies

Resolving IRS Administrative Controversies

Pre-controversy advice and counsel. Our tax lawyers combine litigation and substantive tax experience to assist clients in effectively anticipating and planning for future controversies. Often, when the tax treatment of an item or transaction is challenged, the ultimate resolution is influenced significantly by actions taken or not taken when the transaction was planned, implemented, or first reported. With this in mind, we provide experience-based advice on reporting, disclosure, privilege, document retention, and other pre-controversy matters.

Audit controversy skills. We effectively use all available procedural techniques, including pre-filing agreements (PFAs), requests for technical advice, fast track appeals resolution, early referral, appeals mediation, and other IRS practices and programs. We have extensive experience with IRS summonses, privilege litigation, enforcement proceedings, and joint defense agreements.

Individual and coordinated IRS and Treasury settlement efforts. We fashion creative and effective approaches to settlement. Our experience encompasses not only direct negotiations for single clients, but also group representations of taxpayers with the same or similar issues. We work hard to achieve favorable results by identifying the most effective approach, whether it be with the examining agent, the Large Business & International (LB&I) Division, the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office, the Office of the Commissioner, the Department of Treasury, or elsewhere.

IRS Appeals controversies. We prepare protests and negotiate with IRS Appeals to achieve favorable settlement results, and routinely appear before Appeals offices across the country, using all available Appeals tactics and strategies, including early referral and post appeals mediation, either to achieve settlement or to position the case to proceed most effectively to litigation.

Chambers USA, Tax: Controversy, Nationwide (2008-2024)
Legal 500 US, Tax: US Taxes: Contentious (2009-2024)
Legal 500 US, Tax: International (2011-2024)
Legal 500 US, Tax: US Taxes: Non-Contentious (2009-2024)
Legal 500 US, Tax: Not-for-Profit (2013-2024)

Professionals

John Cobb

John Cobb uses a combination of deep technical knowledge and sound practical judgment to solve clients’ most challenging tax problems. His experience includes transactional planning, policy advocacy...

Of Counsel

Tax, Transactional Tax, Exempt Organizations, Private Client

Washington, DC
+1 202 429 3087

Email
Vcard

Jonathon Egerton-Peters

Jonathon Egerton-Peters acts as an advocate and provides strategic advice in high-stakes, complex and international disputes for many of the world's leading corporations, investors, entrepreneurs and...

Partner, Steptoe International (UK) LLP

Commercial Litigation, International Arbitration, Tax Controversies & Litigation, Judgment Enforcement & Asset Recovery

London
+44 20 7367 8031

Email
Vcard

Lawrence Hill

Larry Hill is a tax partner who heads the firm's tax controversy practice. He is one of the nation's preeminent tax litigators and first-chair trial lawyers who focuses his practice on the resolution...

Partner

Tax, Tax Controversies & Litigation, White-Collar Defense, International Tax

New York
+1 212 506 3934

Email
Vcard

Caitlin R. Tharp

Caitlin Tharp's practice focuses on federal tax controversy and litigation matters, with experience in all stages of a tax dispute. Caitlin has litigated cases before the Tax Court, Court of Federal...

Associate

Tax, Tax Controversies & Litigation, Transfer Pricing, Employee Benefits & ERISA

Washington, DC
+1 202 429 1391

Email
Vcard

Philip R. West

Phil West is a trusted adviser to major multinationals and high-net-worth individuals on international tax issues, and is widely regarded as one of the premier international tax lawyers in the United...

Senior Counsel

International Tax, Tax, Private Client, Tax Controversies & Litigation

Washington, DC
+1 202 429 6247

Email
Vcard

Representative Matters

Tax Litigation and Administrative Appeals

Won a seminal DC Court of Appeals decision involving section 45 tax credits.
Filed Amicus briefs to the US Supreme Court in several landmark cases involving the 16^th Amendment and attorney-client privilege.
Represented a major financial institution in a multi-million-dollar case involving the deduction of penalties involving a UK regulatory authority.
Represented a multi-national media conglomerate in the successful resolution of a multi-billion inversion transaction.
Represented an international bank in the largest criminal tax investigation in US history as well as other major financial institutions, law firms, accounting firms and insurance companies in IRS promoter penalty investigations and related civil litigation.
Represented several major financial institutions in investigations brought by the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
Successfully litigated a case for a US territory involving abusive tax transactions.
Successfully represented a Royal family and their Swiss bank in a criminal and civil tax investigation.
Successfully represented a mono-line insurer in a billion-dollar bankruptcy tax litigation.
Represented the CEO of two media conglomerates in the successful avoidance of fraud and negligence penalties in the US Tax Court.
Obtained a government concession and refund of penalties related to a conservation easement transaction.
Served as an independent examiner to a Swiss bank in conjunction with the US Department of Justice’s Swiss bank investigations.
Represented targets of German and Swiss criminal and civil investigations into cum-ex trading.

Transfer Pricing Matters

Achieved 100% concession from the IRS on a significant cross-border royalty issue.
Assisted in developing a transfer pricing methodology for a global brokerage operation with emphasis on valuable trading strategies.
Assisted a major financial institution in resolving a difficult transfer pricing examination with the tax authorities of a major Asian country.
Assisted a major consumer products company with the resolution of large multi-country matter involving transfer pricing adjustments, as well as the impact of those adjustments on the foreign tax credit and controlled foreign corporation rules.
Advised a multibillion-dollar group, when it could no longer rely on documentation used by the group from which it was spun off, in a 21-country transfer pricing revision project.
Advised a large, non-US based financial institution on transfer pricing aspects of major cross-border restructuring.
Advised a large, publicly-traded financial institution with regard to global transfer pricing review and implementation of revised methodology.
Advised an international chemical and materials corporation in connection with international migration of intangibles.
Advised a large, publicly traded multinational in connection with transfer pricing strategy risks, opportunities, and implementation issues relating to a high-profit multibillion-dollar business segment.
Assisted a high-tech company with complex transfer pricing planning, ensuring financial audit readiness in going-public context.
Advised a major telecommunications company in connection with proposed revisions to its cross-border royalty arrangements.
Advised a major financial institution on a complex US-UK-Japan transfer pricing matter involving global dealing, treatment of adjustments to hybrid entities, and other issues.
Headed teams preparing contemporaneous documentation under the transfer pricing rules.
Advised leading consumer products company on permanent establishment and transfer pricing aspects of supply chain restructuring.

Audit Controversy Matters

Won refund action as trial counsel on behalf of principal in contract manufacturing arrangement in IRS dispute concerning the domestic production activities deduction under Section 199.
Represented a large financial institution in connection with a major controversy involving treaty limitation on benefits, contingent interest, active trade or business, and other issues.
Represented a hedge fund group in connection with multijurisdictional audit issues.
Represented a large multinational media company before IRS Appeals in connection with a major Foreign Sales Corporation controversy.
Advised several clients in connection with IRS audits of stapled stock and other tax-sensitive cross-border structured transactions.
Represented a high-tech services company before the IRS in connection with a significant transfer pricing controversy.
Represented a multinational diversified manufacturer before the IRS Appeals in a matter relating to the capitalization of the cost of buying out Chinese minority partners.
Represented a foreign airline in connection with the application of US excise taxes.

Competent Authority & Other Treaty Matters

Represented a Middle Eastern investment company in ground breaking Competent Authority resolution of high value and seemingly intractable dispute.
Represented a major US multinational in obtaining extremely favorable resolution of US-Asian withholding tax issue historically resolved in favor of the other country.
Represented multinational before US Competent Authority regarding residency of a pass-through entity.
Represented high-net-worth individual in connection with US information exchange and treaty residence aspects of Japanese audit.
Represented the securities industry before the US Competent Authority to obtain an interpretive agreement under the US-Japan tax treaty.
Represented a multinational medical and scientific device company before the US Competent Authority to obtain a taxpayer-specific agreement under the US-French treaty regarding the potential double tax resulting from a French thin capitalization adjustment.
Represented trust fiduciaries and high-net-worth individuals in connection with competent authority and other aspects of the application of adverse foreign legislation.
Advised a foreign airline on the effects of international agreements.
In connection with a French tax controversy, advised a foreign professional services company on its treatment under the French-US tax treaty.
In connection with a Japanese tax controversy, advised a major US investment bank on the proper application of OECD principles embodied in the US-Japan tax treaty.