Overview

Foster Garvey’s Tax group is dedicated to helping clients minimize risk and maximize tax benefits. We work closely with our clients to develop solutions reflective of their business objectives and assist in a wide range of tax matters – from handling complex transactions to resolving tax controversies and valuation disputes.

Clients look to us to address sophisticated tax matters for corporations, limited liability companies, closely held companies, high-net-worth individuals, partnerships, municipalities, trusts and nonprofit organizations relating to a variety of issues, including real estate transactions, corporate acquisitions and reorganizations, financial institutions, the formation and operation of partnerships and limited liability companies, and international transactions.

Our attorneys offer counsel to clients on federal, state and local tax issues associated with the structuring of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, corporate formations and restructurings, debt workouts, liquidations, joint ventures, divestitures, and spin-offs. We have extensive experience in business and occupation tax (B&O Tax), sales and use tax, real estate excise tax, leasehold excise tax, and property tax.

Foster Garvey assists clients in matters involving:

Accounting Firms
Foster Garvey represents a large number of accounting firms throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our attorneys assist accounting firms with many legal issues, including: entity formation, agreements among owners, quality assurance, ethics, claims defense, and the drafting of engagement letters. We also provide accounting firms with support on tax and accounting matters, tax opinions, tax appeals and controversy, and tax planning. Additionally, our firm and its attorneys regularly host seminars and forums for accounting firms and CPAs, providing the opportunity to discuss hot tax issues and understand the ever-changing tax laws and regulations, enabling accounting professionals to better serve their clients. We are dedicated in our support of the accounting profession. Foster Garvey's tax attorneys regularly publish insights and legal updates on Larry's Tax Law, a blog dedicated to providing technical support to tax and accounting professionals.

Corporate Transactions
Our lawyers help business clients plan for, identify and resolve tax issues arising in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, real estate and other transactions.

Disputes
We represent clients in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service, the Oregon Department of Revenue, the Washington Department of Revenue, and other state and local taxing authorities throughout the audit process, at the various levels of administrative appeal and in litigation. We have assisted a number of clients regarding tax consequences incident to civil litigation, as well as in divorce matters. Additionally, we provide representation in criminal tax investigations, appeals and trials.

Federal Taxation
We represent clients in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service at the audit level, at the appellate level, and in litigation. Our experience also includes obtaining private letter rulings or technical advice from the Internal Revenue Service. We regularly address the special concerns of tax-exempt entities under the Internal Revenue Code, including participating mortgage loans, unrelated business taxable income, prohibited transactions under ERISA, and the Department of Labor's plan asset rules defining real estate operating companies and venture capital operation companies. We are also experienced in organizing and operating REITs and have set up REMICs for our financial institution clients.

International Tax
We have substantial experience in advising clients with respect to the tax aspects of international transactions under U.S. tax laws and tax treaties with other countries. This includes advice regarding outbound transfer of assets; inbound investments into the U.S.; considerations in the formation of joint ventures and the holding of other investments from the standpoint of both income tax and estate tax; considerations under the Foreign Investment in United States Real Property Tax Act and other withholding tax requirements, as modified by relevant treaties; and the tax treatment of non-resident aliens and foreign corporations (with and without permanent establishments in the U.S.) under various circumstances. We also advise our U.S. clients about the special federal income tax rules of international transactions such as controlled foreign corporations, foreign tax credits, passive foreign investment company rules, foreign personal holding company rules, tax treaties, and transfer pricing.

Nonprofits & Tax-Exempt Organizations
We have extensive experience representing nonprofit and tax-exempt entities. This includes providing tax advice regarding investments and joint ventures in order to avoid or minimize the tax on unrelated business taxable income (UBTI). Also, we advise tax-exempt entities regarding the special rules associated with the acquisition of debt-financed property.

Partnerships & Joint Ventures
Our tax attorneys are experienced in identifying and addressing the issues imbedded in the complex regulations specifically applicable to these entities governing capital contributions, taxable and nontaxable distributions, tax allocations, apportionment of liabilities in investors' tax basis, the award of interests to service members, dispositions of entity interests, and dissolution and terminating transactions.

Real Estate
Our tax attorneys handle matters for our various real estate clients, including taxable institutional and private investors, corporate real estate users, financial institutions, foreign investors, developers, syndicators, tax-exempt organizations, and public and private pension funds. Foster Garvey tax attorneys frequently assist clients with real and personal property taxation, as well as real estate transactions and personal property exchanges. We are particularly skilled at structuring and restructuring partnership, limited liability company, and joint venture ownership vehicles.

State & Local Tax
In addition to helping clients with entity formation and business and real estate transactions, we handle a broad range of state and local taxes, including income, sales, estate, employment and special excise taxes.