Los Angeles and Pasadena Tax Trial Attorney

Daniel W. Layton is a tax trial attorney in Pasadena who brings real and verifiable tax trial experience to the table: More than 100 federal court (Tax Court and U.S. District Court) cases decided on motion, after trial, or by stipulated decision and over 50 federal court litigation matters published in Lexis Nexis, Westlaw, and other widely circulated reports.

Although most cases settle, common sense dictates that the most favorable settlement comes when your opponent is concerned about losing at trial. The government's attorneys in the IRS and federal prosecutors' office know which lawyers talk big but rarely or never go to trial. When they know these attorneys will “always settle," then you are more likely to be presented with unilateral, less-favorable, take-it-or-leave-it scenarios. But, when the government knows it will be punished for its mistakes or publicly held responsible without a taxpayer-favorable settlement, the government will have to be more honest about the hazards of litigation.

Mr. Layton's trial experience includes high-stakes criminal and multi-million dollar trials involving complex legal questions and cases of first-impression. He has experience in a variety of trials, including:

• Tax Court Trials
• Innocent Spouse Relief Trials
• Refund Claim (U.S. District Court) Trial
• Criminal Tax Trials
• Tax Fraud Trials
• Jury and Bench Trials
• Business Expense Substantiation Trials
• Omitted Income and Understated Income Trials

Notable IRS and California agency concessions achieved by Mr. Layton include:*

• Concession of over $1 million in tax, penalty, and interest in United States Tax Court.
• Waiver of Fraud Penalties in United States Tax Court.
• Concession of over $300,000 of taxes and release of tax liens against a recently divorce wife via Innocent Spouse Relief administratively and in United States Tax Court.
• Abatement of Accuracy-Related Penalties at the individual level, which originally arose from a TEFRA Partnership Tax Court Decision.
• Concession of return preparer penalties at examination and administrative appeal levels, and avoidance of return preparer injunction referrals.
• Offer-in-Compromise (Doubt as to Liability) concession of approximately $400,000 in tax, interest, and penalties due to acceptance of previously unallowed casualty-theft loss.
• Concession of nearly $7 million in previously disallowed losses before the Franchise Tax Board Protest Section.
• Agreement to no-tax-due and to previously unclaimed losses after the IRS initially asserted over $600,000 of additional income from an erroneous bank deposit analysis.

* The outcome of each case is determined by its unique facts and circumstances. The above highlighted cases are not suggestive of future results. Tax attorney Daniel W. Layton, Esq., makes no promises or representations as to the results of any client’s case.