Protecting Your Business from Costly Liabilities

Navigating tax disputes can be a daunting challenge for companies and organizations. For many Virginia businesses, facing unexpected audits and assessments from state and local tax authorities can be just as significant as federal tax liabilities.

Success in these matters depends on bringing together tax expertise with strategic and skilled advocacy.  Gentry Locke is uniquely positioned to handle these matters given expertise in the subject matter, procedure, and government affairs. Our team of tax lawyers, government affairs attorneys and specialists, and commercial litigators offer the right team for Virginia businesses.  Whether through negotiation, administrative appeals, or litigation, we are committed to achieving practical, cost-effective solutions tailored to your business goals.

We have experience handling all manner of state and local tax issues, handing matters before multiple local tax authorities to appeals to the Virginia Tax Commissioner, and in court, touching on Business Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax, Business Tangible Personal Property (BTPP) tax, machinery and tools tax, real estate tax and assessments, sales tax, and more.  As a testament to our experience, local governments have called on our expertise to represent them in certain complex tax disputes that needed to be litigated.

Alongside the Gentry Locke team of attorneys, we have also built relationships and partnerships with medium to large accounting firms around the state and regularly coordinate with their representatives for our clients to further demonstrate our value.

Our Tax Disputes services include:

• Audit Defense and Representation: We represent businesses during local and state-level tax audits, ensuring compliance with tax regulations while protecting your rights. Our team works proactively to limit potential exposure.
• Appealing Tax Assessments: If your company receives an unfavorable audit result or tax assessment, we will pursue all available administrative legal remedies, including appeals before the Virginia Tax Commissioner and litigation in state courts.
• Penalty Settlements: We negotiate with tax authorities to reduce or eliminate penalties and reach equitable settlement agreements.
• Compliance Counseling: Our team helps businesses understand and adhere to complex tax regulations, minimizing future risks of disputes.
• Transaction Disputes: Sometimes tax disputes arise from commercial transactions between private parties. We have experience handling these disputes as well and believe bringing this same expertise together leads to the best results for clients.