Berkowitz, Trager & Trager LLC

Tax; Corporate Transaction Structuring; Estate Planning; Estate Administration; Trust Administration

Member

Richard concentrates his practice in providing thorough, sophisticated and creative income tax planning for entrepreneurs in connection with their business operations. This advice encompasses the type of entity clients should use to operate their business, restructuring of business entities to reflect ownership changes or changes in business operations, acquisition or sales of business entities, and the liquation of the business entity. Richard’s goal is to develop, in close consultation with clients, tax strategies that will minimize the tax costs of engaging in a particular transaction and effectuating a client’s business plan that will be respected if reviewed by the Internal Revenue Service or state taxing authority. Richard has over 25 years of experience in dealing with partnership, corporate, S Corporation, foreign and general tax matters and issues. His experience is complemented by his legal training which includes a Master of Laws in Taxation he received from NYU in 1983.

Richard has extensive experience in representing clients before the IRS and the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. He has successfully defended clients against IRS audits seeking to impose significant deficiencies or to enforce tax liens and he successfully undertaken to settle taxes owed by clients by negotiating an “Offer In Compromise” with the IRS. Richard has also successfully pursued refund claims with the IRS and the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services.

Another important aspect of Richard’s practice is estate planning for his entrepreneurial clients. His unique ability to combine his knowledge of his clients’ business operations and income tax considerations with his clients’ long term estate planning objectives enables him to achieve the clients’ goals with the best overall gift, estate and income tax results. Richard’s experience as an IRS Estate and Gift Tax Attorney gives him valuable insight and experience in dealing with estate and gift tax issues.

New York University, LLM, Taxation, 1983

California Western School of Law, J.D., 1981

State University of New York at Albany, B.A., 1977