Radio Interview (June 30, 2025)

Listen to this interview – MP3

Host 00:00
To say Good Morning to our friend, Steven Klitzner, Law officer of Steven Klitzner, PA, he tax attorney online at floridataxsolvers.com. Hello Steven, how are you today?

Steven Klitzner 00:10
Great! Good morning, Michael.

Host 00:12
Yeah, so good to talk to you again, and gosh, we’re already halfway through the year. Some people may be complacent as far as their taxes go, but we’ll just touch quickly on the fact that those letters continue to go out and, make that, and the IRS continues with its enforcement actions. So they are not getting lax and, nor should the taxpayer.

Steven Klitzner 00:37
Right. Less people over there, but more computer action spilling out these notices.
And, you know, they’ve actually started to take action and started levies on bank accounts and wages that they haven’t done since before COVID. Revenue officers do it, people on the field, but now the people at the 800 number, the computers are spitting out some levies and, which drives people crazy, drives them into a tizzy.

Host 01:10
Yeah. Well, they are not to be ignored. However, though, if you start getting those letters, that means you need to take action to protect your rights. Best way to do that is contact the experts with Steven Klitzner, floridataxsolvers.com. Uh, decades of experience dealing with the IRS, uh, relationships with the IRS and those remaining agents at the IRS. It’s all very important. And speaking of protecting your rights, there is a thing called the taxpayer bill of rights. Now, some people may be unaware of it, but it does exist. It’s something that the IRS is to adhere to. So let’s talk about that a little bit. Steven, I’m sure you’ve dealt with that over the years.

Steven Klitzner 01:51
Yeah, I have. And there are 10 of them. It’s funny how they always come to 10 even, not 9, not 11. There’s 10 Bill of Rights. You wonder if they added one, how they added one or got rid of one. But here they are. And, you know, we hold the IRS’s feet to the fire on these. I had one where I was talking to a territory manager. And I told them, they violated six of these and I went through them, not once, but twice with them. And, then the next day, the case went away. It’s funny how those things happen.

But the first right is the right to be informed. You have a right to know what you need to do to comply with the laws, right? You have a right to be informed of their decisions about accounts and receive clear explanations. The next one is the right to quality service, prompt, courteous, professional assistance. In other words, you should be able to call and speak to somebody. We know that doesn’t always happen. But technically, there’s a right to quality service. Now, the next one is the right to pay no more than the correct amount of tax. But be clear, interest is part of the tax. They don’t just waive interest. Penalties only get waived if you have reasonable cause. So those are the first three.

Host 03:14
Interesting. Again, we’re speaking with Steven Klitzner, floridataxsolvers.com, protecting the rights of taxpayers for many years here locally. And you can call to find out more and get a free consultation for your specific case, 305-682-1118.
So the taxpayer bill of rights, first three, but there are seven more.

Steven Klitzner 03:37
Right, and the next one is the right to challenge the IRS’s position and be heard. You don’t have to, if you don’t agree with the IRS, you have a right to challenge that. You have a right to object to it. It’s not a unilateral decision that they can make.

And the next one kind of ties in with that, and that’s the right to appeal a decision with the Independent Office of Appeals. Congress created the Independent Office of Appeals. Yes, they’re part of the IRS, but they look at things more like judges. They look at our position, they look at the IRS’s position, and then they come to a fair resolution.

And then the right to finality. That was the big one I had in that one case. I wanted it over. Let’s get an answer to this. You can’t just keep going on with a collection case or an audit case and let it go on forever and ever. We have the right to know when they have finished their work.

Host 04:37
And one quick interjection on that, Steven, now there is the 10 year period, is there not whereby they can collect just for the past 10 years? So does that prolongated of case ever benefit the taxpayer?

Steven Klitzner 04:52
Yeah, well, the 10 years statute of limitations really helps a lot of people. You think, well, 10 years is so long, but every year I have clients save millions of dollars because the statute of limitations has run or is about to run. We had one client earlier this year saved several million dollars because of the 10 years. That was a wonderful thing.

Then, the next one is the right to confidentiality. And, it’s funny, I had a revenue officer in my office several years ago and, he was, for whatever reason, taking phone calls from practitioners and taxpayers while I was there. I was listening on the cell phone and that was definitely not what you’re they’re entitled to privacy. And the funny thing was he was telling people the same thing over and over again. He was just making up something and telling, no, I never did get that. Just fax it to me at this number to everybody that was calling. That was really not right.

And then you get to the right to confidentiality also, that what you do is between you and the IRS, they can’t just leak your information to anybody else. And then the one I like the most, the right to retain representation. Taxpayers have a right to have somebody like me represent them. And the IRS does not look at my representation as a roadblock or a bad thing or an admission of guilt. They actually look at it as a good thing because now the taxpayer has somebody that knows their rights so the case can get resolved.

Finally, the right to a fair and just tax system. I always have trouble saying that with a straight face because a lot of people don’t think it’s fair and just. And that is a right that taxpayers do have that the IRS is supposed to follow. So, whenever they miss any of these, whenever there’s something whether it’s one or more of these, we can bring it up to a higher up at the IRS and hold their feet to the fire.

Host 07:03
So, are there any, well, complications, or is there any accountability when or if, well, let’s say when the IRS does violate any of these 10 taxpayer Bill of Rights? Or do they just say, oh, sorry, like you said, one of the cases just completely went away.
But do they ever have to pay a fine or have a penalty assessed against the IRS for violating? Well, there is.

Steven Klitzner 07:26
Is a part of the IRS called TIGTA, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. It’s not actually part of the IRS. And they are the ones you can report IRS employees to, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. And they will punish, they will look into things. They will make sure that the IRS employee whether it’s an officer, an agent, an appeals officer, doesn’t cross the line and violate any of these rights.

Host 08:04
Well, it is interesting that Independence Day is coming up and if memory serves, a big part of that independence was declared because of taxation.

Steven Klitzner 08:15
Well, that’s true, no taxation without representation. That was one of the great lines of all time. And, you know, that’s always been a thing. And now we’ve got the new law coming, that looks like it’s gonna pass at least most of it, which is going to cut taxes. People are going to have a little more money left over at the end of the year. I don’t have all the specifics yet, it’s not over yet, but just like the last time they did this, there were tax savings involved. A lot of it though, they give you one thing and take away another.

In other words, to give you an example with alimony, if let’s just say the husband’s paying alimony to the ex-wife, it was deductible to the husband, the wife had to pick it up as income, they changed that. Now the husband can’t deduct it, but it’s no longer income to the wife. Technically, that means it probably should be a little bit less. So those are, you know, sometimes when they change something that you think, oh, that’s great here, if they take it off somewhere else.

Host 09:24
Wow. Interesting.

Well, Steven Klitzner with us, the IRS problem solvers with floridataxsolvers.com. You can find out more representing clients throughout South Florida and the Florida keys calling 305-682-1118. Gets you directly to the law office of Steven Klitzner and a consultation for your case. So the IRS was founded a July 1st, 1862. So they’ve got an anniversary coming up tomorrow.

Steven Klitzner 09:55
Yeah. Yeah, they were founded. All right. I wish we could still find them sometimes. Try calling that 800 number. See if you can find them.

Host 10:04
Yeah, you know, I’m sure it’s like some of the other agencies these days, but the wait times can be completely onerous. I actually did have one question for them a while ago, and you couldn’t even sit on hold.
It was a case whereby they said, we can’t take your call right now, you know, and they don’t even try. They do.

Steven Klitzner 10:25
Yeah, they do a courtesy disconnect. There’s a courtesy to you, we’re cutting you off.
But if you’re in the Keys and you want to take a ride up to Miami, it’s good that you can listen to the music going up and maybe the answer by the time you get here. Interesting.

Host 10:41
And we’ve talked about this before, but they are cutting some employees from, this is kind of interesting, 2022, it looked like it had, the IRS had 93,654, they went down to 89,767. That’s still a lot, a lot of different employees, but you do have the direct relationships with those that are handling South Florida.

Steven Klitzner 11:06
Yeah, I even the we lost a lot of people, we lost managers, we lost territory managers, we lost some very good revenue officers who had a lot of experience that understood their job. We also lost a lot of the new people that were just starting out.

So what we have left are some experienced people, not as many as we had before. But fortunately, everyone in South Florida I’ve dealt with at one time or another have multiple cases with and that helps us be a lot more efficient in the cases resolved.

Host 11:40
Yeah, indeed. Well, getting cases resolved is what Steven Klitzner and his entire team does for you. They save you money. They protect your rights. They give you peace of mind and the ability to sleep at night because when those letters start to come and the IRS reaches out for you, they’re not going to let go until they get some satisfaction.

Host 12:01
305-682-1118, law office of Steven Klitzner, PA. And again, that is a local number with a local staff, not an 800 number off in some faraway land somewhere. It’s very important to know who you’re dealing with, when you’re dealing with the IRS, because it’s really your future and well-being that is being protected here.

Steven Klitzner 12:28
It’s absolutely correct and do not ignore letters. The certified letters are more important, but you can get ahead of them with the early letters.

I can’t tell you how many times people call me after they’ve done something wrong, like let a deadline run, or after they call the IRS and start triggering off things that weren’t necessary to do. Call me first. I can make life a lot easier, and it makes my job a lot easier too if I can control it as early as possible.

Host 13:03
Yeah, indeed. Well people back to the Bill of Rights for a second taxpayer Bill of Rights people just they don’t realize That they are not completely at the mercy of the IRS The Bill of Rights does protect their rights and we’ve said from day one and talking to you that protect your rights by calling Steven Klitzner It’s very very important to be informed and you do protect those rights each and every day.
So 305-682-1118. No better time to get a handle on this than when Independence Day is coming up

Steven Klitzner 13:38
That’s a good point. We have a nice short weekend coming up and I’m looking I love short week short. I’m sorry short week coming up. I love those short weeks.

Host 13:48
Yeah, indeed. Well, that is one day the IRS does take off, I assume.

Steven Klitzner 13:54
Yes, they do. They will not be there on the 4th, and we won’t be working that day either.

Host 14:00
Yeah, very good. Well, well deserved, Steven
And thank you for informing us on the Bill of Rights 10 points. And as you said, they’ve, they don’t really change. I was trying to find out when the taxpayer Bill of Rights was instituted. I can’t quite find that.

Steven Klitzner 14:15
Started in 2014.

Host 14:16
Oh, it’s relatively new then.

Steven Klitzner 14:19
Yeah, yeah. And the at that point, you know, Olson was the national taxpayer advocate. And she did a great job of kind of codifying those so taxpayers know what they can and can’t do.

Host 14:37
Okay. So from 1862 to 2019, there was no taxpayer bill or 18.

Steven Klitzner 14:44
Well, there were some rights, but, you know, this way we’ve got it in front of us. And when you look at them, they’re good. They make common sense that you should have a bill of rights.

You know, it’s just like in an audit case, somebody will call me and say, they just ordered me, I owe a million dollars. It’s like, no, they just sent you proposed changes. You have a right to fight this. They can’t just assess this against you. They can’t do things without giving you an opportunity to stop them. It’s when you it’s when you pass that time up that you get into trouble.

Host 15:20
Well, and time is of the essence. The more that you ignore those notices and the approach of the IRS, the appeal to you to pay your tax bill, the more expensive it gets.

Time is money, and it tabulates two interests and penalties in terms of the hours. So again, 305-682-1118, Law Office of Steven Klitzner, PA, tax attorney, floridataxsolvers.com. All very good points here, Steve. And anything else we should highlight, though, before we let you go?

Steven Klitzner 15:53
No, I think that’s it. Just enjoy the short week. Looking forward to fireworks like I always am.

Host 15:59
Yes. And then we’re on to the second half of the year before we know it. Another tax year will be over. So time is of the essence.

Absolutely. Yes. Steven, thank you so much for being here today and for protecting our rights as taxpayers. We appreciate that very much and look forward to talking to you again soon.

Steven Klitzner 16:17
Thank you, Michael. I appreciate it. Have a great day.

Host 16:19
Yes, you do the same. Steven Klitzner, law office of Steven Klitzner, tax attorney, floridataxsolvers.com in South Florida and Monroe County, 305-682-1118.