Kajan Mather and Barish

A Professional Corporation

Steve handles tax audits, investigations, appeals, litigation and collection problems with both the Internal Revenue Service and all California tax agencies.  The amounts in dispute range from less than $50,000 to more than $100,000,000.  In virtually every case, Steve has obtained positive, cost-effective resolutions to the controversies.

Background

Steve literally grew up preparing tax returns for his father's law office.  After an accounting education and stints with a public accounting firm and corporate accounting departments, Steve graduated from law school and decided to learn from the inside.   For five years, Steve was a senior trial attorney with District Counsel, Internal Revenue Service in Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Since 1987, Steve has focused his law practice on resolution of tax disputes for taxpayers.

Professional Affiliations

Steve is currently the Co-Director of the Tax Court Pro Se Program sponsored by the Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills Bar Associations. He is also the past Chair of the Tax Procedure and Litigation Committee and the current Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Tax Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

Publications

Steve is the co-author of the BNA Portfolio "Federal Tax Collection Procedure" and author of the BNA Portfolio "Audit Procedures for Pass-Through Entities."  Steve has written law review articles on tax topics and has authored legislative and regulatory commentaries for submission to Congressional committees and the Department of the Treasury.

Speaking

Steve has been a lecturer on Federal Tax Procedure in the Golden Gate University Masters in Taxation Program since 1993. He frequently conducts seminars involving tax controversy matters for California bar associations, CPA groups and other organizations. Steve has been a panelist at the biennial Tax Court Judicial Conference and at the UCLA Tax Controversy Institute.

Academic Background

Steve received his JD with distinction in 1982 and his BA degree in accounting with highest distinction in 1978 from the University of Iowa.

Email

srm@taxdispites.com