Sutton, Christopher J.

I began my professional career as a law clerk for the United States District Court the Honorable John K. Regan, Eastern District of Missouri. Subsequently as an attorney in St. Louis, Missouri, I handled litigation for some of our large corporate clients including General Motors Corporation litigation in Federal Court, the United States Court of Appeal for the Eighth Circuit, and Bankruptcy representation of its creditor claims in the Eastern District of Missouri and Southern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Courts. I also did creditor work on behalf of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). For 35 years, since then, I have limited my practice to representing taxpayers with tax "controversies" with the Internal Revenue Service, Franchise Tax Board, Employment Development Department and State Board of Equalization. My efforts to achieve an optimal result for my clients included representation in Bankruptcy Court. I am also a "transactional" attorney meaning that clients that need organizations formed, such as Corporations, Partnerships, and Limited Liability Companies in this state, have those documents prepared, as well as any Shareholder Agreements, restrictions on sales of stock, and Limited Liability Company Operating Agreements.

During the 1980's, I had been lead counsel for several large groups of investors contesting tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and Franchise Tax Board involving anticipated tax benefits other pro-taxpayer provisions as they existed in those years. I have represented many taxpayers in resolving collection problems with the Collections Division of the Internal Revenue Service and the various state agencies. I have had considerable experience reducing these liabilities. This work includes litigation and administrative hearings over the imposition of the so-called Responsible Person (Trust Fund Recovery Penalty under IRC 6672) and its analogous provision Section 1735 under the California Unemployment Insurance Code. Additionally, the work I have done requires a familiarity with the scope of the federal tax lien and the means to mitigate its effect on taxpayer's property. I have worked with lenders, taxpayers, and the Internal Revenue Service to remove liens through the discharge and subordination rules found in Internal Revenue Code, the Internal Revenue Manual, and other announcements from the Internal Revenue Service. In fashioning remedies for taxpayers, I have resolved disputes with the Internal Revenue Service in the United States District Courts, the United States Tax Court, and the United States Bankruptcy Court as well as administrative hearings before different state agencies, including worker reclassification cases.

Professional Achievements

For over twenty years, I have been a Certified Specialist in Taxation as certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization. I have lectured to many groups concerning various tax topics, and published in the California Tax Lawyer, "Defending Taxpayers from Invalid Assessments: Some Recent Decisions and an article explaining a successful challenge to the trust fund recovery penalty under IRC $6672. I have taught the federal tax procedure and partnership taxation course in the National University tax program as an Adjunct Professor from 1,987 to 1994.