Employment Tax Controversies—Part I

During his four decades of practicing tax law, Frank Agostino has been the driving force behind many successful lawsuits that sought to establish fair tax enforcement principles for taxpayers.Frank has extensive courtroom experience, litigating more than 100 tax matters, several of which established important precedents for taxpayers. Frank defended the taxpayer in a landmark suit, Commissioner v. Zuch, 145 S.Ct. 1707 (2025),in which the U.S. Supreme Court established that the U.S. Tax Court has limited jurisdiction over certain tax enforcement matters. Similarly, in Chai v. Commissioner, 851 F.3d 190, 2nd Cir. 2017, Frank helped to establish that the IRS must obtain supervisory approval before imposing penalties in tax deficiency proceedings. In those and other significant cases, Frank’s challenges to government enforcement processes resulted in precedents that have changed the way the IRSand Tax Court do business, while equipping tax lawyers with new arguments with which to defend their clients. Because of Frank’s stellar reputation in the tax bar, he has been ranked in Chambers in Band 1for Tax: Fraud Nationwide (USA) and in Band 1 for High Net Worth Private Client: Tax. Before joining Kostelanetz, Frank was the president and founder of Agostino & Associates, a well-known tax controversy firm in New Jersey. Prior to entering private practice, Frank was an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service’sDistrict Counsel in Springfield, Illinois and Newark, New Jersey. He also served as a SpecialAssistant United States Attorney, where he prosecuted primarily criminal tax cases. As an adjunct professor, Frank taught tax controversy at Seton Hall University W. Paul StillmanSchool of Business and Rutgers School of Law. He also served as the co-director of the Rutgers Federal Tax Law Clinic. Frank is a frequent speaker and author on tax controversy and litigation matters. He serves on theAdvisory Board of the Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure. Frank is actively involved with theAmerican Bar Association and the New York County Lawyers’ Association. Frank is also the President of Taxpayers Assistance Corp., which provides tax and legal advice to low-incometaxpayers in the NY/NJ area.