David C. Gair

Board Certified in Tax Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and head of the Firm’s Tax Controversy practice, David Gair guides businesses, high-net-worth individuals and tax professionals through all types of complex civil and criminal tax controversies, everything from audits and litigation to investigations and collection matters. Whether his client is an international corporation involved in multimillion-dollar tax litigation or a domestic partnership battling an audit for the first time, David’s goal is to find the most effective way to protect them and minimize taxes to the full extent of the law.

In civil matters, David explores every option available to prevent unanticipated tax liabilities from devastating a client’s business, either by resolving the controversy during the IRS audit process or in litigation before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims or the federal district and bankruptcy courts. David also has deep experience in resolving administrative controversies before state and local tax authorities, including disputes over income tax, sales/use tax and franchise tax.

David defends businesses and individuals facing tax problems that not only trigger a potentially higher tax bill, but also a criminal investigation or prosecution. Regardless of whether a case involves allegations of tax evasion, failure to file or a fraudulent return, David focuses on finding a solution during the investigation stage before an indictment is issued. Resolving criminal matters at this early stage is critical, because an indictment significantly increases the likelihood of a conviction at trial, which may result in considerable penalties or even jail time.

David has handled several recent IRS controversies, including energy efficiency credits and deductions, tax shelter liability and collection cases targeting nominees and fraudulent transfers. David also helps clients decipher the recently-enacted U.S. Tax Code provisions, with a particular emphasis on the new rules governing partnership audits.

In addition to his controversy practice, he helps businesses and entrepreneurs develop proactive tax and estate planning strategies to avoid future disputes and minimize all taxes, including income, estate, gift, GST, franchise and sales/use tax.

Additionally, David spends substantial time giving back to the community and teaching the next generation of lawyers. He has served as a Council member of the State Bar Tax Section and as a Board Member of the Dallas Bar Association’s Tax Section. He also is Adjunct Professor at the SMU Dedman School of Law where he teaches federal and state tax controversy.

David’s representative experience includes:

IRS, State Civil and Criminal Tax Litigation / Controversy Work

• Caused the IRS to withdraw a wrongfully filed nominee tax lien in the amount of approximately 1.5 billion dollars
• Represented a lighting systems company in an appeal involving a multimillion dollar tax deduction under IRC Section 179D
• Assisted client who fell victim to tax shelter promoters in getting negligence and fraud penalties abated in full
• Obtained full innocent spouse relief for a single mother of two
• Represented a construction company in an IRS dispute over worker classification and achieved a $4.4 million reduction in liability
• Represented an online marketing service provider in a tax litigation case and received complete concession from Comptroller that zero was owed
• Representation of clients in IRS criminal matters, voluntary disclosures, representation of clients in pre-indictment investigations resulting in no indictments being filed
• Represented a Certified Public Accountant in a half-million dollar IRS Trust Fund Recovery Case
• Represented tax professionals in criminal tax matters including a jury trial resulting in 12 not guilty verdicts
• Obtained a 100% abatement of a multi-million dollar IRS Jeopardy Assessment
• Obtained a reversal of a wrongful income tax assessment and wage levy relief
• Handled IRS audits of various corporations and individuals
• Representation of clients with state tax issues, including, property taxes and sales and use taxes
• Obtained double taxation relief for clients through IRS private letter ruling requests
• Represented clients in Estate and Gift tax Valuation matters
• Filed and obtained relief of tax liabilities through offers in-compromise and other administrative remedies with the Internal Revenue Service and state taxation authorities
• Obtained significant tax refunds for clients through refund actions both administratively and through U.S. District Court and the Court of Federal Claims actions
• Representation of Certified Public Accountants before the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, Malpractice litigation and the Board of Accountancy

Estate Planning, Probate & Transactional Work

• Counseling clients on all phases of estate planning and the preparation of wills and various forms of trusts to affect property transfer goals and minimize estate and gift taxes
• Designing and implementing multiple family limited partnerships, family limited liability companies and trusts for family owned assets
• Representing clients in numerous Will probates and in administration of the estate
• Corporate and Partnership tax planning for entrepreneurial business owners
• Structuring and documenting sales and purchases of business entities and business properties
• Counseling and Planning for troubled businesses and entrepreneurs
• Creating business entities such as corporations, limited liability companies, and professional associations
• Prepared tax opinions on various matters, including 1031 Exchanges, Prohibited Transactions for IRAs, listed transactions