Richard L. Johnson

Rich represents businesses and individuals in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and the Washington State Department of Revenue.

About

Rich joined LeSourd & Patten, P.S. in 2006 after graduating cum laude from Seattle University School of Law in Seattle, Washington. Rich completed his LL.M. degree in taxation at the University of Washington School of Law. On top of his practice, Rich teaches a course in federal tax procedure in the Masters of Science in Taxation (MSTax) program at the University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business.

• Typical Cases Include
  • Representing taxpayers in audits and appeals
  • Including the examination stage, protesting proposed adjustments to the IRS Office of Appeals, and filing petitions to the United States Tax Court
  • Representing tax return preparers in protesting return preparer penalties
  • Challenging federal trust fund recovery penalty assessments (unpaid federal employment taxes)
  • General tax collection matters such as penalty abatement, offers in compromise, installment agreements, and resolving lien, levy, and garnishment issues
  • Protesting Washington State Department of Revenue (DOR) audit determinations for in-state and out-of-state taxpayers (including business & occupation tax, sales tax, use tax, cigarette & tobacco taxes); including representing taxpayers accused of using sales suppression (zapper) software
  • Appealing Washington DOR trust fund accountability assessments (collected and unpaid sales tax)

Education

• University of Washington School of Law, LL.M. (Taxation), 2009
• Seattle University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2006
• Whitman College, B.A., Economics & Chemistry-Biology

Memberships

• Washington State Bar Association Taxation Section
  • Communications Chair (current)
  • Tax Section Chair – Oct 2018 – Sept 2019
  • Tax Section Executive Committee – 2013 to Current

Bar Admissions

• Washington State
• United States Tax Court
• United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit