Herschel Friedman got his CPA license in 1997 and has been practicing ever since. He has been privy to contracts and negotiations in this industry in New York City and State.
A CPA Who Knows Construction
And New York’s Sales Tax Law.
Herschel noticed that his clients were absorbing sales tax costs in capital improvement situations that should be exempt. Vendors, being ultra conservative and wishing to avoid potential exposure to sales tax liabilities and the accompanying catastrophic penalties, were charging and passing on sales tax costs that either were not taxable in the first instance or could have been avoided.
Herschel noticed that his clients were absorbing sales tax costs in capital improvement situations that should be exempt. Vendors, being ultra conservative and wishing to avoid potential exposure to sales tax liabilities and the accompanying catastrophic penalties, were charging and passing on sales tax costs that either were not taxable in the first instance or could have been avoided
Herschel has challenged the New York State tax department over the years and has recouped millions of dollars for construction contractors and developers.
Recouping paid sales tax made him a hero to these clients. These sales taxes should never have been paid by them in the first place. A recent Freedom of Information act report has shown that Herschel Friedman is referred to as simply “Herschel” in the highest echelons of the Department of Taxation.
This indicates they are very familiar with him and his successful refund petitions.
42 Open Cases
In a recent telephone conference with a Judge, the Office of Council Attorney for NYS complained that Herschel has 42 open cases on capital improvement issues. The rules in NYS Division of Tax Appeals put the burden of proof on the taxpayer, that is why the State enjoys an 87% win rate of the cases that are published annually.
Herschel Friedman CPA knows that the state is very protective of their high score and uses it to his advantage to get favorable concessions out of the state, as the state will not risk adverse decisions. In fact, Herschel has recently won a case on summary determination. The state conceded and wrote the check before the ruling in an attempt to avoid getting that ruling published.
There are many categories that the average project absorbs erroneous tax costs on and a consultation with Herschel would be of great benefit.
More recently Herschel has taken on the Goliath on two heavy categories security guards and monitoring ready mix costs.