Michael Weitzner

Mr. Weitzner's practice includes all phases of taxation, tax litigation, estate planning and asset protection planning. Mr. Weitzner' s areas of expertise include corporate, individual, partnership, and real estate taxation. He has extensive experience structuring transactions involving the acquisition and disposition of business interests. In addition, Mr. Weitzner has substantial experience in the areas of estate tax and international taxation. He also handles audits and appeals and foreign asset disclosure.

Mr. Weitzner began his legal career as a Trial Attorney in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where he tried many tax related cases throughout the United States. While at the Department of Justice, Mr. Weitzner participated in cases that are still the leading authority on a variety of issues, such as Boyle v. United States, dealing with the imposition of tax penalties, and United States v. Lawless, dealing with the privileges accorded tax return information.

Immediately prior to joining Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever, LLP, Mr. Weitzner was a tax partner in the Wall Street law firm of Brauner Baron Rosenzweig & Klein, LLP. While on Wall Street, Mr. Weitzner represented clients including commodities traders and hedge fund managers. His practice involved international transactions and sophisticated financial transactions such as straddles, hedges and cross-border transfers.

Education

  • New York University School of Law, Master of Laws Degree in Taxation, 1978
  • Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, Masters of Science in Accounting, 1977
  • Syracuse University, College of Law, Juris Doctor, 1977
  • State University of New York at Albany, BA, in Economics, 1974

Admissions

  • New York
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Tax Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Federal Claims
  • U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y.
  • U.S. District Court, E.D.N.Y.

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
  • New York Bar Association
  • Westchester Bar Association
  • Putnam Bar Association
  • Westchester Women's Bar Association
  • White Plains Bar Association; Member
  • Estate Planning Council of Westchester County
  • Estate Planning Council of Putnam County
  • Mr. Weitzner is a member of the Justinian Society

Reported and Unreported Cases and Rulings

  • Steven Goldman and Michael Weitzner, in a matter of first impression, obtained a ruling on behalf of the former owners of the Hotel now known as the Dominick, from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, that the Units in the hotel condominium are not subject to the New York State Mansion Tax. The Mansion Tax, New York Tax Law Section 1402-a, is an additional real property tax payable by purchaser of conveyances of residential real property when the consideration exceeds one million dollars. The ruling determined that the hotel-condominium units are not residential property for the purposes of the Mansion Tax.
  • Horn v. Commissioner, 968 F.2d 1229 (D.C. Cir. 1992), a taxpayer victory in a London silver straddle tax shelter case
  • Crowley v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 1995-551 (1995), former husband established that wife was not an innocent spouse
  • United States v. Boyle, Docket No. 81-1078 (C.D. Ill.), aff'd 710 F.2d 1251 (7th Cir. 1983), rev'd 469 U.S. 241 (1985), late filing penalties and reliance on counsel
  • United States v. Lawless, Docket No. 82-1167 (C.D. Ill.), rev'd 709 F.2d 485 (7th Cir. 1983), attorney-client privilege regarding tax preparation material
  • Wallace v. United States, 566 F.Supp. 904 (D.Mass. 1981), a gift tax refund suit involving valuation of a preferred stock freeze transaction
  • Recent cases that have been favorably settled include Tax Court cases involving the validity of a family limited partnership and appropriate estate tax valuation discount; and the validity of a late filed election to exclude foreign source income. In the District Court, Mr. Weitzner settled a case in which the government sought to reduce an assessment to judgment for a responsible person assessment for employment taxes. Following a trial before the New York State Division of Tax Appeals, Mr. Weitzner resolved a responsible person assessment for NY sales tax.

Teaching

  • Mr. Weitzner taught individual income tax law at the Antioch School of Law, Washington, D.C. The University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law is the successor to Antioch School of Law

Speaking

  • "Current Topics in Mergers and Acquisitions," Westchester Business League, White Plains, NY, October 27, 2009
  • "Tax Considerations in Choice of Entity," National Business Institute, White Plains, NY, March 12, 2008