TAXLITIGATOR – Tax Controversy (Civil & Criminal) Report

I recently blogged about Silver Moss Properties, LLC v. Commissioner, 165 T.C. No. 3 (August 21, 2025), where the Tax Court held that the Seventh Amendment right to jury trial did not apply to suits against the United States, which had not consented to jury trial in TEFRA partnership proceedings, and that the public right exception to the right to jury trial applies to the fraud penalty under Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) §6663(a). On December 15, 2025, the Tax Court issued another regular opinion1 discussing whether a TEFRA partnership is entitled to a jury trial on a penalty. Riddle Aggregates, LLC v. Commissioner, 165 T.C. No. 12. Since the Tax Court found the case worthy of a regular rather than a memorandum opinion, I decided to write a blog on the case.

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Robert S. Horwitz is a Principal of Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. and has over 40 years of experience as a tax attorney specializing in the representation of clients in civil and criminal tax cases, including civil audits and appeals, tax collection matters, criminal investigations, administrative hearings and in civil and criminal trials and appeals in federal and state courts. He has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Taxation Section of the State Bar of California and was Chair of the Taxation Section for 2015-2016 year. He was previously Chair of the Tax Procedure and Litigation Committee of the State Bar Taxation Section.

Prior to joining Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C., Mr. Horwitz was with a boutique tax controversy firm in Orange County, where he represented clients in civil and criminal tax cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeal, U.S. district courts, California superior courts, and before the Internal Revenue Service, the California Franchise Tax Board, the Board of Equalization, the Employment Development Department and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.

Mr. Horwitz was previously a trial attorney, US Department of Justice Tax Division and an Assistant United States Attorney, Tax Division, Los Angeles. He was the 2022 recipient of the Joanne M. Garvey Award for lifetime achievement in and outstanding contributions to the field of tax law and the 2021 recipient of the Orange County Bar Association, Tax Chair Recognition award.

For more information, please contact Robert S. Horwitz at horwitz@taxlitigator.com