About Tal Rappleyea
As a municipal lawyer, Tal Rappleyea gets asked this question all the time: What is a municipality?
A municipality is actually just a technical term for a county or city. Although municipalities are mainly responsible for creating their laws, they hire municipal lawyers that are responsible for enforcing those laws. Tal Rappleyea covers the following municipal law issues to reflect the needs of area residents:
- Education policies, which governs the safety and standards of education in public schools, accommodating students with disabilities, and job security for teachers.
- Property taxes, which outlines how taxed income from residents can be used to benefit the community.
- Police power, which oversees how police officers monitor resident behavior.
- Zoning, which determines how land in the municipality is used.
Some municipal lawyers work internally for one municipality, while others practice law individually for multiple municipalities. Tal practices law individually in his own private practice and serves several counties in the Albany metro area in New York state.
Tal Rappleyea was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in January 1989. This chapter of the bar association is actually the largest voluntary state bar organization in the nation with a membership of more than 74,000 lawyers. Tal is proud to be a member, considering former presidents Grover Cleveland and Chester A. Arthur were members of the New York State chapter as well.
With nearly three decades of experience and a Juris Doctorate from Hamline State University, Tal Rappleyea has explored municipal law in several roles as an attorney, ranging from positions as Attorney for the Town and Attorney for the Village of several municipalities. Currently, Tal is a solo practitioner in his own Law Offices of Tal G. Rappleyea in Valatie, New York and lists municipal law as one of his main concentrations.
Tal is a supporter the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials (NYCOM), which is an organization that trains municipal officials and operates as a general support group for municipal officials in each state. He is also very active in his community, as he is a member of the Capital District Trial Lawyers Association and holds a position in the County Bar Association of New York State.
Although Tal Rappleyea maintains an active lifestyle by volunteering in his community and maintaining memberships in his field of practice, he still makes time for one of his pastimes, golf, by on the range.
- “Deal of the Year” Award from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY)
- Named one of the three new inductees to the Ethics Committee of REBNY
- Named to the Executive Board of New York Residential Specialists (NYRS).
What To Do When the IRS Audits You
Just mentioning the IRS can bring a person into a panic, let alone learning that they are going to be audited by them. Being told you will be audited by the IRS can be scary at first and there are usually a lot of people asking why they were chosen to be audited. The IRS will make this decision when you make math errors on your returns, fail to report income, claiming too many charities, claiming a home office deduction, and much more. When you are audited, the important thing to do is not panic and then follow these tips:
Take Your Time
Your first instinct will be to get this done as soon as possible to get it over with. Although time may be of the essence, it’s also important to not rush the process. You can postpone the audit by requesting more time in order to organize documents and records. This can very much work to your advantage. What many people do not know is that the IRS must complete an audit within three years of the time the tax return is filed, unless tax fraud or significant underreporting of income is involved.
Prepare and Research
The best thing you can do for yourself when you are audited is by preparing correctly and doing as much research as you can. This means research laws that pertain to your audit and even considering an attorney to help you. Reach out to your accountant and go through the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights so you know what your rights are. In order to get the best outcome from this audit, you need to know your rights and the law, which an attorney and your account can be a great help for.
Understand Possible Outcomes
An audit is a very serious matter and it’s imperative you understand what possible outcome of yours could be. Remember that less than 25% of taxpayers avoid paying additional taxes after they are audited. It’s an unfortunate truth that the odds are against you in an audit. This is why it’s a good idea to consider negotiating with the auditor to limit damages.