Mike Herzog is a Member in the firm’s Corporate Group.

He concentrates his practice on a variety of tax matters and employee benefits counseling. His tax practice is informed by his experience as a CPA. Prior to practicing law, he served as a tax consultant for a Big Five accounting firm. He assists clients with the tax implications of business restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, international transactions, joint ventures, multistate tax matters, and federal, state, and local tax controversies. Mike advises clients on complex tax matters and represents them during audits, before the IRS Appeals Office, and in various state administrative appeals and courts including the U.S. Tax Court, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Mike also counsels clients on federal and state tax issues with respect to significant acquisitive and divisive business transactions, tax compliance, and tax return reviews. Mike’s broad tax expertise with individual income tax, partnership tax, corporate tax, payroll tax, and state tax implications of interstate business activities informs his ability to serve as outside general counsel for several clients.

Within his employee benefits practice, Mike advises clients on tax-qualified retirement plans, executive compensation matters, IRC Section 409A tax compliance, and the tax implications of various employee benefit programs.

Representative Matters

  • Successfully assisted multiple clients with making Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Tax Amnesty Program disclosures for sales/use tax, capital stock tax and gross receipts tax.
  • Assisted client with the Massachusetts gross receipts taxation upon the distribution of electricity.
  • Assists clients with the tax implications of business restructurings, international transactions, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence reviews, technical research and drafting of tax memoranda, tax and information return compliance, tax return reviews, and general tax advisory services.
  • Advises clients on the many aspects of multistate tax matters for large organizations and international companies, including income and franchise tax, sales and use tax, and payroll tax matters.
  • Advises individuals, business owners, and executives in various aspects of federal, state, and local taxation, including client representation before a variety of tax jurisdictions for audit defenses, settlement representation, tax credit litigation, administrative appeals, and refund claims.
  • Successfully represented multiple clients regarding potential Internal Revenue Service trust fund recovery penalties for federal payroll taxes.
  • Assists clients in securing federal and state tax incentives for the production and conservation of energy and natural resources, including oil and gas production from the Marcellus Shale.
  • Advises clients with making IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) submissions and annual Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs).
  • Assists clients with tax return compliance matters, such as the preparation of black lung trust tax returns, individual income tax returns (resident and non-resident), and returns for private foundations.
  • Represents clients in summons enforcement tax shelter matters and criminal tax investigations for alleged tax evasion and tax fraud allegations.
  • Assists clients in the formation of nonprofit entities, advises nonprofit board of directors as to various tax matters, assists clients in fulfilling their tax compliance filing obligations, and resolves tax controversies for numerous nonprofit entities.
  • Advises clients in the employee benefits area with an emphasis on tax-qualified retirement plans and executive compensation matters, particularly the treatment of employee benefits in merger and acquisitions, the various uses of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), qualified and nonqualified stock options and other equity-based compensation vehicles, and tax rules regarding deferred compensation.
  • Reviews annual returns/reports of employee benefit plans, files voluntary compliance program submissions with the IRS and U.S. Department of Labor, assists clients with the termination of qualified retirement plans, and advises plan sponsors as to the tax consequences of day-to-day plan operations.
  • Assist public sector clients in designing and maintaining compliance with employer-sponsored health and life insurance plans and disability benefits, as well as defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution plans, including profit-sharing, thrift savings and stock ownership plans.

Core Strengths

  • Individual and Corporate Tax
  • Mergers and Acquisitions Tax
  • State and Local Taxation
  • Tax Controversy and Litigation
  • Tax Credits and Incentives
  • Employee Benefits
  • Executive Compensation

Professional Affiliations & Honors

  • Allegheny County Bar Association Taxation Section, Council Member and Past President
  • Association for Corporate Growth (ACG)
  • Certified Public Accountant (Inactive)

Education

  • 1999, JD, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
  • 1994, B.S., Accounting, The Pennsylvania State University

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • Virginia
  • U.S. Tax Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania