Our Tax Department utilizes its significant experience and a vast understanding of the Internal Revenue Code and Regulations to offer tax savings strategies for our Clients. We use our common business sense and years of experience to manage controversies with the IRS, as well as state and local tax authorities, to favorably resolve our Clients' disputes with the government.

Our tax practice is led by Steven M. Appel, a CPA and a lawyer. Our tax professionals work closely with our Clients to advise them on the most effective ways to increase wealth by maximizing profits by optimizing tax savings, while ensuring proper compliance with regulatory authorities. The staff of the tax department has a multi-faceted background, combining many years of experience with national and international accounting firms with varied private industry experience. Our wide range of experience allows us to serve Clients of all sizes, from the small businesses to large international corporations, from small entrepreneurs to high net worth individuals.

Our professional staff has structured business expansions, acquisitions, dispositions, combinations and dissolutions for our Clients allowing them to minimize the tax costs associated with these transactions. As business people, we realize that taxes are a cost of doing business. Our goal, therefore, is to do our best to minimize that cost, just as we would any other costs, to assure that our Clients realize maximum profits.

What distinguishes us from other firms is the high level of experience and expertise that we combine with the highest level of professional service that we offer our Clients. We are committed to professional excellence and superior Client service.

Mr. Steven Appel can be reached at (305) 444-0999 extension 239 or via email at steven@appelrouth.com.

• Individual Taxation - Our tax services for individuals consist of tax planning and compliance. We help our Clients minimize the tax that they are required to pay by maximizing their allowable deductions, advising them on structuring their investment transactions and their business interests. As entrepreneurs, we understand the relationship between our entrepreneurial Clients' personal and business interests. Our services are designed to consider all relevant implications of our Clients' personal and business interests when offering advice, all with the goal of helping our Clients achieve the maximum accumulation of wealth. Our tax compliance services include the timely preparation of all income tax returns (i.e., federal and state and local when required). We prepare the returns in a manner that reflect the results achieved as transactions were planned and structured.
• State Taxation - We offer state tax planning and compliance services along with the federal and international tax services. The state tax planning services we offer include: minimizing state income, sales and use, payroll, and property taxes. Our compliance services include the preparation of state and local tax returns, as may be required, including income tax, sales and use, payroll and tangible tax returns.
• Business Taxation - To our entrepreneurial business Client base, we offer high level tax planning and compliance services. Many of our business Clients require hands on attention, others request less services due to having in house accounting staff. We offer everything from bookkeeping services to tax compliance to planning in connection with business expansion, acquisition and dispositions. To all, we offer the highest level of service consistent with their needs. We help our entrepreneurial business Clients determine the most tax efficient business entity to use in operating their businesses. Our tax compliance services include the timely preparation of all tax returns consistent with the results achieved as transactions were planned and structured, and include income (i.e., federal, state and local, as required), payroll, sales and use, and property tax returns.
• Estate and Gift Tax Planning - Our Clients work and invest to accumulate the maximum amount of wealth they can during their lifetime. Their goal is to first allow themselves to live as comfortable a life style as possible. An almost equally important goal is to share their accumulated wealth with their children, during their lifetimes as well as after death. Our estate and gift tax planning services are designed to meet our Clients current living needs, their desire to share with their children, and the need to minimize the transfer taxes (i.e., estate and gift) that might be payable either at the time gifts are made or as a matter of post mortem administration. Our planning takes in to consideration not only the relevant estate and gift tax laws, but the more important business succession and dispositive desires of our Clients as well. We understand that the goal of our Clients, after a lifetime of working and investing, is to leave the maximum amount of assets to the desired objects of their beneficence. We assist them in meeting those goals.
• Taxpayer Representation - At times our Clients' tax returns are examined by the applicable tax authority, from the Internal Revenue Service for federal tax matters, the Florida Department of Revenue (or other state agencies) for state tax matters, to local counties for ad-valorem property tax matters. Our services include the professional representation of our Clients before the appropriate tax authority. We take advantage of our many years of experience in representing taxpayers before taxing authorities to explain and defend positions taken on tax returns, with the goal of having the returns accepted by the examiners as filed.
• Ad Valorem Tax Appeals - While all Clients understand the opportunities available to them to minimize income taxes, not all understand the opportunities available to them to minimize their ad-valorem property tax assessments by reducing those assessments. That is because they do not understand how the ad-valorem property tax system works. We understand how local jurisdictions determine their property tax assessments, and we understand the relevant principles of property tax valuations. As a result, our extensive property tax valuation services, including over 15 years experience in appealing local Ad Valorem Tax assessments, allows us to successfully represent our Clients who receive tax assessments that are higher than justified by their property values. Lower assessments result in lower taxes, which result in higher profits.
• Retirement Plans - Successful retirement planning helps our Clients transition from their days as entrepreneurs and investors to the time in their lives when they spend less time working and more time enjoying the fruits of their labors. With our experience in retirement planning, we are able to help our Clients meet their retirement goals to live comfortable and free of financial worries.