Judith A. Harris Discusses June 18th Deadline for PA Tax Amnesty Program on WDIY Radio

Judith A. Harris, a Member of Tallman Hudders & Sorrentino, the Pennsylvania office of Norris McLaughlin, P.A., was featured as a guest on Laurie A. Siebert’s weekly program, “Your Financial Choices.” The segment, entitled “The Pennsylvania Tax Amnesty Program", aired on WDIY Lehigh Valley Community Public Radio on May 26, 2010. Harris is a returning guest to the show, having previously discussed estate planning strategies on Ms. Siebert’s program in 2009 and the changes to the Federal Estate Tax Law in February 2010.

“Pennsylvania residents and other persons and entities liable for PA taxes—including income, sales and use, and inheritance taxes—need to understand the short window of opportunity they have to file delinquent returns and pay overdue taxes in order to have penalties abated and interest reduced by one-half. The deadline is June 18, 2010. Many, but not all, taxpayers will qualify for this program, and immediate action is needed if taxpayers want to apply. Laurie Siebert and I explained the Amnesty process and welcomed questions by listeners,” said Harris.

Harris, a member of the firm and chair of the Estate, Trust and Tax Practice Group of the Pennsylvania office, has over twenty-three years of experience in the areas of taxation, wills and trusts, and estate administration.

In addition to creating estate plans for clients from the most sophisticated to the most basic wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney, and living wills, Harris’s specialties include business matters involving corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. Harris’s practice also includes the areas of charitable trusts and foundations and representation of estates, trusts, and beneficiaries in disputes before the Orphans’ Court. She routinely handles the resolution of tax controversies for business and individual taxpayers before all divisions (civil and criminal) of the Internal Revenue Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. These cases often involve the resolution of estate, business, and individual audits, or the resolution of collection efforts such as liens, levies, and garnishments by the IRS and state taxing authorities.

In her work as an estate planning attorney, Harris frequently structures the optimal transfer of a client’s wealth and business interests to younger generations with minimal tax consequences.

Harris recently completed her term as President of the Estate Planning Council of the Lehigh Valley and serves as Immediate Past President. She is a member of the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). From 1993 to 2000, she was an adjunct instructor of “Wills, Trusts, and Estates” at Penn State University’s Lehigh Valley Campus.

She is currently a board member and former President of the Fund to Benefit Children & Youth, Inc., a board member of the Allentown Symphony since 1993, and a board member of the Lehigh County Agricultural Society. Harris served for 10 years on the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority Board of Governors, where she chaired the Personnel and Law Committee.

Harris earned her LL.M. in Taxation from Villanova University School of Law in 1991 and her J.D. from American University in 1986. She earned her A.B., cum laude, from Bryn Mawr College in 1983.

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