Overview
Charles (Chuck) Moll focuses his practice on state and local tax (SALT), primarily concentrating on the resolution of tax controversies. He regularly appears before the various California tax authorities—including the State Board of Equalization, the California Franchise Tax Board, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and the Office of Tax Appeals—as well as local authorities such as assessors and assessment appeals boards. He has litigated at all levels of California’s courts, the US Tax Court, and the US Supreme Court.
Chuck’s practice includes tax matters in other states, as well as federal tax controversies, including representation of clients in federal courts and at appellate hearings before the Internal Revenue Service.
Results
- Appeared as counsel of record and prevailed in the US Supreme Court in Hunt-Wesson v. Franchise Tax Board, 528 US 458 (2000). The Supreme Court unanimously struck down California’s interest offset provision as being unconstitutional*
- Represented the taxpayer in City of Modesto v. National Med, Inc., et al., 128 Cal. App. 4th 518 (2005). The Court struck down the City’s unapportioned business license tax ordinance as unconstitutional, and refused to allow retroactive taxation*
- Prevailed against the California Franchise Tax Board in a business/nonbusiness income case before the State Board of Equalization, resulting in a rare published decision in Appeal of Consolidated Freightways, 2000 Cal. Tax LEXIS 402*
- Successfully represented the taxpayer in Crocker Nat’l Bank v. San Francisco, 49 Cal.3d 881 (1990), a seminal property tax case in the California Supreme Court*
*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott
Recognitions
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” in Tax Law, San Francisco
- The Best Lawyers in America 2013 to 2021, Tax Law
- Legal 500 US, 2019 and 2021, Tax
- Chambers USA, 2010 – 2021, Tax: State & Local (Band 1)
- California Lawyers Association 2016, Benjamin F. Miller Award
- Super Lawyers 2004 – 2018, Northern California Super Lawyer
Community
- ABA Tax Section’s State and Local Tax Committee, Executive Committee member
- Environmental Taxes Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, Founder
- National Association of Property Tax Attorneys, Board of Directors
- Tax Section of the California Bar, 2003 – 2004, Chair
- US Naval Academy Parents Club of Northern California, 2014 – 2015, President
