By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Tax lawyer Venar Ayar remembers helping a homeless client, living in her car, ready to give her son up for adoption because she hadn’t filed her tax returns.
“Tax problems can have real severe consequences in people’s lives,” Ayar says. “Some clients have been in disastrous situations. It’s rewarding to use my knowledge of how the system works and how the government operates to solve problems. It gives me an opportunity to be creative and figure out solutions that other people might not see. You can really change people’s lives.”
The founder and owner of Ayar Law in Farmington Hills and Grand Rapids, Ayar also recalls outsmarting the IRS in an audit case involving a family-owned restaurant, owned by immigrant parents. Their son was listed as the owner on paper, though the parents exercised total financial control over the enterprise.
“The auditor wanted to extend the statute of limitations on the first year of the audit, but I refused, citing that the father was going through terminal cancer and we didn’t want to prolong things,” Ayar says. “The auditor issued his report assessing the son a significant amount in taxes. Meanwhile, I continued fighting the rest of the audit and convinced the auditor that the son wasn’t really the owner—it was the parents. He agreed and moved the restaurant to the parents’ names.
“When I got to appeals on the son’s case for the first year, I argued that it was an easy case: the son didn’t even own the restaurant, so he shouldn’t owe the additional tax and should get a refund for what he’d already paid. Appeals agreed. But by then, the statute of limitations had run out on assessing the parents for that year, so nobody ended up having to pay approximately $100,000 in taxes. I had the foresight to see that coming, and plan for it.”
Ayar started on his career path with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Ayar says his dream was always to own a business. His paternal grandfather had run a tahini factory in Iraq, and Ayar’s father owned grocery stores.
“I’d go to work with my dad at the grocery store and help bag groceries,” Ayar says. “Business school was a natural choice.”
Nearing graduation, and unsure what kind of business he wanted to own, Ayar joined his brother and several friends in taking the L.S.A.T.—and landed a scholarship to Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, aiming to learn about business law for his future career as a business owner.
But in the law school’s top-tier tax program, his interest was piqued by a professor who explained that in business transactions, the tax attorney is the one making strategic decisions, not just tailoring contracts.
“That opened my eyes,” Ayar says. “Tax law came naturally to me—unlike other areas of law with endless case analysis, tax has clear rules—the Internal Revenue Code.”
Since the law school offering a joint J.D./LL.M. program, Ayar finished his J.D. in 30 months, and earned his LL.M. in that saved semester—walking the stage twice at graduation.
Ayar notes tax law is structured differently from other areas of law.
“Cases become codified into regulations, so there’s a clear book of rules rather than having to read hundreds of cases and draw analogies—relatively speaking. My brain just worked well with that systematic approach. I’d go to class with just my code book and could answer questions without even buying the textbooks,” he says.
“People think tax law is boring, but it’s actually incredibly creative,” he adds. “You get to look at problems from a bigger picture and figure out solutions. Sometimes those solutions require months or years of planning and positioning. It allows me to be strategic and see solutions that others might not.”
Ayar enjoys running his own tax law practice, that started as a solo practice in a 10-by-12 office, and has grown steadily over the years—including the opening of an office in Grand Rapids on January 1.
“My philosophy is that when I find a good team member, I add them on, and the work will come,” he says. “That approach has held true. Including all my ventures, I’ve well over 100 people who make their livelihood based on what I’ve built. I like to grow and build things, and I get to do that.
“I like marching to the beat of my own drum. I answer to my clients, but not to anyone else. I enjoy finding good people, building teams, building systems, and watching it all grow. It’s incredibly satisfying to set things up, hand them off to someone else, show them how to do it, and watch them run with it.”
Ayar’s business ventures—that have included an accounting and tax preparation service, supermarkets, and a hotel—put him in a position to understand the perspectives of his clients, many of whom are business owners and self-employed individuals.
“Coming from a family of entrepreneurs and having been in various businesses myself, I understand their plight, their struggles, and what they’re really after,” he says. “Tax problems are just numbers on paper until you figure out what’s really at stake, how it’s impacting someone’s life, their livelihood, and their goals. My business background helps me understand what really matters to my clients and how to solve problems in a way that makes their lives better.”
Ayar also enjoys sharing his experience with others, and giving presentations.
“People who really love what they do love talking about it. I’m passionate about tax law, so I naturally enjoy discussing it,” he says. “I like helping and guiding people, giving them insight and information they can take action with to better their position, financially or otherwise.”
He also is a huge proponent of utilizing virtual assistants.
“We’ve used many of them, and they have their place,” he says. “However, they’re not really a replacement for having people working in the office—they’re more of a supplement. When my business was scaling really fast, virtual assistants made it easy to recruit and train people quickly. I’m an in-office guy—we work in the office; we’re not a remote or virtual firm—but we are very much supported by onshore and offshore virtual assistants.”
Born in Oak Park, Ayar lived in Southfield briefly, moved to Farmington Hills in first grade and lived there until young adulthood, then moved to West Bloomfield, where he currently resides with his wife and sons: Benjamin, 7, Matthew, 6, and James, 4.
“I actually named my first son Benjamin after myself in a way—nobody can pronounce Venar, so I started going by ‘Ben R’—Benar—for my Starbucks order,” he says. “All my friends call me Ben, Benjamin, or Benny. I didn’t like having a strange name growing up. Every time we went to Disney World, there was never a coffee mug or license plate with my name on it,” he says with a smile.
In his leisure time, Ayar enjoys playing golf and video games.
“I’ve been on and off with gaming throughout my life, going years without playing and then getting hooked on a game,” he says. “Recently I played ‘Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom’ on Nintendo Switch with my kids, which was amazing. But mostly, I like spending time with my kids and wife.”
Legal News
Tax lawyer Venar Ayar remembers helping a homeless client, living in her car, ready to give her son up for adoption because she hadn’t filed her tax returns.
“Tax problems can have real severe consequences in people’s lives,” Ayar says. “Some clients have been in disastrous situations. It’s rewarding to use my knowledge of how the system works and how the government operates to solve problems. It gives me an opportunity to be creative and figure out solutions that other people might not see. You can really change people’s lives.”
The founder and owner of Ayar Law in Farmington Hills and Grand Rapids, Ayar also recalls outsmarting the IRS in an audit case involving a family-owned restaurant, owned by immigrant parents. Their son was listed as the owner on paper, though the parents exercised total financial control over the enterprise.
“The auditor wanted to extend the statute of limitations on the first year of the audit, but I refused, citing that the father was going through terminal cancer and we didn’t want to prolong things,” Ayar says. “The auditor issued his report assessing the son a significant amount in taxes. Meanwhile, I continued fighting the rest of the audit and convinced the auditor that the son wasn’t really the owner—it was the parents. He agreed and moved the restaurant to the parents’ names.
“When I got to appeals on the son’s case for the first year, I argued that it was an easy case: the son didn’t even own the restaurant, so he shouldn’t owe the additional tax and should get a refund for what he’d already paid. Appeals agreed. But by then, the statute of limitations had run out on assessing the parents for that year, so nobody ended up having to pay approximately $100,000 in taxes. I had the foresight to see that coming, and plan for it.”
Ayar started on his career path with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Ayar says his dream was always to own a business. His paternal grandfather had run a tahini factory in Iraq, and Ayar’s father owned grocery stores.
“I’d go to work with my dad at the grocery store and help bag groceries,” Ayar says. “Business school was a natural choice.”
Nearing graduation, and unsure what kind of business he wanted to own, Ayar joined his brother and several friends in taking the L.S.A.T.—and landed a scholarship to Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, aiming to learn about business law for his future career as a business owner.
But in the law school’s top-tier tax program, his interest was piqued by a professor who explained that in business transactions, the tax attorney is the one making strategic decisions, not just tailoring contracts.
“That opened my eyes,” Ayar says. “Tax law came naturally to me—unlike other areas of law with endless case analysis, tax has clear rules—the Internal Revenue Code.”
Since the law school offering a joint J.D./LL.M. program, Ayar finished his J.D. in 30 months, and earned his LL.M. in that saved semester—walking the stage twice at graduation.
Ayar notes tax law is structured differently from other areas of law.
“Cases become codified into regulations, so there’s a clear book of rules rather than having to read hundreds of cases and draw analogies—relatively speaking. My brain just worked well with that systematic approach. I’d go to class with just my code book and could answer questions without even buying the textbooks,” he says.
“People think tax law is boring, but it’s actually incredibly creative,” he adds. “You get to look at problems from a bigger picture and figure out solutions. Sometimes those solutions require months or years of planning and positioning. It allows me to be strategic and see solutions that others might not.”
Ayar enjoys running his own tax law practice, that started as a solo practice in a 10-by-12 office, and has grown steadily over the years—including the opening of an office in Grand Rapids on January 1.
“My philosophy is that when I find a good team member, I add them on, and the work will come,” he says. “That approach has held true. Including all my ventures, I’ve well over 100 people who make their livelihood based on what I’ve built. I like to grow and build things, and I get to do that.
“I like marching to the beat of my own drum. I answer to my clients, but not to anyone else. I enjoy finding good people, building teams, building systems, and watching it all grow. It’s incredibly satisfying to set things up, hand them off to someone else, show them how to do it, and watch them run with it.”
Ayar’s business ventures—that have included an accounting and tax preparation service, supermarkets, and a hotel—put him in a position to understand the perspectives of his clients, many of whom are business owners and self-employed individuals.
“Coming from a family of entrepreneurs and having been in various businesses myself, I understand their plight, their struggles, and what they’re really after,” he says. “Tax problems are just numbers on paper until you figure out what’s really at stake, how it’s impacting someone’s life, their livelihood, and their goals. My business background helps me understand what really matters to my clients and how to solve problems in a way that makes their lives better.”
Ayar also enjoys sharing his experience with others, and giving presentations.
“People who really love what they do love talking about it. I’m passionate about tax law, so I naturally enjoy discussing it,” he says. “I like helping and guiding people, giving them insight and information they can take action with to better their position, financially or otherwise.”
He also is a huge proponent of utilizing virtual assistants.
“We’ve used many of them, and they have their place,” he says. “However, they’re not really a replacement for having people working in the office—they’re more of a supplement. When my business was scaling really fast, virtual assistants made it easy to recruit and train people quickly. I’m an in-office guy—we work in the office; we’re not a remote or virtual firm—but we are very much supported by onshore and offshore virtual assistants.”
Born in Oak Park, Ayar lived in Southfield briefly, moved to Farmington Hills in first grade and lived there until young adulthood, then moved to West Bloomfield, where he currently resides with his wife and sons: Benjamin, 7, Matthew, 6, and James, 4.
“I actually named my first son Benjamin after myself in a way—nobody can pronounce Venar, so I started going by ‘Ben R’—Benar—for my Starbucks order,” he says. “All my friends call me Ben, Benjamin, or Benny. I didn’t like having a strange name growing up. Every time we went to Disney World, there was never a coffee mug or license plate with my name on it,” he says with a smile.
In his leisure time, Ayar enjoys playing golf and video games.
“I’ve been on and off with gaming throughout my life, going years without playing and then getting hooked on a game,” he says. “Recently I played ‘Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom’ on Nintendo Switch with my kids, which was amazing. But mostly, I like spending time with my kids and wife.”
Tax attorney Venar Ayar is pictured with his Ayar Law team outside the firm’s Farmington Hills office. The firm also opened an office in Grand Rapids earlier this year.
Photos courtesy of Venar Ayar
Photos courtesy of Venar Ayar
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