D. Kahl v. Dept. of Rev.

Oregon Tax Court·Decided July 2, 2026·No. TC-MD 230011R·Unpublished

Opinion

IN THE OREGON TAX COURT MAGISTRATE DIVISION Income Tax

DANIEL KAHL, ) ) Plaintiff, ) TC-MD 230011R ) v. ) ) DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, ) State of Oregon, ) ) Defendant. ) DECISION

Plaintiff appealed Defendant’s Notice of Deficiency Assessments dated October 11,

2022, for the 2015 and 2016 tax years. In its amended Answer, Defendant sought to increase the

deficiencies for both years based on revised analyses prepared after discovery.

Based on some common business ownership interests, a joint trial was held with Nidal

Kahl and Panayiota Kahl v. Department of Revenue, TC-MD 230009R, and Edward Kahl v.

Department of Revenue, TC-MD 230010R. Trial was held in the courtroom of the Oregon Tax

Court from January 27, 2025, through January 31, 2025, and on February 5, 2025. Plaintiff did

not appear for trial as scheduled.1 The court scheduled an additional trial date on May 20, 2025,

so that Defendant could present evidence supporting the increased deficiency asserted in its

Amended Answer. Plaintiff did not appear for the continued trial date, and thus the trial

consisted of Defendant’s evidence plus cross-examination of its witness.

Hertsel Shadian, Attorney at Law, represented Nidal and Panayiota Kahl, and co-

represented Plaintiff. Shawn Bargouti, Certified Public Accountant, represented Edward Kahl

and co-represented Plaintiff. Plaintiffs also called Defendant’s auditor, Michelle Warren

1 In this Decision, Plaintiff used singularly refers to Daniel Kahl, and Plaintiffs used plurally refers to Daniel Kahl, Nidal Kahl, Panayiota Kahl, and Edward Kahl.

DECISION TC-MD 230011R 1 (Warren), as an adverse witness. Patrick Rieder and Sam Zeigler, Assistant Attorneys General,

represented Defendant and called Warren as a witness. Plaintiffs’ Exhibits PE 1 to PE 3763 and

PR 1 to PR 13 were admitted into evidence. Defendant’s Exhibits DE 1 to DE 3294 and DR 1 to

DR 19 were admitted into evidence. Per stipulation of the parties, the court will not consider the

additional commentary contained in the rebuttal exhibits and will only focus on the numbers

contained therein.

I. INTRODUCTION

These consolidated appeals arise from related business activities involving members of

the Kahl family. Although the cases were tried together due to overlapping ownership interests

and shared evidentiary issues, this appeal concerns a narrower set of activities attributable to

Plaintiff, plus some alleged income and losses from ownership interests in his family’s business

entities. As a result, much of the evidence concerning the Kahl family business pass-through

issues appear in the related cases.

Notwithstanding the more limited scope of Plaintiff’s activities, the court encountered the

same fundamental difficulties present across the consolidated matters: Plaintiffs’ records were

incomplete, disorganized, and, in many instances, reconstructed after-the-fact. Prior to trial, the

court determined that Defendant’s spreadsheets would serve as the foundational reference

materials for the evidentiary phase of the proceedings. Accordingly, the court conditioned the

admission of Plaintiffs’ exhibits on the use of those spreadsheets as the analytical baseline for

organizing the evidence.2

2 The court conditioned admission of Plaintiffs’ exhibits pursuant to ORS 305.501(4) (statutory or technical rules of evidence are not required in the Magistrate Division) and Reed v. Dept. of Rev., 310 Or 260, 270, 798 P2d 235 (1990) (Peterson, J., concurring) (the Tax Court can require a taxpayer “to put the evidence into some minimally coherent form before” its admission).

DECISION TC-MD 230011R 2 II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

This case concerns the income and expenses reported by, or attributed to, Plaintiff for the

2015 and 2016 tax years. In addition to wage income, Plaintiff reported or was attributed

income, losses, and deductions connected to several closely held entities in which members of

the Kahl family held interests. The principal disputed adjustments are: Defendant’s bank deposit

analysis for 2015 and 2016, the 2015 and 2016 capital gain determinations, 2016 imputation of

pass-through income from Dancing Zorba, and the 2016 flow-through income from Biogen,

Celebrity Tan, and Kahl & Co.

Warren is a Manager I with the Oregon Department of Revenue and has worked as an

auditor for approximately seventeen years. She became involved in this matter as part of

Defendant’s filing enforcement efforts after Plaintiff failed to file Oregon income tax returns for

2015 and 2016. (See also Notice and Demand to File for 2015, DE 636, and for 2016, DE 729.)

Defendant later received those returns, conducted an audit, and determined a deficiency.

Plaintiff requested a conference and then appealed to this court. During the pendency of this

appeal, Warren reviewed additional documents produced in discovery, which were not available

to the auditor or conference officer. She prepared spreadsheets and summary workbooks

analyzing Plaintiff’s reported income, expenses, and income attributed from related pass-through

entities. That review led Defendant to revise and increase certain adjustments from the audit and

conference positions.

Warren testified that Plaintiff held ownership interests in multiple pass-through entities

during the tax years at issue, including Celebrity Tan, Biogen, Kahl & Co., Kahl Properties, and

Dancing Zorba. (See also DE 626-629.)

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DECISION TC-MD 230011R 3 A. 2015 Tax Year

For the 2015 tax year, the principal disputed adjustments concern Defendant’s bank

deposit analysis and its determination that Plaintiff realized unreported capital gain income. (DE

678.)

1. 2015 Bank deposit analysis

For the 2015 tax year, Warren used a bank deposit analysis to determine whether Plaintiff

had unreported income. She described that method as listing all deposits reflected on his bank

statements, classifying deposits where possible, treating unidentified deposits as unknown, and

then comparing the results to Plaintiff’s return. The materials used for the 2015 analysis

included bank statements produced during the audit, together with additional bank statements

and deposit information later obtained by subpoena during discovery. Warren’s review of

Plaintiff’s bank deposit analysis was summarized in Defendant’s 2015 Workbook. (DR 6.)

Warren testified that Plaintiff was given opportunities during discovery to explain

unidentified deposits. She further testified that, during the audit and conference stages,

Defendant did not yet have sufficient information to complete a full 2015 bank deposit analysis.

That analysis was completed only after subpoenaed bank records and additional deposit

information were obtained during discovery. As a result, no “other income” adjustment

appeared at the audit or conference stages.

On cross-examination, Warren acknowledged that Plaintiff’s 2015 return included a

Schedule E reporting rental income. She testified, however, that she could not determine

whether the unidentified deposits represented rent payments because she had not received rental

agreements or other records showing recurring rent amounts or payment patterns.

DECISION TC-MD 230011R 4 Based on the 2015 bank deposit analysis, Defendant increased Plaintiff’s “other income”

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D. Kahl v. Dept. of Rev., (Or. Super. Ct. 2026).

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Related

Reed v. Department of Revenue
798 P.2d 235 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1990)
Brenner v. Department of Revenue
9 Or. Tax 299 (Oregon Tax Court, 1983)