ENCINITAS — Most people may not know Milikowsky Tax Law. The owner, John Milikowsky, prefers to remain low-key. Having owned several businesses and after managing his family’s 30-year lighting store, he is passionate about business and driven to take on new challenges.
John is a tax attorney, defending businesses in audits with the IRS and state of California. He has completed over 600 tax audits and criminal investigations with federal and states tax agencies. He is still never short of excitement to take on another case to find what he calls the “golden screw.” This is a key fact his team finds to resolve every audit.
His cases typically involve complex laws and volumes of financial information that must be sifted through. Creating a clear strategy and narrative is key to selling his position to government auditors. John’s passion about helping businesses drives their success.
Most mornings you’ll find John awake at 5 AM, starting his day swimming in a masters swim program. At 53 years old, he is not shy to try new things. He and his team are competing in the La Jolla Cove Swim this September. They also support the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which help people with physical challenges to lead active lifestyles. The team recently participated in the CAF Ramona mud run and created their own T-shirts branding their new team, “Team Endurance.”
The name was based on an epic South Pole expedition in 1914 by Captain Sir Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton attempted to be the first explorer to cross the 2,000-mile Antarctic continent. Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was trapped in ice and eventually sank beneath the icy Weddell Sea.
Shackleton named his ship after his family motto, “By endurance we conquer.” The 27 crew members all survived. An iconic image of them playing football on the snow symbolizes their heroic fight to survive the cold and dark Antarctic winter that was approaching.
In 2023, John relocated his office to Encinitas and found a home among surfers, skateboarders and professional athletes who embrace their ideology of always moving forward to take on new challenges.
Milikowsky Tax Law is a proud sponsor of the Bro-Am beach festival and City of Encinitas music events. They also created their own scholarship for several high schools in North County called, the Fearless Scholarship. They invited high school students to submit an essay to explore their biggest fear that holds them back from pursuing something they are passionate about. According to John, “The purpose of the essay competition is to support kids to take a risk, overcome a fear, and pursue their dreams.”
John was inspired to create the scholarship program after experiencing a life-changing event early in his career. Previously, John litigated business disputes and was disappointed in the litigation process. To find a new direction in life, John approached a longtime friend and mentor, Stuart Hurwitz.
John recalls a lunch meeting with Stuart in 2007 where the two spoke about other careers in law. John wanted to work at Stuart’s law firm. Stuart, however, refused to give John a job. Instead, Stuart recommended John enroll in an LLM tax law program. John reluctantly quit his litigation job the next day and enrolled in USD’s LLM Tax program.
Looking back, John says, “Stuart’s advice changed my life. Every morning, I thank God I found my true passion in life. I hope I can share the same gift with as many kids as possible to find their true passion.”
