Section on Taxation

Welcome to the website for the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation!

Section members are government and private sector attorneys practicing in the area of federal taxation. The Tax Section encourages participation by members from the IRS, Department of Justice, Congress, Treasury, the judiciary, and the private sector, and past chairs of the section have included both government and private sector attorneys.

Leadership of the Section is comprised of the Section Council, the chair, the chair-elect, the secretary, and the treasurer. The Council includes the officers of the section and up to 25 additional active members of the Tax Section. In addition, the Section provides all of its members opportunities to become active and to take on leadership roles in Section events. Examples include responsibility for membership, section contact, continuing legal education/programming, communications, and newsletter/publications.

The mission of the Section is to promote the welfare, interests, education, and professional growth and development of members of the Section; to contribute to the formation of federal tax policy through Section events; to promote high standards of professional competence and ethical conduct in the practice of federal tax law; and to provide opportunities for interaction between tax practitioners in public service and the private sector.

Tax Section programs include regular luncheons on tax issues of current interest, the annual Tax Law and Insurance Tax conferences, and the biennial Airlie House conference. Each program is designed to educate members about recent developments and to promote communication between government and private sector attorneys on important current issues of tax policy and administration.

The Tax Section publishes a periodic section newsletter that includes topical papers, interviews of leading tax practitioners and government officials, and Tax Section news. See the current issue of the newsletter. If you are interested in submitting a paper to the newsletter, please contact our editor, John Bates, at jbates@ipbtax.com.

Each year, the Tax Section presents the Liles Award to an individual practitioner whose career has exemplified the highest standards of tax practice and has made significant contributions to federal tax policy and the administration and functioning of our tax system. In addition, the Tax Section sponsors a student writing competition each year. The newsletter publishes both the winning paper and the runner up.

I look forward to working with our Section Council members and all our members as we move forward into an exciting year of legislation and Section programs.

Kari M. Larson
Chair, Section of Taxation

Tax Writing Contest

2010 Contest Rules and Information
The Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation hosts an annual writing competition and invites students of the law school to participate. All full-time law students currently seeking a juris doctor or master of laws at an accredited law school are eligible to enter the competition. Students may submit any original, unpublished paper concerning federal taxation. Please share this opportunity with your tax professors and student body.

Papers must be a minimum of twenty pages and a maximum of thirty pages (double spaced, 12 pt. font, and one-inch margins) and must be postmarked or e-mailed by January 15, 2010. Additionally, each student must sign and return the attached warranty (a .pdf copy by e-mail is acceptable). If mailing submissions, please use the following address:

                                    Federal Bar Association
                                                Section on Taxation
                                    Attn: Writing Competition
                                                1220 N. Fillmore Street, Suite 444
                                                                        Arlington, VA 22201

If e-mailing submissions, please e-mail to Adrienne Woolley at awoolley@fedbar.org, with the subject line “Writing Competition.”

Two winning papers will be selected by the Officers of the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation.
The author of the First Place paper will receive:
(i)          A $2,000 cash prize; and
(ii)         A trip to the FBA’s Annual Tax Law Conference in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2010 (value not to exceed $700), where the First Place winner will be presented with a Commemorative Plaque and complimentary one- year membership in the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation
The author of the Second Place paper will receive:
(i)          A $1,000 cash prize; and
(ii)         A Commemorative Plaque and complimentary one- year membership in the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation;
Both the First Place and Second Place papers may be published in the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation Report.
If you have any questions please contact us at the e-mail addresses listed below.
Sincerely,
            Jimmy Kroger                                       Martin Milner
     jimmy.kroger@gmail.com                         mmilner@mayerbrown.com

2009 Writing Competition Results
The FBA Section on Taxation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Writing Competition. This year there were three papers of very high quality, and the judges added an Honorable Mention category.

Honorable Mention is awarded to William Joseph Mills, a third-year student at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Mr. Mill's paper entitled, "Inspiring Green Car Sales: What Deserves the Credit" provides an insightful look at whether tax credits for green cars have a positive impact on sales. He concludes that other factors, such as gas prices and car quality, have a larger impact than tax credits. Mr. Mills will receive a $350 prize and a commemorative plaque.
Honorable Mention winning paper

The second place prize is awarded to David Schneider, a third-year law student at George Washington University Law School. Mr. Schneider's paper entitled, "Dividing to Unite: How We Can Reach Common Development Goals When Developed Countries and Developing Countries Adopt Different Tax Systems" urges the international community to adopt a globally-coordinated tax regime to provide greater tax incentives for investment in the emerging economies. Mr. Schneider received a $750 check and commemor
ative plaque at the FBA Section on Taxation's Annual Tax Law Conference on March 6, 2009. Second place winning paper
Appendix A • Appendix B • Appendix C

The first place winner is James Kroger. Mr. Kroger is an LLM student at Georgetown University Law Center. His paper entitled, "The New Frontier: Tax Impliciations of Limited Cooperative Associations" discusses the Uniform Limited Cooperative Association Act. He analyzes how cooperatives organized under the uniform act will be taxed under subchapter T of the Code. Mr. Kroger received a $1,500 check and commemorative plaque at the Tax Law Conference.
First place winning paper

The Section on Taxation would like to thank all the contest participants and the following FBA members who served as judges: Bill Elwell, Ed Froelich, Kari Larson, and Teresa Dondlinger Trissell.

Calendar of Events

March 5, 2010
34th Annual Tax Law Conference
Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, D.C.
Visit the conference Web site
Register online

21st Annual Insurance Tax Seminar
On May 28-29, 2009, the Annual Insurance Tax Seminar once again succeeded in informing and educating its audience on insurance company and insurance product tax issues throughout the course of the one and a half day program. Held annually in Washington, DC, the Seminar is the leading conference directed at professionals specializing in insurance taxation matters, and is the only one attended by IRS professionals as well as professionals from the private sector. The Seminar was started as and continues to be a joint undertaking of the IRS and the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation to foster dialogue between IRS professionals, including examination agents, appeals officers, and attorneys responsible for interpreting the specialized laws and regulations that apply to the taxation of insurance companies and their products, and their counterparts at national and international insurance companies, and legal, actuarial, and accounting firms.

The 2009 Seminar, which was chaired by Mark Kovey of Scribner, Hall & Thompson LLP, featured over 19 separate sessions. The panels covered the most significant and timely insurance tax topics, as well as a discussion of evolving regulatory issues arising as a result of the current financial crisis and tax-related legislative issues, including proposals that would impact insurance companies and insurance products. Other panels addressed a broad array of specialized issues, such as foreign tax issues, financial product taxation, the impact on insurance tax accounting rules of international accounting provisions, and the tax issues raised by insurance business securitizations.

The 22nd Annual Insurance Tax Seminar will be held next year on June 3-4, 2010, in Washington, DC.

Women in Tax Law Event
On April 30, 2009, the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation sponsored its sixth event in the continuing Women in Tax Law series. This bi-annual program provides women tax professionals in government and the private sector with opportunities for professional development and networking.

This most recent event, Networking and Building Relationships: Strategies and Practical Advice for Women in Tax Practice, featured a panel presentation comprised of the following accomplished and vibrant women:

Jean A. Pawlow, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Helen H. Morrison, Deputy Benefits Tax Counsel, Office of Tax Policy, Department of Treasury
Elizabeth (“Libby”) B. Coffin, Director–Tax Affairs, United Technologies Corporation

Each speaker shared her personal story of how she came to be involved in tax law and what led her career to the position she holds today. The panelists then shared their experience and advice on building and maintaining professional relationships, as well as making use of advantages and overcoming unique challenges facing female tax practitioners. Kari Larson of Latham & Watkins LLP, chair-elect of the Section on Taxation, moderated the event. The event concluded with a networking reception. Approximately 45 tax professionals attended the event. The Federal Bar Association would like to thank Latham & Watkins LLP for hosting this event.

33rd Annual Tax Law Conference
On March 6, 2009, over 400 professionals attended the 33rd Annual Tax Law Conference hosted by the Section of Taxation. The Conference featured a number of distinguished speakers, including Hon. Douglas Shulman, Commissioner of the IRS, Edward Kleinbard, then-Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, and Hon. John Colvin, Chief Judge of the U.S. Tax Court. Throughout the day, top tax professionals held symposia spanning over twenty issues in the federal taxation field, including topics in domestic corporate tax, international tax, partnership tax, employee benefits, executive compensation, taxation of financial products, tax accounting, practice and procedure, and professional ethics. Perhaps a sign of the times, a practice and procedure panel regarding recent IRS enforcement initiatives relating to undisclosed foreign bank accounts and taxpayers’ options for voluntary disclosure attracted an overflow crowd.

James Kroger was announced as the winner of the Taxation Section’s annual writing competition for his paper entitled “The New Frontier: Tax Implications of Limited Cooperative Associations.” The conference concluded with a reception and presentation of the Kenneth S. Liles Award honoring Mortimer M. Caplin, Commissioner of the IRS from 1961 to 1964 and co-founder of Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, DC.

The conference concluded with the annual reception and presentation of the Kenneth H. Liles Award honoring Mortimer M. Caplin, Commissioner of Internal Revenue (1961-1964).

The Taxation Section extends its warmest thanks to 2009 Conference Co-Chairs Danielle Rolfes of Ivins, Phillips & Barker and Terri McField of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel for organizing this outstanding event. Preparation is underway for the 34th Annual Tax Law Conference, to be held March 5, 2010, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Please plan to join us for what promises to be another excellent conference.

Breakfast Briefing on Recent Section 382 Issues
On December 8, 2008, the Federal Bar Association's Section on Taxation held a program on Code Section 382 sponsored by the firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP, in Washington, D.C. Mark Jennings, IRS Branch Chief, Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate) was a panelist and described the aspects of significant IRS guidance in the area and indicated further guidance that will elaborate on the relatively liberal notices released recently on application of the loss carryfoward rules under Code Section 382 in reaction to the current economic crisis. The event was well attended by several corporate tax practitioners and IRS corporate branch attorneys. The feedback from the event was positive and reported on in major tax publications.

Breakfast Briefing on the Tax Policy Positions of Presidential Candidates
On Friday, September 19, 2008, the Federal Bar Association’s Tax Section hosted a breakfast meeting to hear Margaret Milner Richardson, Tax Policy Adviser for the Obama-Biden Campaign, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Senior Policy Advisory for Sen. John McCain, discuss each presidential candidate’s tax proposal. Donald Longano, currently a Principal in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP National Tax Services, served as the Moderator. Private sector tax practitioners, government tax officials, and the press attended the meeting.

In addition to statements of each candidate’s position on federal income taxes, Ms. Richardson and Mr. Holtz-Eakin responded to a broad range of policy questions from the audience on both individual and corporate taxation. The questions included topics such as capital gains and dividends taxes, alternative minimum tax, corporate income tax, estate tax, social security payroll tax, tax reform, and other tax policy issues.

Naturally, the senior advisers advocated for their candidate’s specific proposal to address these tax issues, so the solutions varied. Significantly, though, both advisers generally agreed on the major issues that the future president would need to address. For example, both Ms. Richardson and Mr. Holtz-Eakin agreed that alternative minimum tax reform is very important, but unlikely absent comprehensive tax reform. Similarly, they both agreed that estate tax reform should be a top priority regardless of which candidate ultimately wins the election.

The timeliness of the topic and the opportunity to raise these issues with senior advisers to both the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns resulted in an exciting program, exemplifying the Tax Section’s focus on providing opportunities for interaction between tax practitioners in public service and the private sector.

The FBA Section on Taxation expresses its gratitude to the George Washington Law School for hosting the event, and to Kari Larson (Latham & Watkins); Mike Desmond (McKee Nelson); David Blair (Miller & Chevalier); and Edward L. Froelich (Morrison & Foerster) for their roles in organizing and facilitating this meeting.

Kenneth S. Liles Award

Background
Historically, this award is presented by the FBA tax section to a person who, over the course of his or her career, has made significant contributions to federal tax policy and/or the administration and functioning of our tax system. Often the recipient has been active in events sponsored by the FBA Tax Section. Prior recipients include the following: Ron Pearlman, Don Alexander, Ernest Brown, Stuart Brown, John Colvin, Jerry Fridkin, Jack Nolan, Pam Olson, Lindy Paul, Michael Paup, Ron Perlman, and Peggy Richardson.