Friday, March 1 | Ronald Reagan Building (Washington, DC)

> Available for FULL registration and FRIDAY registration types.
> Friday programming is not available to stream online.

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. | Registration + Breakfast

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Floyd’s Panel: 2024 Tax Legislative Update
Senior staff from the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Senate Committee on Finance and the Joint Committee on Taxation will provide their perspectives on the 2024 tax policy outlook.  They will review recently enacted legislation and regulatory implementation.  They will also give their insights on the upcoming tax policy agenda, potential impact of the Presidential election, priorities for both political parties, and discuss what legislation has the potential for enactment this year.  They will also discuss the oversight objectives for their respective Congressional committees.

  • Moderator: Jorge Castro, Member, Miller & Chevalier Chartered
  • Moderator: Anne Gordon, Vice President, International Tax Policy, National Foreign Trade Council
  • Tom Barthold, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation
  • Jonathan Goldman, Senior Tax Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (Majority Staff)
  • Andrew Grossman, Chief Tax Counsel, U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means (Minority Staff)
  • Kate Lindsey, Tax Policy Advisor, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (Minority Staff)
  • Eric Oman, Deputy Chief Tax Advisor, U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means (Majority Staff)

This session is not available for CLE/CPE Credit

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Moore Musings: Examining the Possible Outcomes of Moore v. United States
The briefs have been written, and the oral arguments have been heard. Now, it’s time to sit and wait for the Supreme Court to issue its much-anticipated opinion in Moore v. United States. This panel will provide a background of the issues, highlight the parties’ positions, discuss the oral arguments, and analyze the potential holdings in the case. The potential outcomes are not binary; rather, the Justices have a wide variety of options in deciding the case, ranging from a narrow holding limited to the repatriation tax, to a sweeping decision that could overhaul the federal income tax regime as we know it. The panelists will present these possibilities and ponder the most likely result.

Learning Objectives

  1. Attendees will learn the basics of Subpart F, the transition tax, and the technical issues underlying Moore v. United States.
  2. Attendees will understand the various potential paths that the Supreme Court may adopt, which span from a narrow holding limited to section 965 all the way to a broad ruling that could implicate the Sixteenth Amendment and fundamental tax principles.
  3. Attendees will hear from the authors of amici briefs about the likely Court ruling and potential implications of that ruling.
  • Moderator: Kandyce Jayasinghe, Special Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP
  • David Daniels, Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
  • Prof. Andy Grewal, Professor of Law, University of Iowa
  • Lawrence Hill, Partner, Steptoe LLP

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Keynote Luncheon 

  • Keynote Remarks by Danny Werfel, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Five Years Under the BBA Audit Regime
Six years into the BBA partnership audit regime, taxpayers and the Service continue to adapt to a new framework for partnership audits and adjusting partnership returns.  Although many partnerships and their investors may have yet to feel the full impact of these new and complex rules, the Service’s increased enforcement focus on large and complex partnerships made possible by increased funding under the Inflation Reduction Act increases the likelihood of being impacted by BBA.  This panel will discuss the current BBA partnership audit rules, lessons learned so far, and how the increased focus on partnership compliance and enforcement could affect taxpayers and the Service. After attending the panel, the participant will be able to: Explain the audit procedures under the BBA partnership audit regime; Identify choices a partnership might have under the BBA partnership audit regime; and Explain how to shift the partnership’s liability for tax to its partners.

Learning Objectives

  1. Explain the audit procedures under the BBA partnership audit regime
  2. Identify choices a partnership might have under the BBA partnership audit regime
  3. Explain how to shift the partnership’s liability for tax to its partners
  • Moderator: Rochelle Hodes, Principal, Crowe LLP
  • Gregory Armstrong, Director, Practice, Procedure, and Admin., KPMG LLP
  • Maria Dolan, Deputy Director, Pass Through Entities, Large Business & International Division, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Joy Gerdy Zogby, Senior Technician Reviewer, Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Invited)

 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | IRS’ Progress on Strategic Operating Plan/IRA Transformation Initiatives

  • Moderator: Jorge Castro, Member, Miller & Chevalier Chartered
  • Nikole Flax, Principal, PwC
  • Douglas O’Donnell, Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury

This session is not available for CLE/CPE Credit

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Multijurisdictional Ethics Issues – Working in Multiple Jurisdictions – Some Things You May Not Think About May Hurt You
Practitioners who represent foreign (and domestic) clients face problems that not only raise ethics issues (like practicing in more than one jurisdiction – e.g., license issues, language issues, as well as knowledge of other jurisdictions), but importantly may also involve them and their clients in a number of reporting requirements and even scrutiny under federal money laundering and other statutes that impose criminal liability. These situations require thought about due diligence on accepting clients from other jurisdictions who may have needs or motives besides having a house in your state – tax evasion, reporting of income and assets, etc. This panel will discuss matters you really need to consider and actions you need to take to represent clients with more complex investments and businesses.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand the ethical standards that govern practice across multiple jurisdictions;
  2. Explain what issues practitioners face when representing clients with complex investments/businesses in multiple states and/or countries;
  3. Learn what actions practitioners need to consider in handling these matters.
  • Moderator: Fred Murray, Special Counsel, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Invited)
  • Megan Brackney, Partner, Kostelanetz LLP
  • Matt Cooper, Managing Director, Tax Controversy Services, Deloitte Tax LLP
  • Emily Lesniak, Senior Level Counsel, Procedure and Administration, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Reception (Open to All Conference Attendees)
Presentation of the Kenneth H. Liles Award

Monday, March 4 (Zoom Webinars)

> Available for FULL registration and VIRTUAL registration types.
> Monday programming is not available in-person.

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | [Hot Topics] Inflation Reduction Act: Incentives and Monetization Strategies
This panel will provide a summary of the incentives available under the Inflation Reduction Act, and how taxpayers may monetize those incentives. Panelists will cover recent IRS guidance, including the proposed ITC regulations and proposed hydrogen PTC regulations. The panelists will then cover the options taxpayers have to monetize credits, including tax equity, direct pay and transferability.

Learning Objectives

  1. The fundamentals of energy tax credits and how businesses can use credits to reduce tax liability.
  2. The traditional tax equity model for monetization of tax credits and depreciation associated with energy projects.
  3. New monetization strategies enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act, including direct pay and transferability.
  4. Considerations for buyers and seller of tax credit transfer transactions.
  • Moderator: Mary Kate Nicholson, Associate, Holland & Knight LLP
  • Bill Elwell, Head of Corporate Tax Law, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
  • Hannah Hawkins, Principal, Credits & Incentives, Washington National Tax, KPMG US
  • James Holmes, Senior Counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | [Domestic Corporate] Troubled Companies
Troubled companies often have valuable tax attributes to preserve.  This panel will focus on the limitation of tax attributes under section 382.  In particular, the panel will discuss proposed regulations dealing with the impact of built-in gains and losses on the computation of the section 382 limitation under section 382(h).  In addition, the panel will discuss how these rules apply in the context of a consolidated group under Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-91(g).

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand how built-in gains and losses factor into the ability of a loss corporation to deduct losses following an ownership change.
  2. Apply prior and proposed rules to various types of built-in gains and losses, both to separate loss corporations and to loss corporations within consolidated groups.
  • Moderator: Paul Schockett, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
  • Kevin Jacobs, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal Tax, LLC
  • Brian Loss, Senior Technician Reviewer, Office of the Chief Counsel, Corporate Division, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Invited)
  • Marie Milnes-Vasquez, Special Counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, Corporate Division, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Sara Zablotney, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | [International] Current Developments in International Tax
The landscape for cross-border transactions is always changing along with guidance addressing those transactions.  This panel will discuss the latest developments in international tax.  Included as part of that discussion will be the recently released section 987 proposed regulations and guidance relating to cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Learning Objectives

  1. Provide an understanding on how the new proposed section 987 regulations operate
  2. Provide an overview of how the section 961 basis rules apply when there is an inbound liquidation or asset reorganization of a controlled foreign corporation
  3. Highlight other recent developments in the international tax area
  • Moderator: Joe Calianno, Managing Director, Andersen
  • Angelika Nazarenko, Associate, Jones Day
  • Raphael Cohen, Senior Counsel, Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International), Branch 5, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Invited)
  • Paul Crispino, Attorney-Advisor, Office of Tax Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Invited)

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | [Enforcement Criminal] The Employee Retention Credit Rewind: Evaluating ERC Claims and Determining the Right Path Forward
The Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) is a pandemic-era program that allowed taxpayers who suffered a pandemic-related business interruption to claim a tax credit tied to the number of employees employed by the business. Only businesses that met certain qualification guidelines were entitled to claim benefits under the ERC. In the midst of the pandemic-driven rush to distribute funds to taxpayers, some taxpayers made ERC claims that did not meet Congress’ qualification criteria. The Service has stepped-up enforcement efforts with respect to nonqualifying claims by auditing taxpayer ERC claims, investigating tax advisors and ERC consulting companies, and taking other enforcement action. The IRS has also paused processing new ERC claims, instituted a withdrawal program that would allow certain taxpayers to withdraw nonqualifying claims, and announced a voluntary disclosure program to allow taxpayers to return inappropriately claimed ERC funds.

Learning Objectives

  1. Provide an overview of the ERC qualification criteria
  2. Provide an update on IRS enforcement
  3. Discuss how to evaluate already-filed ERC claims and determine whether any corrective action is needed
  4. Explain the difference between the withdrawal program and the voluntary disclosure program and how to guide taxpayers on determining the right path forward.
  • Moderator: Michael Sardar, Partner, Kostelanetz LLP
  • Melissa Henkel, Branch Chief, Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Starling Marshall, Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP
  • John McInelly, Executive Lead, Employee Retention Credit, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Daniel Strickland, Senior Counsel, Holland & Knight

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | [Hot Topics] Digital Assets Information Reporting Regime: What You Need to Know
This panel will discuss the regulations governing information reporting of digital asset transactions by brokers, as enacted by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.  The panel will discuss the scope of reporting brokers, the scope of digital assets to be reported, the information required to be reported, and the application of the reporting regime to cross-border participants.  In addition, this panel will discuss how the information reporting regime will fit into the global digital asset information reporting regime.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand the new requirements for digital asset information reporting.
  2. Understand the OECD’s crypto asset reporting framework.
  3. Understand key aspects of compliance with the regulations outlined in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
  • Moderator: Lisa Zarlenga, Partner, Steptoe LLP
  • Ryan Au, Senior Tax Counsel, Coinbase
  • Roseann Cutrone, Special Counsel, Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure & Administration), IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Erika Nijenhuis, Senior Counsel, Office of Tax Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | [Enforcement Criminal] Defending Malta Pension Plans – Lessons Learned and What Lays Ahead…
In July 2021, the IRS added Malta pension plans (MPPs) to its “Dirty Dozen” list as a “potentially abusive” transaction, explaining that some “U.S. citizens and residents are relying on an interpretation of the U.S.‐Malta Income Tax Treaty (Treaty) to take the position that they may contribute appreciated property tax free to certain Maltese pension plans and that there are also no tax consequences when the plan sells the assets and distributes proceeds to the U.S. taxpayer. In December 2021, the IRS announced a Competent Authority Arrangement between the U.S. and Malta stating the mutual understanding that “pension fund” for purposes of the Treaty does not include a plan that allows participants to contribute property other than cash or does not limit contributions based on a taxpayer’s employment or self-employment income. On June 7, 2023, the IRS proposed making the MPPs a listed transaction, and later that month, IRS Criminal Investigation issued numerous summonses to individuals and entities involved in MPPs and later confirmed a joint investigation with IRS Large Business & International. Practitioners representing MPP clients have addressed myriad issues including the scope and impact of joint investigations, the validity of summonses, treaty interpretations, applicable statutes of limitations, privileges and work product doctrine, and conflicts of interest. This panel will review those issues, discuss lessons learned and recent developments, and what may lay ahead as the government continues to pursue its parallel investigations.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand the U.S.-Malta Income Tax Treaty provisions regarding pension plans
  2. Understand the IRS view of Malta pension plans and related enforcement efforts
  3. Understand the nature of IRS joint investigations
  4. Understand the nature and requirements of IRS CI summonses
  • Moderator: Caroline Ciraolo, Partner, Kostelanetz LLP
  • Tom Cullinan, Shareholder, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry
  • Kathy Enstrom, Director of Investigations, Moore Tax Law Group LLC
  • Daniel Price, Managing Member, Law Offices of Daniel N. Price, PLLC

Tuesday, March 5 (Zoom Webinars)

> Available for FULL registration and VIRTUAL registration types.
> Tuesday programming is not available in-person.

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | [International] The Interaction of Pillar 2 and the Foreign Tax Credit
Multinational groups are closely following the developments relating to Pillar 2, including recent OECD administrative guidance.  This panel will provide an overview of the most recent guidance issued by the OECD relating to Pillar 2.  Additionally, this panel will discuss the possible foreign tax credit implications relating to taxes imposed under Pillar 2.

Learning Objectives

  1. Provide an overview of how the Pillar 2 taxing regime operates
  2. Provide an understanding of how the Pillar 2 related taxes interact with the foreign tax credit and whether such taxes are creditable taxes
  3. Provide an understanding of how the dual consolidated loss rules interact with the Pillar 2 regime
  • Moderator: Joe Calianno, Managing Director, Andersen
  • Tianlin (Laura) Shi, Senior Technical Reviewer, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Loren Ponds, Member, Miller & Chevalier Chartered
  • Isaac Wood, Attorney-Advisor, Office of Tax Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury

 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | [Domestic Corporate] Corporate Developments Under the Excise Tax on Stock Repurchases and Spin-Offs
New section 4501, enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, imposes on each “covered corporation” a tax equal to 1% of the FMV of any stock of the corporation that is “repurchased” during the tax year, net of stock issued or provided to employees during the tax year and subject to certain exceptions.  This panel will discuss the new excise tax and the guidance provided by the Treasury Department and the IRS.  In particular, the panel will explore the scope of the tax and its impact on various transactions. This panel will also discuss recent developments under section 355, including the IRS’s ruling program.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand statutory changes imposing a new excise tax on stock repurchases and guidance implementing the tax.
  2. Apply information learned from this panel to pending corporate transactions.
  3. Understand recent guidance applicable to spin-offs under section 355.
  • Moderator: Derek Cain, Partner, PwC
  • Nicole Field, Mergers & Acquisitions Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
  • Samuel Trammell, Assistant to the Branch Chief, Chief Counsel (Corporate), IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury (Invited)
  • Thomas Wood, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | [Hot Topics] The New Frontier: An Overview and Analysis of the Latest Guidance Addressing the Capitalization of R&D Costs Post-TCJA
On this panel, we will discuss the latest round of guidance addressing the treatment of R&D costs post-TCJA and the requirement to capitalize and amortize such costs beginning in 2022. Panelists will discuss the nature and scope of the new requirement, ranging from the breadth of costs “incident to” specified research & experimental (“SRE”) expenditures to appropriate allocation methodologies available to taxpayers. We will also evaluate the historical evolution of the treatment of software development costs and its current state under Section 174. The panel will review and analyze implications of contract research arrangements in the Section 174 analysis too.

Learning Objectives

  1. Identify and evaluate whether and the extent to which a taxpayer is eligible to file an automatic change in method of accounting under Rev. Proc. 2024-9 to change their method of accounting for R&D costs,
  2. Discuss and analyze the impact of proposed legislation and Section 174A with respect to the treatment of R&D costs from 2022-2025; and,
  3. Assess and apply current guidance provided in Notice 2023-63 re: R&D costs to certain contract research arrangements, software development costs, disposition transaction, the Section 41 credit, and other issues.
  • Moderator: Michael Resnick, Counsel, Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP
  • Ryan Corcoran, Partner, RSM US LLP
  • Deena Devereux, Branch Chief, Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax & Accounting), Branch 7, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Shelby Ford, Partner, Tax, Crowe LLP
  • Tim Powell, Tax Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of the Treasury

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | [Domestic Corporate] Corporate Aspects of the CAMT
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 enacted a new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax on corporations with book profits exceeding $1 billion (the CAMT).  This panel will discuss the new CAMT and the guidance provided by the Treasury Department and the IRS.  In particular, the panel will explore the corporate tax implications of the new CAMT regime, including the determination of when corporations are subject to the CAMT, the computation of adjusted financial statement income, and the impact of M&A transactions on CAMT liability.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand statutory changes imposing a new corporate alternative minimum tax and guidance implementing the tax
  2. Apply information learned from this panel to pending corporate transactions
  • Moderator: Lisa Zarlenga, Partner, Steptoe LLP
  • William Burhop, Senior Technician Reviewer, Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate), IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Colin Campbell, Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Department of Treasury (Invited)
  • Andrew Davis, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
  • Eric Solomon, Partner, Ivins, Philips & Barker Chartered

 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | [International] Transfer Pricing: Managing Transfer Pricing Risk in an Evolving Landscape
This panel will discuss how the transfer pricing landscape is evolving, taking into account the OECD / G-20 BEPS project as well as case law and regulatory developments, including projects on the Treasury and IRS Priority Guidance Plan. In addition, IRS APMA is re-evaluating its MAP and APA programs and issued interim guidance on the acceptance of APAs, while tax authorities are promoting the use of ICAP. Taking into account these changes, the panel will evaluate how taxpayers can manage transfer pricing risk effectively and efficiently.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand how transfer pricing may be affected by OECD / G-20 BEPS project items and important transfer pricing regulatory items on the Treasury and IRS Priority Guidance Plan
  2. Evaluate how legal and economic trends from recent transfer pricing cases may influence transfer pricing approaches going forward
  3. Learn about MAP and APA developments and how taxpayers can maximize benefits of the APA and MAP processes, adopt best practices and avoid pitfalls
  • Moderator: Richard Slowinski, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP
  • Christopher Bello, Senior Counsel International Tax, Office of Tax Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • L. Ulysses Chatman, Senior Counsel, Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (International), Branch 6, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • John Wall, Director, Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement Program, IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • Amanda Worcester Martin, Partner, Baker McKenzie LLP

 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | [Enforcement Criminal] We Live in Interesting Times – The Latest in Criminal Tax Investigations and Sentencings
IRS Criminal Investigation and its partners within the Department of Justice have been hard at work pursuing individuals and entities believed to have engaged in willful tax violations. Recent criminal tax investigations involve syndicated conservation easements, Malta pension plans, international structures and accounts, cryptocurrency schemes, employment tax violations, pandemic-related fraud, and other high priority areas of enforcement. Many of these investigations involve complex and emerging issues, including the use of filter teams, acquisition and use of foreign based evidence, and constitutional challenges. At the other end of the lifecycle of a criminal tax case, defense counsel and prosecutors are addressing new developments in sentencings, including the consideration of intended tax loss and acquitted conduct, the Zero-Point Offender adjustment, the corresponding impact of role adjustments, and a renewed push to consider non-custodial sentences. Panelists will review these important issues, discuss recent developments, and offer best practices.

Learning Objectives

  1. Understand the current priorities of IRS Criminal Investigation and the Tax Division (DOJ)
  2. Understand the means by which the government obtains and uses foreign based evidence
  3. Understand the purpose of and challenges to filter teams
  4. Understand the amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and recent developments regarding tax loss and relevant conduct
  • Moderator: Caroline Ciraolo, Partner, Kostelanetz LLP
  • Sandra Brown, Principal, Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C.
  • Eric Hylton, Director of Investigations, ZMF Law
  • Jeffrey Neiman, Partner, Marcus Neiman & Rashbaum LLP

RETURN TO PRIMARY CONFERENCE PAGE