Tax Section

8:45 AM – 9:00 AM

Section Business Meeting, Election of Officers, Welcome and Introduction

Speaker

Andrew H. Braiterman, Esq. | Section Chair, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, LLP., New York, NY

9:15 AM – 10:30 AM

Partnership Tax Developments: TCJA Meets Pandemic

Partnership planning continues to be impacted by regulatory guidance implementing provisions of the TCJA. This panel will explore recent guidance relating to the carried interest rules under section 1061, the withholding regime on the sale of partnership interests under section 1446(f) and the partnership-relevant provisions of section 163(j). The panel also will examine critical issues arising in the context of partnership debt restructurings that have taken on heightened importance as pandemic-induced challenges have hit many pass-through entities.

Panel Chair

Michael B. Shulman, Esq. | Shearman & Sterling, LLP., New York, NY

Panelists

Pamela Lawrence Endreny, Esq. | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP., New York, NY
David W. Mayo, Esq. | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP., New York, NY
James B. Sowell, Esq. | KPMG, LLP., Washington, D.C.

1.5 Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM

Break

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

As If They Didn’t Have Enough Problems: Unanswered Tax Questions for Troubled Companies

2020 saw tens of thousands of businesses declare bankruptcy and many more explore out-of-court solutions to resolve their balance sheet issues in order to weather the pandemic. This panel will explore certain unanswered questions that recur for troubled companies in connection with their restructurings, including (i) uncertainties regarding the application of Section 382, (ii) the availability of “ordinary loss” treatment with respect to the stock of worthless consolidated subsidiaries and (iii) questions related to cancellation of indebtedness income, such as the application of the “issue price” rules to troubled companies, the intersection of CODI, Section 163(j) and the AHYDO rules, and determinations of “insolvency.”

Panel Chair

Sara B. Zablotney, P.C. | Kirkland & Ellis, LLP., New York, NY

Panelists

Lucy W. Farr, Esq. | Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP., New York, NY
Elena Romanova, Esq. | Latham & Watkins, LLP., New York, NY
Marie Milnes-Vasquez, Esq. | Special Counsel to the Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate), Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. (Invited)

1.5 Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

9:15 AM – 10:30 AM

Impact of Corporate Tax Developments on Deal Planning

Corporate M&A activity is heating up as multinationals respond to the changed global economy. Understanding the parameters of recent regulatory and administrative guidance is critical for optimal structuring and maximizing corporate results and benefits. This panel will explore recent GLAM 2020-005 addressing stock basis determinations and recovery in certain fact patterns, administrative guidance addressing capital allocation in the context of spin-offs, current thinking on the impact of taxation under section 367 on spin-off qualification, and implications of the final section 168(k) regulations.

Panel Chair

Karen Gilbreath Sowell, Esq. | Ernst & Young, LLP., Washington, D.C.

Panelists

Joshua M. Holmes, Esq. | Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York, NY
David M. Rievman, Esq. | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP., New York, NY
Peter A. Richman, Esq. | Attorney Advisor, Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate), Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. (Invited)
Robert H. Wellen, Esq. | Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate), Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. (Invited)

1.5 Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM

Break

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

State Tax Implications from the Pandemic

In today’s environment, the states and localities are dealing with many challenging tax issues arising from Covid, both from employees working remotely and from the financial impact that Covid has had on the states’ finances. This panel will discuss (1) the state tax ramifications of telecommuting both due to Covid and, possibly, on a long-term basis as companies change their work from home policies and (2) reactions by the states to the budget issues arising from the pandemic. Additionally, in this day of renewed individual mobility with respect to work, this panel will address the pass-through entity tax, an attempt by states to help some of their residents to achieve tax benefits by being able to benefit from a federal deduction for state taxes.

Panel Chair

Alysse B. McLoughlin, Esq. | McDermott Will & Emery, LLP., New York, NY

Panelists

Elizabeth Pascal, Esq. | Hodgson Russ, LLP., Buffalo, NY
Jennifer S. White, Esq. | Reed Smith, LLP., New York, NY

1.5 Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Awards “Luncheon”

Keynote Speaker

Pascal Saint-Amans | Director, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris, France

1:30 PM – 1:45 PM

Break

1:45 PM – 3:30 PM

International Tax? Moving from a U.S.-Centric to a Truly International System of Tax Rules

Treasury and the IRS have completed the bulk of guidance called for by the TCJA, much of it in the international sphere. Provisions ranging from GILTI to the foreign tax credit rules have complex interactions with other U.S. tax rules, but how do they interact with the tax rules of other countries? Can the Code’s international provisions be adapted to work alongside the OECD’s proposed Pillars One and Two, and if so, what would need to change? This panel will address these issues by focusing primarily on proposed foreign tax credit rules on foreign tax credibility and on the interaction of the GILTI rules with minimum taxes such as those proposed in Pillar Two. The panel will also cover new international developments, including the pending effective date of Section 864(f) worldwide interest expense allocation.

Panel Chair

Kimberly S. Blanchard, Esq. | Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP., New York, NY

Panelists

Peter H. Blessing, Esq. | Associate Chief Counsel (International), Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. (Invited)
Gary Scanlon, Esq., KPMG, Washington, D.C.
Tijana J. Dvornic Esq. | Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York, NY
Paul W. Oosterhuis, Esq. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP., Washington, D.C.

2.0 Credits in Areas of Professional Practice