Health Care Reform Regulations, Tax Simplification and Immigration Issues in Criminal Tax Among Hot Issues at ABA Meeting in Denver

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 12, 2011 — More than 1,000 tax, real property, trust and estate lawyers will gather in Denver next week to discuss current developments in federal and state tax law, including regulatory proposals and issues relevant to Colorado.  National tax topics include prospects for tax reform, tax implications of health care reform, ethical issues in tax practice, estate planning in the current economy and developments in tax accounting methods, among others.

What:
American Bar Association Section of Taxation and
Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Fall Meeting

When:
October 20-22

Where:
Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center
650 15th Street
Denver
402-592-6464

Colorado-related programs include a discussion of the case of Amalia’s Translation and Tax Services of Greeley, Colo., involving Fourth Amendment rights of taxpayers whose tax returns were seized by the county.  An update on tax developments in Colorado will be presented by the new executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue, Barbara Brohl.

Karen Hawkins, director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, will deliver keynote remarks at noon on Oct. 22.

Nearly 100 government officials and policymakers will also be on hand, representing the IRS, Treasury, the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice.  Guests who will be speaking at programs during the meeting include:  John Colvin, chief judge, U.S. Tax Court; Robert Wherry Jr., judge, U.S. Tax Court; David Gufstafson, judge, U.S. Tax Court; George Bostick, benefits tax counsel, Treasury; Nina Olson, national taxpayer advocate, IRS; Christopher Wagner, chief of appeals, IRS; Danielle Rolfes, deputy international tax counsel, Treasury; Deborah Butler, associate chief counsel, Procedures and Administration, IRS; Cathy Hughes, Office of Tax Policy, Treasury; Louis Campagna, chief, Division of Fiduciary Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Labor; along with additional federal agency representatives.

Notable Colorado guests include: local IRS officials and lawyers, Mark Silverstein of the ACLU of Colorado, and Barbara Brohl, executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue.

Program highlights include:

• Immigration Issues in Criminal Tax: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
• Daily Deal Coupons – Consumer Protection & Unclaimed Property Laws
• Next Generation Disputes in the Family Business: Navigating the Remedial, Ethical and Tax Quagmires
• Where Do We Go From Here: A Comparison of Alternatives When You and the IRS Agree to Disagree
• The Lawyer’s Guide to Shacking Up Wisely: Marriage, Domestic Partnerships, Civil Unions – The Developing Legal Landscape
• Non-tax Issues in Business Succession Planning
• IRS Collection: Is the Pendulum in the Right Place?
• Employment Tax Consequences of an International Workforce – Moving Employees into and out of the United States
• Perspectives on Tax Reform: the Challenges of Enacting and Implementing Tax Simplification
• I Knew My Taxes Were Complicated – But an Engineer and a Computer Specialist?
• Exempt Organizations and Health Care Reform under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Members of the news media are welcome to attend any or all sessions for free.  Course materials are available upon request.  To arrange for press credentials contact Anne Nicholas at 202/662-1097 or Anne.Nicholas@americanbar.org.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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