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Capabilities / Tax

Tax

Managing one of life's certainties: tax.

When developing customized business strategies for clients, Husch Blackwell carefully factors in tax law implications. Our tax law attorneys work with multinational and domestic companies, their owners and executives, other individuals, and estates to address immediate needs and plan for what lies ahead.

Our law firm's Tax team attorneys are subject-matter authorities with decades of experience in tax law. Many hold accounting degrees and are CPAs; some have advanced law degrees in tax. Others have been with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), or Big Four accounting firms. Clients trust our high-caliber Tax team to guide them through everything from complex corporate transactions and federal tax disputes, to estate and gift tax avoidance and tax-exempt financing.

Husch Blackwell has been a leader in accessing federal, state and local incentives to fund significant projects. We have advised national, regional and local enterprises and developers on issues such as regulatory compliance, development and land use standards, due diligence and tax consequences. We also understand the structuring intricacies presented by the use of multiple incentives in a single project.

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Case Study
U.S. Beef & Platform Ventures

Husch Blackwell served as buyers’ counsel in the $118 million purchase of the Plaza Vista Office Building in Kansas City.

Representative Experience

  • Advised companies and executives on the tax aspects of international transactions.
  • Counseled buyers and sellers of businesses on tax-advantageous structuring of merger and acquisition transactions, both taxable and tax-deferred, providing tax opinions and obtaining private IRS rulings where required.
  • Advised business clients in all areas of income tax planning and structuring, including tax planning involving S corporations and other pass-through entities, such as limited liability companies.
  • Devised optimal structures for reorganizations and recapitalizations of S corporations to permit tax-advantaged distributions to shareholders.
  • Provided national technical support and review with respect to tax-sheltered annuities and 457 nonqualified deferred compensation plans.
  • Issued tax opinions on the effects of retroactively rescinding a completed transaction, restructuring it and completing the revised suggested structure.
  • Issued tax opinions that a redemption of partner interests was not a disguised sale.
  • Advised a corporation on the pros and cons of converting to a real estate investment trust (REIT).
  • Planned and executed a downstream merger to reorganize and recapitalize a holding company structure that was no longer necessary. Also addressed Internal Revenue Code section 306 and nonqualified stock issues.
  • Planned tax-free transfers with REITs and their affiliates.
  • Issued a tax opinion that a redemption was not a constructive liquidation of the company whose stock was being redeemed.
  • Advised a selling company on executive employment agreements, which included the tax consequences of the buyer both terminating and assuming nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements.
  • Implemented phantom equity arrangements for noncorporate entities, which required including various tax provisions in the operating agreement.
  • Performed golden parachute analysis under IRC 280G for payments made upon a change in control of public company.
  • Provided analysis for individuals who invest their self-directed IRAs into business entities.
  • Structured tax-deferred trades of partnership interests in a manner that avoided the IRC section that attempts to prohibit that technique.
  • Planned a tax-deferred trade in a reverse safe harbor parking transaction of property to be built on the replacement land that was owned by an affiliate of the exchanger (the owner of the relinquished property).
  • Advised a client on capital gains ramifications of an amended employment contract changing the award date of restricted shares and availability of section 83(b) to start the holding period for long-term treatment of the shares.
  • Devised a corporate recapitalization resulting in savings of $20 million in estate taxes.
  • Represented an international software company on the US income tax aspects of an international restructuring.
  • Advised multinational energy company on aviation regulatory and tax compliance issues, including personal use of the company's aircraft by its executives, reimbursement arrangements by subsidiaries and affiliates to comply with FAA guidelines, and related federal excise and state sales and use tax matters.
  • Represented clients in structuring domestic and international joint ventures, including negotiating and drafting the tax and economic provisions of the agreements.
Legal Updates | January 02, 2024
Texas Franchise Tax Updates for 2024
Articles | Volume 42, Issue 1 | Winter 2023
Journal of State Taxation: Bundled Transactions: An Updated Analysis of Streamlined Sales Tax Law

William D. Schenkelberg, Joseph A. Pickart, Smitha Chintamaneni, and Anthony Anzelmo analyze the various components of the definition of “bundled transaction,” utilizing court decisions and agency guidance promulgated in Streamlined member states since the adoption of the uniform definition.

White Papers | December 15, 2023
Corporate Transparency Act Guide

On January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) will go into effect, and if your business is deemed to be a Reporting Company under the CTA, the clock will begin ticking on new federal reporting obligations.

Legal Updates | April 26, 2023
GOP Seeks to Derail Biden's Climate Initiatives
Legal Updates | September 16, 2022
The IRS is Expected to Adjust Certain 2023 Exclusions and Exemptions for Inflation

The gift tax annual exclusion and the estate and gift tax exemption amounts are expected to increase due to inflation in 2023.

Legal Updates | August 30, 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022: An Overview
Legal Updates | August 23, 2022
Inflation Reduction Act Imposes New Tax on Buybacks
Legal Updates | November 09, 2021
U.S. Government Targets Digital Assets for Additional Revenue

The newly passed infrastructure package contains tax implications for cryptocurrency, as well as definitions for “broker” and “digital assets” that may have long-term legal implications.

Legal Updates | April 21, 2020
2019 Wisconsin Act 185: Property Tax Provisions
Legal Updates | March 31, 2020
A Summary of CARES Act Tax Relief Provisions
Legal Updates | March 23, 2020
IRS Updates Tax Filing and Payment Guidance
Speaking Engagements | August 2, 2023
Speaker, "Promoting Tax Transparency," Ethicast
Webinar | October 4, 2022
Form 990 Basics for Nonprofits
Webinar | October 28, 2020
Pre-Election Webinar Series - Election 2020: Defining the Stakes

Pre-Election Webinar Series

News Releases | July 27, 2022
Smitha Chintamaneni Joins Husch Blackwell's Milwaukee Office

Husch Blackwell is pleased to announce that Smitha Chintamaneni has joined the firm’s Financial Services & Capital Markets industry group as a partner in the firm’s Milwaukee office.

Media Mentions | March 11, 2021
The Week: America needs a remote workers law
News Releases | August 15, 2019
Husch Blackwell Places 143 Lawyers in 2020 BL Rankings' Best Lawyers in America®

The firm has eight "Lawyers of the Year" and 11 attorneys appearing on the list for the first time.

News Releases | July 05, 2019
Husch Blackwell's Ault and Mullineaux Receive 2019 Missouri Bar Pro Bono Publico Awards

The Missouri Bar presents its Pro Bono Publico Awards annually to attorneys who have rendered outstanding pro bono service to indigent or low-income persons in need of legal assistance.

What’s uncommon about Husch Blackwell is they do take a holistic approach to relationship management and helping the client achieve their goals. It's not just one piece of litigation, and then you never hear from them. They want to maintain that relationship and understand your business, understand your industry, and help you achieve your outcomes and goals.

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