The Bankruptcy Taxation Committee had a particularly active 2015, and we are headed into 2016 with a lot of momentum. Understanding how tax issues affect the bankruptcy process is key to any case. Join our committee to further your knowledge and appreciation of tax issues in bankruptcy.
We began the year at the Annual Spring Meeting with a joint program co-sponsored by the Business Reorganization and Young & New Members Committee about tax-sharing agreements. This program discussed what happens when corporate groups, particularly bank holding companies, have the right to receive tax refunds (or otherwise share tax attributes) and what entity, the FDIC or the bankruptcy estate, owns the right to the refund. Panelists Todd Meyers, Whitman Holt, Jeffrey Schmitt and Richard Corbi provided a lively and informative discussion that introduced this complex topic to ABI members in an accessible and fun manner.
We conducted our first-ever online survey of the committee’s members. This survey provided helpful insights and ideas about how to improve communications, programs and services for our committee’s members.
In November 2015, with the Real Estate Committee co-sponsoring, we presented a webinar on “Tax Credit Projects in Distress.” The program discussed, among other things, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) and Historic Tax Credit (HTC) programs. It also explored some of the unique issues and challenges that arise in workouts and bankruptcies involving projects financed through such programs. Mark Bossi, Patrick Clisham, Jon Krabbenschmidt and Alan Weiner presented this useful program.
For the Winter Leadership Conference, we paired with the Asset Sales Committee and presented a program focusing on the tax aspects of unusual assets sales. Vernon Calder, Maria Ellena Chavez-Ruark, S. Gregory Hayes and Gary Norton discussed the process of monetizing difficult-to-sell assets — such as marijuana, pornography and puppies — and how to deal with the related tax consequences of the dispositions.
In addition to our national meeting programs and webinars, the committee produced several newsletters and contributions to the ABI Journal. We thank all of our authors and content providers and our newsletter editor, Alyson Fiedler. If you wish to contribute content to the newsletter, please contact Alyson at afiedler@schiffhardin.com.
The committee’s special long-term project is to produce a “plain language” handbook on handling tax issues in bankruptcy. We have also maintained an active listserve that informs members of important bankruptcy tax developments. If you have any developments that you are interested in publishing to the listserve, please contact our listserve coordinator, Matt Hindman.
2016 is shaping up to be a great year of programing and other events. If you would like to get involved with our committee, please email with Amanda Demby, our Membership Relations Director. If you have programing ideas, reach out to Donald Workman, our Education Director.
We look forward to seeing you in 2016.