June 2002

Closely Held Conference to Feature Washington Policy Maker

The policy director for a key congressional committee will discuss how tax considerations fit in with the overall budget process in Washington, D.C., providing an overview of changes in legislation over the last 25 years for an upcoming conference.

Joseph Minarik, policy director for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget (Democratic Staff), will be the keynote speaker at the Closely Held and Flow-Through Entities Conference on July 30 in New York City.

“I thought it would be interesting for anyone in the profession for making sense of what goes into making tax law changes and policy decisions,” said David Gibson, a member of the New York State Society of CPAs Closely Held and S Corporations Committee who helped arrange the speaking engagement through a friend on the budget committee staff.

“A lot of…tax preparers will do their work without having to give much thought as to why the laws are the way they are…if they understand the thinking, they can serve their clients better,” Gibson said.

Minarik’s discussion of the budget process is part of the all-day conference that explores the technical issues of closely held and flow-through entities. The program includes presentations on at-risk rules and loss limitations for partnerships and S Corporations, planning and advising clients after the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA), and a panel discussion weighing the pros and cons of S Corporations, C Corporations and LLCs.

Conference Chairman Ira D. Fox, a professor, author and lecturer, will make the first presentation with an update on the latest and most significant tax laws, rulings and cases in the last year, including the 2002 tax act.

Minarik said he planned to provide an overview of the legislative process.

“I’ll try to provide some of the context and to explain the process and the things that the decision-makers have to think about,” Minarik said. “Such as how tax decisions fit into the overall budget and particularly how that has changed over the last 25 years or so.”

Minarik holds three graduate and post-graduate degrees in economics from Yale University and was the associate director for economic policy at the Office of Management and Budget under the Clinton administration. Minarik said he planned to discuss the recent evolution of the budget process from a time before the mid-1970s when the process had “no restraints,” through the mid-1980s with the introduction of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act, to the present.

Roster for the Rostrum

Author, frequent lecturer and conference co-chair Alan Frankel will discuss at-risk rules and loss limitations with a comprehensive overview of the Section 465 at-risk rules and how the at-risk loss limitations impact owners of pass-through entities. He also will discuss the effect of the S Corporation buyer and seller making a Section 338 (h) (10) election.

Carolyn Makuen, a teacher, former New York state tax auditor and current assistant director for state and local tax with Geller & Co. LLC, will provide an update on state and local taxes in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and their impact on closely held entities.

Attorney and author Gideon Rothschild will speak about planning, drafting and giving advice to clients after EGTRRA 2001 and LLC expert Neil Tipograph will discuss the ins and outs of LLCs.

For more information or to register visit the Society’s website at www.nysscpa.org or call (800) 537-3635.