nomination Archives - TAX CONTROVERSY 360

President Biden to Nominate New IRS Commissioner

by Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery | Nov 10, 2022 | Uncategorized

On November 10, 2022, US President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Danny Werfel to serve as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has expressed her support for Werfel’s nomination. Charles Rettig, whose term expires on November 12, 2022, is the current IRS Commissioner and Doug O’Donnell has been selected to serve as acting IRS Commissioner until the position is formally filled.

The White House press release provides the following background on Werfel:

Danny Werfel is a public and private sector leader who has served under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Across more than 15 years of government service, Werfel served President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush to lead some of the governments’ most complex management challenges as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Acting Commissioner and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Controller. In the wake of an Inspector General report alleging various forms of mismanagement and bias in the determination of tax-exempt status for non-profit organizations, President Obama appointed Werfel to serve as Acting Commissioner of IRS in 2013. Werfel provided immediate stability to the IRS, effectively responding to numerous Congressional investigations, successfully launching the Affordable Care Act technology that IRS was responsible for, and navigated the IRS through a multi-week government shutdown. At the end of his tenure, both the majority and minority leaders of the Senate Finance Committee publicly recognized his contribution and performance. As OMB Controller, Werfel successfully led a cross-government effort to ensure the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was implemented transparently and with minimal fraud or error. He also led the government-wide efforts to prepare for and implement the budget sequester of FY2013. Werfel played a key role under the Bush Administration in the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, overseeing the efforts of the Office of Financial Stability to achieve a clean financial statement audit in its first year of existence.

Werfel has spent the last nine years at Boston Consulting Group where he helped launch their U.S. public sector practice. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations (with honors) from Cornell University, a Juris Doctor (with honors) from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Master of Public Policy from Duke University. Werfel lives in the District of Columbia with his wife and two children.

Desmond Confirmed as Next IRS Chief Counsel

by Editorial Team | Feb 27, 2019 | Uncategorized

By a vote of 84-15 (with one senator not voting), the Senate has finally confirmed Michael Desmond to be the next Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Desmond is highly regarded in the tax community. We wish him well in his new post.

See links below for our prior coverage of Mr. Desmond’s nomination and the role of Chief Counsel.

Senate Confirms Rettig as Next IRS Commissioner; Desmond Next?

by Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery | Sep 13, 2018 | IRS Audits, Tax Reform, Trial Courts, Uncategorized

On September 12, 2018, the Senate confirmed, by a vote of 64-33, Charles P. Rettig to be Commissioner of the Internal Revenue for the term expiring November 12, 2022. We previously discussed the nomination of Mr. Rettig and his background here.

The IRS Commissioner presides over the United States’ tax system and is responsible for establishing and interpreting tax administration policy and for developing strategic issues, goal and objectives for managing and operating the IRS. This includes responsibility for overall planning, directing, controlling and evaluating IRS policies, programs, and performance. The IRS Commissioner is also required by statute under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 7803 to ensure that all IRS employees are familiar with and act in accord with the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

The nomination of Michael J. Desmond to be Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) remains pending in the Senate. We previously discussed the nomination of Mr. Desmond and his background here.

The IRS Chief Counsel serves as the chief legal advisor to the IRS Commissioner on all matters pertaining to the interpretation, administration, and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as all other legal matters. Attorneys in the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office serve as lawyers for the IRS. Their role is to provide the IRS and taxpayers with guidance on interpreting Federal tax laws correctly, represent the IRS in litigation, and provide all other legal support required to carry out the IRS mission

President Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Emin Toro to Tax Court

by McDermott Will & Emery | Apr 10, 2018 | Trial Courts, Uncategorized

In a press release this morning, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Emin Toro to serve as a judge on the United States Tax Court (Tax Court). This is the latest in a wave of nominations to high-level tax positions within the government, as we have previously covered here and here.

Mr. Toro is currently a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Covington & Burling LLP. His practice focuses on the needs of multinational companies, including both tax controversies and counseling. Mr. Toro’s experience includes audits, administrative appeals, litigation and transfer pricing matters. He received his JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2000 and clerked for the Honorable Karen LeCraft Henderson, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (2000–2001) and the Honorable Clarence Thomas, US Supreme Court (2002–2003).

White House Intends to Nominate Michael J. Desmond to High-Level Roles in the IRS and the Department of Treasury

by Kevin Spencer, Macdonald Norman and McDermott Will & Emery | Mar 5, 2018 | Court Procedure Matters, IRS Guidance, Trial Courts, Uncategorized

The White House announced on March 2 that the president intends to nominate Michael J. Desmond, a prominent tax lawyer, to be the Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Assistant General Counsel in the Department of Treasury. Subject to approval by the Senate, Mr. Desmond’s new roles will entail providing legal guidance and interpretive advice to taxpayers, the IRS, and the Department of Treasury.

Mr. Desmond clerked for Judge Ronald S.W. Lew of the United States District Court from 1994 until 1995. Mr. Desmond went on to serve as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice Tax Division and as tax legislative counsel for the Department of Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy. After leaving the public sector, Mr. Desmond became a partner with Bingham McCutchen LLP in the Washington, DC office until he opened the Law Offices of Michael J. Desmond in 2012. While operating his own practice, Mr. Desmond has represented clients at every stage of the tax controversy process. He has been a frequent author and speaker on tax topics. More information about Mr. Desmond can be found at his firm’s website.

Mr. Desmond is a very well-known and respected tax practitioner. He is a fixture in the tax community. We congratulate him on his nomination.

Nominations Announced for Tax Court and IRS Commissioner

by K. Christy Vouri-Misso, McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery | Jan 24, 2018 | Trial Courts, Uncategorized

On January 23, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Courtney Dunbar Jones to the US Tax Court. He previously nominated Elizabeth Copeland and Patrick Urda on August 3, 2017.

Courtney Dunbar Jones is a senior attorney in the Tax-Exempt and Government Entities division in the Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If confirmed, she will assume the position left vacant by the 2016 retirement of Judge John O. Colvin. Judge Colvin still performs judicial duties as a Senior Judge on recall.

On January 24, 2018, numerous press outlets announced that President Trump will nominate Charles “Chuck” Rettig of Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez, to serve as the next Commissioner of the IRS.

Rettig has been in private practice at Hochman, Salkin for more than 35 years and has a long record of leadership in our field. Among his many accomplishments, Rettig was instrumental in working with the IRS to establish key settlement initiatives over the last 15 years, including providing key practitioner guidance in designing the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program.

If confirmed, Rettig would helm an IRS that has been significantly reshaped by budget cuts and staff attrition in recent years. Rettig would also oversee the implementation of tax reform. Rettig has been a friend and mentor to many of us in the tax controversy bar over the years, and we are encouraged by the selection of someone from the private bar to the post.