Tax Section

The Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association is pleased to welcome Section members and visitors. Among the resources available at this site is a comprehensive listing of links relevant to the Section, and the Section’s Tax Reports. View the 2018 Annual Report of the Section dated January 15, 2018 here.

We encourage you to get more involved with the section founded in 1949. The Executive Committee of the Tax Section is comprised of 4 Officers, at least 40 Co-Chairs of more than 20 separate tax committees, 20 At-Large Members, and 25 former Section Chairs. The Executive Committee oversees the activities of the tax committees. Any member of the Tax Section is eligible to join the tax committees. If you are interested, please contact Member Resource Center at 1-800-582-2452 or email mrc@nysba.org.

The Tax Section engages in many activities, including testifying before Congress, holding semi-annual meetings and sponsoring Ad hoc conferences. Our primary function, however, is to comment on proposed legislation and proposed regulatory guidance at the federal, state and local levels. We usually do this in the form of written reports.

Although the Tax Section first began to prepare these reports shortly after its formation, it did not begin to number them until 1972. Since then, we have submitted over 1400 reports. To obtain a report pre-1986 please contact Kim Francis. Reports issued in 1986 to date are available on this website.

Most of our reports comment on proposed guidance or legislation related to corporate and partnership tax, international tax, the taxation of financial instruments, debt and equity securities, employee benefits, IRS regulation of tax lawyers, and state and local tax matters.

To maintain our high standards in the years ahead, we need you to become more involved in the Tax Section, to go beyond reading a few of our reports or attending a few of our conferences. Take the next step by joining one of our tax committees and seize the opportunity to participate in one of these working groups.

The Tax Section hosts events to provide tax lawyers who tend to be underrepresented at the senior levels of our profession the opportunity to meet with members of the Tax Section in a relaxed atmosphere to discuss career opportunities, what life as a tax partner at a law firm is really like or just to mingle. These events “Women in the Law” and “Under 10”, for attorneys who graduated from law school less than 10 years ago, also include panel presentations not only on interesting tax issues, but on topics like alternative career paths for tax lawyers or how to attain greater stature within the tax bar and best practices with clients. The section won the Section Diversity Leader Award in the 2012 NYSBA Diversity Challenge and was a  Section Diversity Champion in 2013 for these efforts. Photos of the Diversity Award and the EC Committee at work are here.

Why Join the Tax Section

Tax law is complex and uncertain, and evolves with extraordinary rapidity. By joining the Tax Section you’ll stay up-to-date in this constantly changing legal area. Enjoy online access to the tax reports server and the tax reports announcements. Receive timely reports and commentaries yearly as the Tax Section regularly analyzes issues at the federal, state and city levels. Membership in NYSBA’s Tax Section provides numerous opportunities for you to help research tax policy problems that affect your daily practices. Gain a broader perspective through committee involvement and help influence the law.

Mission Statement

AS AMENDED AT THE TAX SECTION ANNUAL MEETING, JANUARY 28, 1993 AND BY THE NYSBA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, MARCH 11, 1993

The purpose of this Section shall be to bring together for the furtherance of the public interest in a fair and equitable tax system and for their mutual interest such members of the New York State Bar Association as are professionally concerned with the development of sound tax policy and administration; to further the education of the Bar and public in tax matters; to disseminate information relating to taxation; to study the existing tax laws and their administration and pending tax legislation and regulations and to report thereon to the Association, and when appropriate, to the Bar, to the public, and to federal, state and municipal authorities; subject to the limitations, if any, imposed pursuant to Article XIII C of the Bylaws of the New York State Bar Association by the Executive Committee of the Association or the House of Delegates, to support, promote and initiate desirable tax reforms, and to oppose changes in the tax laws and administration which would not be in the public interest; and to study the relationship between the tax laws of this country and other countries and to make recommendations for the improved integration of such laws.

Contact the Tax Section Liaison

To learn more about this Section, please contact Kim Francis
kfrancis@nysba.org
(518) 487-5611

Please do not contact the Section liaison with a request for legal advice or an attorney referral. You can instead visit our ‘Public Resources’ or ‘Lawyer Referral Service’ page for this type of request.