Alvin J. Geske, a member of the Private Wealth Services Group, represents businesses, individuals, charities, and estates on tax and tax-related issues. A significant area of his practice focuses on charitable giving and tax-exempt organizations, including standards for obtaining and retaining tax-exempt status for private foundations and public charities, unrelated business income taxes, self-dealing, private inurement, and intermediate sanctions. His practice often involves obtaining rulings or information from the IRS National Office. For example, Mr. Geske was part of a team that obtained a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service on a complex transaction involving self-dealing issues where the ruling was a key to a resolution of a dispute between the foundation and heirs of a decedent who had left substantial assets to the foundation.
Another significant area of Mr. Geske's practice involves the structuring, operation, and taxation of pass-through entities such as partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations. This frequently includes the creation of limited partnerships for wealthy families to permit them to achieve substantial non-tax benefits while reducing gift and estate taxes associated with transfers of assets to family members.
Mr. Geske also provides advice on gift and estate taxes, income taxation of trusts and estates, and income tax issues relating to high-net-worth individuals, including sophisticated charitable giving techniques and the structuring of like-kind exchanges. He also represents organizations seeking legislative changes in the tax law and individuals, estates and corporations in IRS audits.
Mr. Geske is the author of several articles and books.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Geske was an attorney and Assistant Legislation Counsel with the staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation (1975-81) and an attorney and Assistant Branch Chief with the Office of the Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. (1970-74).