Legislative Tax Practice

Holland & Knight has a deep bench of advocates who have held policymaking positions under both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington. This gives us bipartisan insight into the legislative and rulemaking processes – no matter which party is in control. Holland & Knight also has deep knowledge and experience in the regulatory process given our experience working within the Treasury Department and IRS.

Our team also represents clients before the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and advocates for changes to Pillar One, Pillar Two, the Common Reporting Standard and other OECD projects.

In addition, our team is well situated to handle tax-related congressional investigations. We work closely with Holland & Knight's Congressional Investigations Team, which consists of professionals who have led congressional investigations as committee chairpersons, served as investigative staff on both the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee, served with the U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division and have a record of success as white collar litigators.

Comprehensive Legislative and Regulatory Tax Services

Our Legislative Tax Team represents a range of businesses and industries. These include national nonprofit organizations (e.g., trade associations, public charities and social welfare organizations), Native American Tribal governments and U.S. businesses of all sizes.

Holland & Knight's services include the following:

• advocating for proposed tax law changes
• providing technical analysis of existing tax statutes
• assisting with the development of legislative proposals
• monitoring legislative activities
• advocating for guidance by the Treasury Department and IRS
• assisting with technical submissions, such as comment letters, statutory drafts and congressional hearing testimony
• representing clients in tax-related congressional oversight and investigations
• advocating for changes to the Pillar Two Model Rules and related administrative guidance
• advocating for changes to the Pillar One multilateral convention

Bipartisan Congressional and White House Experience

Key members of our Legislative Tax Team include:

• six former members of Congress, including a former Republican congressman who was a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee
• a former senior White House advisor and many congressional staff members
• a former Treasury executive and senior advisor to the IRS Commissioner
• a former counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee and general counsel and chief oversight counsel to the Senate Finance Committee

Representative Engagements

Holland & Knight is committed to achieving positive outcomes for our clients. Some highlights of our recent accomplishments in the legislative tax arena include the following:

• prevented certain tax increases from inclusion in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB)
• obtained favorable guidance under the OBBB and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
• advocated for appropriate guidance under the new deduction available to pass-through entities – met with Treasury and IRS officials, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Joint Committee on Taxation
• advocated for and obtained changes to the Modernization of Derivatives Act
• advocated for favorable guidance under the new corporate alternative minimum tax and stock repurchase excise tax
• created ad hoc coalitions and advocated to address changes to international tax provisions, including Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) rules and limitations on interest expense deductions
• assisted numerous clients in understanding guidance on the new international tax provisions and met with congressional members regarding the need for statutory corrections
• obtained federal excise tax relief for medical inhalers
• resolved a cooperative tax issue for a national hospital group purchasing organization
• secured a special exemption from the federal unemployment tax for Tribal governments and Tribal enterprises
• created a coalition advocating for tax law changes that would encourage donations of conservation easements and ensure that audits by the IRS are conducted fairly and efficiently
• advocated for tax law changes that would facilitate clean coal and alternative renewable energy technologies
• analyzed and advocated against various proposals to stiffen the tax filing, disclosure, corporate governance and community benefit requirements imposed on tax-exempt organizations
• advocated for technical and policy changes to an excise tax simplification provision, defeating an attempt to apply the unrelated business income tax to Tribal government enterprise revenue
• helped enact favorable tax treatment of the income and expenses of Alaska Native subsistence whaling
• served as counsel to industry advocacy groups, including those for the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and rural housing developers
• advocated for legislative and regulatory changes to permit the deductibility of research expenses
• obtained favorable guidance from the OECD regarding updates to the Common Reporting Standard
• obtained favorable guidance from the OECD regarding the treatment of IRA credits under Pillar Two administrative guidance