Kurtis Bond.

• Date: 01 May 2020

Kurtis Bond first gravitated toward tax when he was in law school. "I think it was the problem-solving that initially interested me--the challenge of figuring out how to navigate and interpret a complex statute that applies to a wide range of relationships," he explains.

In addition, Bond says, he really liked (and still likes) how integral tax is to modern society. "It's a driver of behavior, a tool used by governments to effect change and fund initiatives, and it is constantly changing to (ideally) reflect current values," he says. For example, Bond notes, "if you look at what's happening in the world right now, tax is always in the news--the global OECD BEPS initiatives that impact multinational tax-base considerations, the recent U.S. tax reform that has highlighted international competitiveness concerns, and the changes to the taxation of small businesses and their owners in Canada that have impacted the day-to-day lives of many individual taxpayers." Bond, now tax manager and managing tax counsel at ConocoPhillips Canada, says his time at the company has provided him with diverse experiences, including planning and executing complex reorganization transactions; navigating audits, appeals, and...