A Really, Really Interesting Year Ahead.

• Author: Welch, Katrina

If we were celebrating only TEI's seventy-fifth anniversary, it would certainly be an exciting year. Or, if 2020 were merely a presidential election year, characterized by a touchy debate about digitalization, Pillars One and Two, and Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) implementation, the year would certainly be interesting. But when you bundle them all together, you have the makings of a year marked by challenge, excitement, opportunity, and, of course, a good bit of uncertainty. We at TEI and in the in-house tax community at large are embarking on the coming year with eyes wide open, while trying to be as prepared as possible for just about anything that comes our way.

Let's Start With Our Seventy-Fifth

Our anniversary efforts are well underway with various work streams being designed to honor our past, recognize our present, and plan for our future.

At our upcoming Midyear Conference, we will feature a series of round-tables examining the evolution of our tax world through the eyes of key tax policymakers, regulators, and practitioners who have been instrumental in shaping our world. We are delighted to welcome former and sitting assistant secretaries (tax policy), commissioners of internal revenue, and IRS chief counsels and chiefs of appeals, among others, to share their perspectives on the past, assess the present, and share thoughts on the future of tax policy, practice, and administration--at home and abroad.

In addition, we are fleshing out an Anniversary Ambassador's program, which will bring TEI's seventy-fifth anniversary celebrations to every TEI chapter and region. Work is also underway to build TEI's 2020 Corporate Tax Department survey, a close examination of who we are as in-house tax professionals and the structure of the departments and companies we serve, among many other themes. We expect to circulate the survey in mid-March and to deliver preliminary results by October. Also, we are designing specific web capabilities to help you capture and share anniversary memories as well as a commemorative album to reflect the well wishes and expressions of support for TEI from its tax friends, stakeholders, and regulatory and government officials around the world.

Please keep an eye out for more details about seventy-fifth anniversary celebrations, including our Seventy-Fifth Annual Conference, October 25-28, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City--registration will open soon!

On Advocacy

Our advocacy program will again be packed...