Rites of spring, Washington-style.

• Author: Lucchesi, Janice L.
• Position: PRESIDENT'S LETTER

Springtime in Washington means cherry blossoms, federal budget proposals, debt ceiling debates, and a host of other seasonal events. In the TEI world, we count our Internal Revenue Service (1RS) and Treasury liaison meetings and our Midyear Conference as falling into this "seasonal" bucket. These events, to gather and exchange views on issues of mutual interest, get us up to speed on the latest technical, policy, and management developments, and establish and renew acquaintances, become that much more important in a presidential election and transition year.

Let me explain.

Because presidential elections are always about change, with new parties and leaders accompanied by changing agendas and shifting priorities, TEI's "seasonals" ensure that we keep our places at the policy table, staying current not only about who's who and who's new, but also about what's what.

IRS arid Treasury Meetings

In late February, I was delighted to lead this year's delegation to our 1RS and Treasury meetings. These discussions are a prime example of ensuring continuity through engagement. Although the senior ranks of the Treasury's Office of Tax Policy had yet to be filled, our meetings included a series of issue-based discussions regarding technical, policy, and administrative challenges of particular interest to our membership that will likely animate the tax reform debate in the months ahead.

Although these discussions yielded few concrete answers, they underscored just how important the perspective of in-house tax professionals can be in placing into practical context the impact specific proposals may have on various industries. Of particular interest to our Treasury counterparts were the administrative and compliance implications, not to mention the financial statement impacts, which are dimensions of tax policy debates that often do not receive adequate consideration while legislation is being formulated. We expect follow-up discussions to take place as proposals take shape, enabling TEI to comment on the compliance and administrative aspects of these proposals. Our dialogues with the 1RS were equally constructive, with an agenda focused on LB&I developments and campaign rollout, among other issues. The 1RS commissioner led a delegation that included Acting Chief Counsel William Paul, LB&I Commissioner Doug O'Donnell, Deputy Commissioner Rose Sereti, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Ted Setzer, and Chief of Appeals Donna Hansberry, among others.

Thank you to...