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Obama Nominates Washington D.C. Tax Attorney, William Wilkins, for IRS Chief Counsel

April 19th, 2009 · 2 Comments

President Obama has nominated Washington D.C. tax attorney, William J. Wilkins, to become Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury.

He is replacing Donald L. Korb who resigned from the post on December 19, 2008.

Here’s a brief bio on Mr. Wilkins:

William J. Wilkins of Washington, DC has been a partner in the Tax Practice Group of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (also known as WilmerHale) since 1988. He has a broad tax practice that includes counseling nonprofit organizations, business entities, and investment funds on tax compliance, business transactions, and government investigations.

Prior to joining WilmerHale, Wilkins was Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Finance. Wilkins joined the Democratic staff of the Committee in 1981 and served as tax counsel before becoming Staff Director and Chief Counsel in 1987.

Prior to joining the Finance Committee staff, Wilkins was an associate with King & Spalding in Atlanta, GA. Wilkins is Chair of the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association, the nation’s largest association of tax lawyers. He has been active in the Section for many years, having previously served as Section Vice-Chair and as Chair of two Section Committees.

He has previously served on the governing boards of the American College of Tax Counsel and the American Tax Policy Institute. Wilkins is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School. 

The Chief Counsel is appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

The stated mission of the Office of Chief Counsel is to,

Serve America’s taxpayers fairly and with integrity by providing correct and impartial interpretation of the internal revenue laws and the highest quality legal advice and representation for the Internal Revenue Service.

The duties of the Chief Counsel are,

As the chief legal advisor to the IRS Commissioner on all matters pertaining to the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Laws (as well as all other legal matters) the Chief Counsel provides legal guidance and interpretive advice to the IRS, Treasury and to taxpayers.

Tags: Announcements

2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Julian Swig // Mar 29, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    Please inform me of the street address for the Chief Counsel.

    Thank you.

  • 2 Peter // Mar 29, 2010 at 11:45 pm

    Julian,

    For crying out loud, a simple google search will reveal the address.

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