Taxation of Financial Instruments Conference

Mr. Rebhun is a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, based in New York City. He is PwC's U.S. Asset & Wealth Management tax leader. He holds a Juris Doctor from Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Monmouth University.

Amanda H. Nussbaum, Esq., LLM, is a Partner at Proskauer Rose LLP, in their Tax Department, and is also a member of the Private Investment Funds Group. Her practice concentrates on planning for and structuring domestic and international private investment funds, including venture capital, buyout, real estate, and hedge funds, as well as advising those funds on investment activities and operational issues. She also represents many types of investors, including tax-exempt and non-U.S. investors, with their investments in private investment funds. She has significant experience structuring taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions, and stock and debt offerings. In addition, she advises not-for-profit clients on matters such as applying for and maintaining exemption from federal income tax, minimizing unrelated business taxable income, structuring joint ventures and partnerships with taxable entities, and using exempt and for-profit subsidiaries.

Simcha David, CPA, JD, Partner-In-Charge, Financial Services Tax, EisnerAmper LLP, is a Tax Partner-In-Charge and a member of the Financial Services Group. He has more than 15 years of experience that encompasses both the tax accounting and tax legal side of the profession. His focus is on financial services and investment management entities, and he frequently advises on all aspects of tax planning and compliance for financial services firms and their related entities. His clients cover a wide variety of asset classes including hedge funds, private equity funds, and funds of funds. Simcha assists clients by providing tax consulting and compliance services. He works with clients on the tax implications of the initial structuring of their fund entities, review of their partnership and offering documents, tax implications of various types of securities transactions, and general tax issues and planning opportunities that arise during the life cycle of a fund.

Lesley works closely with clients, as well as her corporate colleagues, to understand clients' business objectives and help ensure that transactions are structured tax-efficiently. She provides counsel on a variety of transactional tax matters, including corporate, partnership, and individual tax issues arising at the federal, state, and international levels, and she advises clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, fund formation, and the various tax issues specific to startup businesses and their founders. Lesley also has extensive experience in various other tax matters, such as cross-border transactions, blockchain transactions, qualified opportunity funds, bankruptcy-related issues, and derivative transactions. Prior to joining the firm, Lesley was an associate at Winston & Strawn, where she focused on tax planning matters for high-net-worth individuals, multinational corporations, and investment funds. During law school, Lesley provided pro bono legal services through Fordham University School of Law's Tax and Consumer Litigation Clinic, where she represented clients in consumer transaction and tax controversy matters. Lesley is also a Director and Vice President of the New York Women’s Bar Association Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) which supports and funds charitable and philanthropic programs to aid women and children throughout Manhattan and beyond.

Tony is a Principal in KPMG’s Alternative Investment Tax practice. He has more than 20 years of experience in tax structuring and advisory of alternative investment clients. Tony is responsible for tax structuring and tax advisory services for a broad range of asset management clients including hedge funds, fund of funds, private equity and venture capital funds. Tony has worked extensively with the formation and operation of funds trading a multitude of asset classes and various strategies. He has expertise in structuring hybrid funds and non-U.S. funds investing into the U.S. markets. His proficiency extends to the operation of management companies and the design of myriad compensation arrangements. Tony also has expertise in the taxation of financial products and complex capital markets transactions. Prior to joining KPMG, he was the leader of the financial services practice at a national public accounting firm. He also served as the global head of tax structuring at Deutsche Bank. Publications and speaking engagements Author of numerous tax articles and frequent speaker at national tax conferences

Jordan Bass is a both a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a tax lawyer, and is the founder of Taxing Cryptocurrency. Jordan has an extensive background in financial accounting and taxation and is one of the leading crypto tax and accounting authorities for entrepreneurs and investors in the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem. Jordan leverages his in-depth knowledge of the crypto market with his tax expertise to help clients understand cryptocurrency tax and accounting implications while aiming to take the uncertainty out of planning and filing crypto taxes. In addition to his work at Taxing Cryptocurrency, Jordan Bass, CPA is also the Accounting Manager for Horizon (formerly ZenCash), a privacy oriented cryptocurrency that aims to enable an application-rich and inclusive ecosystem that provides people with complete control of their digital footprint. Prior to Taxing Cryptocurrency, Jordan worked at Ernst & Young, a multinational professional services firm and one of the largest accounting firms in the world, Jordan holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California's Leventhal School of Accounting.

Aaron Lebovics is a Director with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) in New York City. He has over 14 years of experience in the asset management industry, serving some of PwC’s largest private equity partnerships, hedge funds, fund of funds, and management companies. He has been active in developing learning and education initiatives related to alternative investment funds, more recently focused on tax reporting changes. Aaron regularly advises on a variety of tax technical matters, including the business interest expense limitation, and has authored numerous thought leadership articles on the impact of tax reform to the asset management industry. Aaron graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Master of Science in Accounting. He is a member of the AICPA and a Certified Public Accountant in New York and New Jersey.​

Philip S. Gross, JD, LLM, Partner, Kleinberg Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen, P.C., advises hedge funds and private equity funds on federal, state, local and international tax issues. Phil counsels clients on structuring (and restructuring) funds, structuring investment managers and general partners, compensating managers and employees, investing in funds and seeding managers, and how financial instruments are taxed. He also advises clients on how to avoid being subject to ERISA and what to do if they are, how to plan and structure securities transactions, FIRPTA, nonqualified deferred compensation, Puerto Rico, and numerous other tax issues.

Mark H. Leeds is a Tax Transactions & Planning partner in Mayer Brown's New York office. His practice is focused on the tax consequences of a variety of capital markets, hedge fund, banking and insurance products and strategies, including over-the-counter derivative transactions, swaps, tax-exempt derivatives and strategies for efficient utilization of tax attributes—such as net operating losses. Mark regularly works on innovative insurance products and structures. Mark has extensive experience in working with businesses and individuals seeking to set up operations and relocating to Puerto Rico. Mark advises on the tax aspects of capital markets, structured finance, derivatives, financial products and insurance transactions and has extensive experience working with both buyers and sellers to develop and structure complex derivatives, including litigation finance transactions. A significant portion of his work involves the taxation of financial products and trading strategies engaged in by banks and other financial market participants. He also advises on hedge fund and other investment vehicle formation matters. Mark does extensive work with digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and blockchain transactions. Mark is a former managing director and senior tax counselor with Deutsche Bank in New York. He also served as the general counsel of a credit derivative company and was a partner at Deloitte & Touche, where he led the capital markets tax practice. Mark is a frequent writer and speaker on tax topics affecting capital markets and digital assets.

Matthew Stevens, a principal in the Capital Market group within International Tax Services at Ernst & Young LLP, handles planning and controversy matters regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of transactions, specializing in the design, structuring and implementation of domestic and international financial transactions. He advises hedge funds, private equity funds, high net worth individuals (both U.S. and non-U.S.), insurance companies, and foreign and domestic multinational corporations. Matthew serves as chair of the annual Practicing Law Institute program “Taxation of Financial Products and Transactions.” He has served as chair of the Financial Transactions Committee of the Tax Section of the District of Columbia Bar, and as the chair of the Financial Transactions Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association. He has co-taught the Georgetown University Law Center class entitled “United States Taxation of International Income – II.” He has published a number of articles dealing with international aspects of U.S. income tax and with the taxation of financial products and transactions. Matthew is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. From 2002 to 2004, Matthew served as special counsel to the Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service. There, he advised the Chief Counsel regarding published guidance on a wide range of tax issues involving financial products and cross border transactions.

Clients turn to Darren for responsive service and sound counsel that advance their goals. He regularly provides legal guidance on the employee benefit aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and other business transactions, including negotiation of employment terms and application of the golden parachute payment provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Darren also advises corporate and individual clients on executive compensation matters, such as Section 409A compliance; design and administration of equity compensation plans; and employment, equity, change-in-control, and separation agreements. In addition, he counsels clients on retirement plans and welfare benefit plans, including compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Before joining the firm, Darren served as law clerk to the Honorable Stuart Rabner, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, and intern to the Honorable Robert B. Kugler, United States District Judge, District of New Jersey.

Joe has over 10 years of experience in international tax focusing on financial service clients, including private equity funds and hedge funds. Joe has served both outbound and inbound clients on various international tax issues, including international compliance, cross-border structuring and transactions, Sub F and GILTI, treat eligibility analysis. Joe helped clients navigate through the changing tax laws and achieve tax efficiency in a cross-border environment. Prior to joining BDO, Joe serviced as an international tax manager at PwC.

Suzy Lee is a Senior Tax Manager with Untracht Early LLC. She has over 20 years of experience in public accounting specializing in financial services. Prior to joining Untracht Early, she spent nearly 15 years with a Big Four as an Asset Management Alternative Investments Director where she served as a tax advisor to financial services companies in the private equity funds, commodities and futures, investment advisors, hedge funds, and multinational financial services organizations. Suzy has spoken at various CPE seminars and webinars.

Howie has more than thirty years of accounting experience, including over ten years in public accounting. Howie has over 30 years of experience providing state tax planning, tax compliance services, and tax controversy representation for clients with offices and business interests in New York, as well as numerous other state and local taxing jurisdictions. His previous employment includes working at D. E. Shaw & Co, L.P, a hedge fund with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia, at Viacom International, for two Big Four accounting firms, and for the New York City Department of Finance. Howie has extensive experience working with companies in the financial service industry, such as hedge funds, private equity funds, investment management companies, and banks. Howie has served clients in an array of industries including banking, hedge funds, private equity, broker-dealers, manufacturing, and retail.

Irina Kimelfeld is a Tax Partner and a member of the Financial Services Group. With over 20 years of experience, Irina provides tax planning and compliance services to private equity funds, hedge funds, funds of funds, investment advisors, and other financial services companies. She focuses on advising clients on tax implications of fund structuring, investment structuring, management company operations, and tax treatment of various types of securities transactions. Prior to joining the firm, Irina was Managing Director at a credit investment firm, where she oversaw all tax related matters for the firm and its managed funds as well as the firm’s deferred compensation plan. She began her career at a Big 4 accounting firm where she provided tax planning and compliance services to asset management clients. Irina is an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, where she designed and lectures a graduate level course on taxation of financial products and transactions.