Gary Kaufman, J.D., LL.M is a Senior Tax Counsel with 25 years' executive experience in international and domestic strategic tax planning. His focus is reducing the worldwide effective tax rate of multinational companies and individuals and entertainment tax planning.

Practice Areas

• International Tax
  
  
• Entertainment Tax
  
  
• Bankruptcy Tax
  
  
• Exempt Organizations
  
  
• Current Projects

Specialty Areas

• Structuring Operations in EU, Asia and Latin America
  
  We advise U.S. clients on global tax optimization strategies in connection with establishing, maintaining and winding up offshore operations. Strategies include:
  • Choice of forms of legal entities or branches
  • Permanent Establishment tax planning
  • Capitalization and/or debt financing of non-U.S. operations
  • International tax reduction through debt pushdown transactions
  • Use of holding companies to minimize non-U.S. withholding and disposition taxes
  • U.S. tax deferral planning
  • Foreign tax credit planning
  • Transfer Pricing
  In one example, our global tax optimization plan saves a multinational manufacturing company $10 million per annum. We obtain U.S. tax rulings and work with our associated international counsel to obtain all necessary non-U.S. tax rulings and clearances.
  
  
• Licensing and Transferring Intellectual Property and Technology Overseas
  
  We advise on migration strategies to move IP and technology to lower tax jurisdictions through cost sharing and other techniques.
  For example, our Dutch usufruct IP licensing strategy saves a multinational client $7 million in global corporate income taxes per annum.
  
  
• Cross-Border Transaction Tax Planning
  
  We structure acquisitions and dispositions of non-U.S. companies as well as cross border joint ventures, planning for the most tax-efficient structures from both international and U.S. business and tax standpoints. For example, acquisition planning ideas include leveraged holding companies to reduce non-U.S. taxes and elections to treat certain stock purchases as asset acquisitions. We handle post-acquisition restructuring and rationalization of overseas affiliates of acquired companies. In another example, our plan for sale of client's non-U.S. operations maximized foreign tax credits, saving U.S. parent $20 million in U.S. taxes.
  
  
• Inbound Tax Planning
  
  We counsel international clients on tax planning strategies and compliance issues relating to business operations and investments in the United States.
  
  
• Structuring Foreign Investment In United States Real Estate
  
  Advise Asian, European and Latin American investors on tax-efficient structure for investing in U.S. real estate from a United States income and estate tax perspective. Plan includes tax analysis of choice of pass-through entities or corporate structure and special tax elections.
  
  
• Counseling EB5 and L-1 Visa Applicants from Asia
  
  Structure client's U.S. business activities and presence in tax-efficient manner both from company and personal income tax perspective in coordination with immigration attorney.
  
  
• Utilization of International Operating Losses
  
  We advise clients on strategies to obtain international tax benefit for non-U.S. losses through tax consolidation regimes such as the German Organschaft or U.K. group relief or by forming a local fiscal unity between a profitable operating company and a leveraged holding company. We sometimes convert a non-U.S. operation to a pass-through entity to obtain a U.S. tax benefit for international losses.
  
  
• Repatriation of Earnings
  
  We advise clients about ways to maximize cash repatriation on tax-efficient basis. Some of our techniques include short-term repatriation loans, management services agreements and global trademark license agreements which allow repatriation free of local withholding tax. In one example, our restructuring of the licensing and inter-company pricing for a client's Brazilian operations maximizes cash repatriations and avoids $3 million in Brazilian taxes annually. In another example, our capital restructuring of a client's Nordic operations extracts trapped cash of $5 million annually free of Norwegian and Swedish taxes.
  
  
• Representing Family in IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program
  
  Counsel U.S. family with undisclosed offshore financial accounts, trust and assets to secure compliance in cost-effective manner under the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure and related Programs.
  
  
• Renouncing United States Citizenship or Green Card
  
  Advise U.S. client on tax procedures, implications and planning strategies to avoid or mitigate income and transfer tax cost.
  
  
• International Tax and Company Law Advice
  
  The Law Office of Gary Kaufman is part of a global network of experienced tax and company lawyers in over 30 countries. For 25 years, we have worked together very effectively as a team advising multinational clients on a wide-range of cross-border projects from a United States and international tax and company law standpoint and on a harmonized basis.

Specialty Areas

• Motion Picture and Television Production and Distribution
  
  
  • Stucturing all phases of project to qualify for optimal film financing tax incentives in USA and overseas
    
    
  • Securing exemption of film distribution and advertising revenue from non-U.S. income tax
    
    
  • Global tax planning for talent and above-the-line personnel
    
    
  We secured favorable tax rulings from Ministries of Finance in France, Norway and Japan in connection with coverage of three Winter Olympic Games, exempting U.S. broadcast revenue from millions of dollars in non-U.S. income tax.
  
  
• Music Industry
  
  
  • Global tax planning for artists and record company

• Maximizing use of tax losses prior to expiration and avoiding asset basis reduction
• Strategic placement of DIP and Exit Finance debt
• Preservation of net operating losses of international subsidiaries

• We advise organizations on securing tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code.
• We structure a tax-exempt organization's operations so as to avoid the unrelated business income tax.

• STRUCTURING U.S. OPERATIONS OF CHINA- BASED MANUFACTURING COMPANY
  
  Design for client tax-efficient strategy for conduct of U.S. marketing operations including inter-company services transactions. Plan includes tax presence and transfer pricing planning.
  
  
• STRUCTURING U.S. OPERATIONS OF ISRAEL-BASED GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
  
  Design for client fully-integrated and tax-efficient global tax plan for conduct of the U.S. business, both from a United States (federal, state and city) and international tax perspective. Plan includes but is not limited to: choice of entity, tax presence, dividend, voice over internet protocol, telecommunications tax, controlled foreign corporation, transfer pricing and dual-status alien personal income tax and estate planning.
  
  
• STRUCTURING U.S. START-UP OPERATIONS OF EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE FIRM
  
  Design for client fully-integrated and tax-efficient global tax plan for conduct of the U.S. business, both from a United States (federal, state and city) and international tax perspective. Plan includes but is not limited to: choice of entity, capitalization, tax presence, inter-company transactions and transfer pricing and personal income tax planning.
  
  
• STRUCTURING DISTRIBUTION OPERATIONS AND REPATRIATION IN LATIN AMERICA FOR U.S.-BASED PRINTING BUSINESS
  
  Design for client tax-efficient global strategy for conduct of cross border distribution of goods and repatriation of funds, thereby overcoming local blocked currency issues. Plan includes but is not limited to: tax presence, choice of entity, U.S. tax deferral and international tax reduction planning.
  
  
• CROSS BORDER TRANSFER OF SHARES OF CLOSELY HELD HONG KONG COMPANY
  
  Advise client on tax-efficient structure for intra-family transfer of closely held shares of Hong Kong company from a United States income, gift and estate tax perspective.
  
  
• CROSS BORDER SALE OF BRAZILIAN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
  
  Design for client fully-integrated and tax-efficient global tax plan for sale of Brazilian commercial real estate, both from a United States and Brazilian tax perspective.
  
  
• INTERNATIONAL TRANSMISSION AND TELEVISION CONTENT LICENSE AGREEMENT
  
  Advise Latin American client on United States tax-efficient strategy for characterizing contract fees under international communications income and royalty tax rules.
  
  
• STRUCTURING OVERSEAS TERMINATION ALLOWANCE FOR FOREIGN DIPLOMAT
  
  Design tax-efficient global strategy to provide relief from double taxation from United States tax perspective.
  
  
• INTERNATIONAL ESTATE PLANNING FOR SOUTH KOREAN FAMILY
  
  Design for client tax-efficient global strategy for wealth transfer to United States resident children from a United States transfer tax perspective.

• LEVERAGED LEASE OF COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT
  
  Advise client on how to structure a leveraged lease financing transaction, whether domestic or cross border, to constitute a true lease, not a conditional sale, for federal income tax purposes. This includes planning the purchase, equity investment, financing and lease terms so as to preserve tax benefits for the equity investors.
  
  
• STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION TO MANAGEMENT
  
  Design for management service providers special Internal Revenue Code section 83(b) election strategy governing the tax treatment of award of restricted stock from corporate employer and saving them substantial taxes on potential stock appreciation.
  
  
• EQUITY-ORIENTED MANAGEMENT INCENTIVES IN PARTNERSHIP CONTEXT
  
  Advise client on tax-efficient strategy for receipt of partnership interest in exchange for services.
  
  
• HOLOCAUST REPARATIONS
  
  Advise Holocaust survivors and heirs as to the special tax treatment accorded reparation payments under United States and non-U.S. tax laws as well as international tax treaties.
  
  
• U.S. / UK FILM PRODUCTION
  
  Work closely with Producer in structuring project to qualify for optimal film financing tax incentives and thereby maximize production cost savings. Tax analysis also includes but is not limited to: choice of venue, local content requirements, co-productions and tax benefits for equity investors.
  
  
• PRIVATE PLACEMENT MEMORANDUM OF MUTUAL FUND
  
  Advise client on tax and ERISA sections of private placement memorandum of new mutual fund organized as a limited partnership. This includes structuring contribution of intellectual property rights and management services in tax-efficient manner.
  
  
• ESTATE PLANNING FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
  
  Advise client on tax-efficient strategy for structuring partnership buy-sell agreement as cross purchase versus redemption.