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Connecting the Legal and Tax Departments

By Kevin Oldham and Drew McEwen

Now that the personal tax return deadline has passed, it might be a good time to consider your company's tax needs. Counsel at a Fortune 500 company recently told a colleague of ours that all of their tax matters are handled entirely outside of the legal department. This arrangement is not good. Corporate counsel and accountants must work together to bring the full measure of the company's resources to bear on tax-related issues.

Corporate tax departments are staffed by competent individuals with expertise in key tax matters. However, when a tax department operates entirely independent of corporate counsel, it puts the company at risk. Important tax decisions impact the entire business, and when these decisions are not vetted through corporate counsel, it is like looking through binoculars with one eye. Some examples of tax-related decisions that impact other areas of the business:

  • Booking a potential tax liability or refund for a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing;
  • Taking a tax position that could unintentionally impact an environmental or labor issue;
  • Approaching a tax issue without considering government relations objectives;
  • Deciding a tax issue without considering the company's marketing strategy;
  • Pursuing tax controversies and litigation without involving corporate counsel; and
  • Hiring an outside consultant and ceding control over appeal and litigation decisions.

An effective in-house counsel helps the tax department approach these decisions with a full view of the impact on the business as a whole. Here are five tips for building bridges between the legal and tax departments.

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