Michael G. Pfeifer is a member in Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C. office, joining the firm in 2004.
Services
Mr. Pfeifer's practice focuses on the international tax issues of wealthy individuals, including entertainers and athletes, as well as pre-immigration and expatriation planning, structuring cross-border investments, international deferred compensation and retirement planning. He also handles estate planning matters, including the use of domestic and foreign trusts. He has extensive experience handling tax controversy matters, including voluntary disclosure proceedings.
Highlights
- International tax partner in the National Tax Department of Ernst & Young LLP, where he directed that firm's international private client practice
- Special Assistant to the Associate Chief Counsel (International) at the Internal Revenue Service from 1993-1995, where he directed the legislative project that culminated in the 1996 foreign trust tax changes
- Involved with the Clinton Administration's expatriation tax proposal while at the IRS, including the revisions to the section 1441 withholding tax rules, and the development of the "check-the-box" rules for entity classification
- Tax partner with the London office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP prior to the IRS, where he concentrated on the international tax issues faced by high net wealth individuals, including authors and entertainers
Professional Activities
- Frequent lecturer on international tax topics before numerous U.S. and foreign professional associations, including ALI-ABA (for which he co-chairs an annual program on international trust and estate planning), ABA Tax Section, International Fiscal Association, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, New York State Bar Association, Practicing Law Institute, and the Institute for International Research
- Vice-Chair, the Mid-Atlantic Branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
- Adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center