Watson McLeish serves as tax counsel for Tax Executives Institute (TEI) in Washington, D.C., where he supports the advocacy and educational activities of TEI’s Tax Reform Task Force, Federal Tax Committee, and Canadian Income Tax Committee. In this role, Watson develops, coordinates, and executes many of TEI’s U.S. advocacy initiatives on Capitol Hill and with the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy and IRS Office of Chief Counsel. Watson performs the same role in Canada before Parliament and with the Department of Finance’s Tax Policy Branch and Canada Revenue Agency. This work includes the preparation of written advocacy submissions (e.g., comment letters, position statements) in support of TEI’s income tax-related public policy and advocacy priorities. It also includes the planning and
facilitation of liaison meetings between TEI members and senior U.S. and Canadian federal government officials. Watson also coordinates TEI’s participation in stakeholder working groups, listening sessions, and various other informal interchanges with government representatives.
Outside of TEI, Watson is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches a graduate-level seminar on Tax Research and Writing (LAW 809 v02). Watson lives in Northwest Washington, D.C., with his wife, Elizabeth, and precocious two-year-old daughter, Blythe.