Partnerships have long taken advantage of certain tax code sections to help them avoid taxation, and many rules for partnerships are too hard for the IRS to enforce. The Treasury Department estimates that billions in revenue is lost each year to passthrough entities. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) increased the excludable qualified business income of passthroughs to up to 20 percent in an effort to boost the economy and increase job creation.  Recent proposed legislation, including a discussion draft circulated by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, seeks to reduce those deductions, close loopholes, and simplify the code to make it easier to enforce. Will these initiatives help simplify the tax code and generate the projected revenue? Or will they slow the economy and hurt small business?

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Cara Griffith
President and CEO, Tax Analysts

As the moderator for our Taxing Issues webinars, Cara objectively analyzes issues and asks probing questions that challenge panelists to explain and defend their positions.

When she’s not moderating Taxing Issues webinars, Cara provides strategic oversight for Tax Analysts. She has led efforts to improve the Tax Notes suite of products and to aggressively pursue transparency in the administration of tax systems. Previously, Cara managed the editorial department, including the flagship daily news publications and weekly magazines. She has written for a broad range of tax policy publications, including Tax Notes State, The Tax Adviser, The Hedge Fund Law Report, and The Hill. She regularly speaks at tax conferences and other events, discussing a variety of technical tax issues as well as the need for transparency in tax administration.

Cara has a BA in political science and a BA in international studies from the University of Evansville and a JD from the George Washington University Law School.

Eric Sloan

Eric Sloan is a partner in the New York and Washington DC offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a Co-Chair of the Firm’s tax practice. Sloan is a nationally recognized expert in private equity and on the use of partnerships and limited liability companies in domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, and restructurings. He advised on the first passthrough portfolio company investments made by four of the largest U.S.-based private equity firms. Sloan has substantial experience in the formation of domestic and cross-border joint ventures and acquisitions and dispositions of businesses and interests in joint ventures, including the largest joint venture in the United States and a complex multi-billion dollar cross-border commodities joint venture. 

Karen C. Burke

Karen Burke is the Professor of Law and Richard B. Stephens Eminent Scholar at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. 

She is the author (or co-author) of numerous articles and books, including Partnership Taxation (with George K. Yin) (Aspen Law & Business, 4th ed., 2021), Federal Income Taxation of Partners and Partnerships (West Group, 6th ed. 2020), and Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Stockholders (West Group, 8th ed. 2019). Her recent articles include The Spurious Allure of Passthrough Parity, 52 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO LAW J. 351 (2021), Section 199A and Choice of Passthrough Entity, 72 TAX LAW. 551 (2019), and Exploiting the Medicare Tax Loophole, 21 FLA. TAX REV. 570 (2018).

She is a member of the American Law Institute and served as a Consultant to the ALI Federal Income Tax Project — Taxation of Private Business Enterprises and the Joint Committee on Taxation’s Tax Simplification Project.

Andrea Macintosh Whiteway

Andrea Macintosh Whiteway is a principal in the National Tax Department of Ernst & Young LLP, based in Washington, D.C.  She has substantial experience in sophisticated tax planning involving the use of partnerships, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and corporate acquisitions and mergers.  She advises on structuring and implementation of opportunity zone investments and like-kind exchanges and partnership workouts. 

Andrea had the honor of being the first woman to serve as chair of the Real Estate Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation and on the Section of Taxation Nominating Committee. 

Andrea is the author of over 150 professional articles and has delivered more than 200 lectures on tax topics at conferences across the United States. She was recognized as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women for 2007 by The Daily Record which presents this award to "high-achieving Maryland women who are making an impact through their leadership, community service and mentoring."