Kim Marie Boylan
Biography
Overview
Kim Marie Boylan heads White & Case's tax controversy group globally and served as the Global Head of Tax for seven years. She is a highly respected tax attorney with a long track record of creating innovative, practical approaches for the successful resolution of tax disputes. A renowned tax litigator, she also effectively utilizes the IRS's administrative appeals procedures, fast track, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes. She is highly regarded by clients and her peers for her ability to negotiate the successful resolution of sensitive, high-stakes disputes.
Kim represents a broad spectrum of domestic and multi-national companies on sophisticated domestic and international tax issues. Her practice encompasses transfer pricing, as well as the Advance Pricing Agreement and competent authority processes, areas of practice that are greatly enhanced by her credentials as a Certified Public Accountant. She has also represented clients in various international arbitration matters and has served as an expert on U.S. taxation issues in connection with arbitral proceedings. Kim has also testified on behalf of clients before the United States Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service and the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
While her practice focuses mainly on civil tax matters, throughout her career she has also successfully represented clients on criminal tax matters. Clients also turn to her to conduct internal investigations when tax issues are implicated. Kim is also one of only a handful of tax controversy lawyers who represented a Swiss bank in connection with the U.S. Department of Justice's Program for Non-Prosecution or Non-Target Letters for Swiss Banks. This has been the keystone of the U.S. Department of Justice's attempt to ferret out U.S. taxpayers who have failed to report their foreign bank accounts held in Swiss Banks. It is an unprecedented program that implicates civil as well as criminal tax matters.
As a recognized authority on privilege, Kim often advises companies in connection with the complicated issues that arise in this area, and numerous clients seek her knowledge and insight in judicial proceedings in the United States Tax Court, United States Court of Federal Claims, and in various district and appellate courts.
Kim is a frequent speaker on tax controversy, transfer pricing and accounting policy issues, and writes extensively on these issues. She is a member of the J. Edgar Murdock Inn of Court at the United States Tax Court.
Experience
Many of Kim's cases are never made public because of her success in resolving tax disputes at the administrative level. Recent successes include obtaining an almost 90 percent concession of a cost sharing buy-in issue for a global company undergoing an IRS audit and settling a contentious audit involving novel issues in the insurance industry through the IRS Fast Track process, again obtaining an almost complete IRS concession.
Notwithstanding her success at resolving cases short of litigation, Kim is a skilled litigator who has litigated over 30 cases, including some of the seminal cases in tax controversy over her almost 40-year career. Examples include United Parcel Service of America v. Commissioner (economic substance) and Riggs National Corporation & Subsidiaries v. Commissioner (foreign tax credits). She was also involved in virtually every case in the series of cases that culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Home Concrete & Supply, LLC v. United States (six year statute of limitations). Unlike many tax litigators, Ms. Boylan is skilled at handling cases in all three potential tax litigation forums – the United States Tax Court, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the various United States district courts. Clients know that her development of a case at the administrative level always takes into account possible litigation and her cases are managed with that possibility in mind.
Recent speaking engagements include:
"Exploring mitigation considerations – how to prevent disputes," International Tax Review Managing Tax Disputes Summit 2024, Amsterdam
"Practical approaches dealing with tax authorities—be ahead of increasing aggressive audits," September 2022, International Tax Review Managing Tax Disputes Summit 2022, Amsterdam
"Transfer pricing risks and opportunities in M&A transactions," September 2022, International Tax Review Global Transfer Pricing Forum USA, New York
"Dispute prevention—comparing routes to greater ‘tax certainty’," September 2021, International Tax Review Global Transfer Pricing Forum—Europe 2021
"Finding and implementing the shortest route to resolution," May 2021, International Tax Review Managing Global Tax Disputes Summit
"Management of Cross-Border Tax Audits," May 2020, International Tax Review Managing Global Tax Disputes Summit
"Practical View: Development of Negotiation Skills—Managing the Controversy Process," May 2020, International Tax Review International Tax Controversy Summit
"Increasing tax certainty 2—How is the in-house tax function adapting," April 2019: International Tax Review Managing Global Tax Disputes Summit, London
"Risk, Communication and Persuasion—The Changing Role of the Chief Tax Executive," October 30, 2018: TEI's 73rd Annual Conference, San Diego, California
"CbCR, Masterfile and local file: Emerging best practices," September 2018: International Tax Review and TP Week’s 18th Annual Global Transfer Pricing Forum, Munich
"Issue Discussion Forum II—Protest Onward," April 2018: Tax Executives International's Audits & Appeals Seminar, New Orleans, LA
"Ethics in Tax and Transfer Pricing Law," March 1, 2018: ITR Women in Tax Forum, New York
"The OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) Project: Impact on Multinationals Doing Business in the Americas," October 2017: American Bar Association Section of International Law Fall Conference
Recent publications include:
Legal 500: Tax Disputes Comparative Guide – USA, 2024
Chambers Global Practice Guides, Tax Law and Practice—USA, 2022
Chambers Global Practice Guides, Tax Law and Practice—USA, 2021
Chambers Global Practice Guides, Tax Law and Practice—USA, 2020
Privilege in Tax and Accounting Matters, (Portfolio 635), Bloomberg BNA Financial Accounting Resource Center
Chambers Global Practice Guides, Tax Law and Practice—USA, 2019
The Section 7525 Tax Practitioner-Taxpayer Privilege and Related Issues (Portfolio 5511), Bloomberg BNA Financial Accounting Resource Center
Chambers Global Practice Guides, Tax Law and Practice—USA, 2018
Managing the Changing Tax Landscape: The OECD’s BEPS Recommendations Will Impact Every Multinational, White & Case, October 2015
European Commission Adopts First Two Decisions in EU Tax Probe in Push for Corporate Tax Reform, White & Case, October 2015
Leading Dealmakers in America, Lawdragon 500, 2024
The Best Lawyers in America: Tax Law
International Tax Review, World Tax and World Transfer Pricing: Leading Tax Advisor (Tax Controversy), Highly Regarded (Women in Tax and Transfer Pricing)
Ranked Practitioner, Tax Controversy Chambers USA
Legal 500 USA—US: Tax Controversy
Euromoney's Women in Business Law Expert Guide (both Tax and Litigation)
Euromoney's Tax Expert Guide
Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Transfer Pricing Advisors
International Tax Review Women in Tax Leaders Guide
Leading Individual for Tax, Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America, 2022
International Tax Review North America Tax Litigation and Dispute Practice Leader of the Year, 2020
Best in Tax Dispute Resolution, Euromoney's Women in Business Law Awards, 2019
Best in Transfer Pricing, Euromoney's Women in Business Law Awards, 2015 and 2016
Global Law Experts Tax Disputes Attorney of the Year in Washington, DC, 2015
2014 Corporate Intl Magazine Global Award—Tax Disputes Attorney of the Year in Washington, DC
Tier 1—National Tax Litigation, US News/Best Lawyers, 2014
Tier 1—Washington, DC Tax Litigation, US News/Best Lawyers, 2014