"Best of" 2024 (55th Annual) Chesapeake Tax Conference

Mr. Schabes is an experienced tax and corporate attorney. He has extensive dealings on an array of tax controversy matters with the IRS on a national and international level, as well as with various state tax authorities. Most recently, he has been assisting clients on an array of tax matters under the CARES Act, including matters related to the Employee Retention Credit.

His vision and deep understanding of how clients can benefit from cutting-edge tax planning and structures for domestic and in-bound transactional matters is opening new doors for clients seeking innovative tax counsel and new business opportunities.

Mr. Schabes represents clients in complex business matters. His many successes include negotiation of countless mergers, acquisitions, management buyouts and sales to – and from – private equity and other joint venture-related entities.

Experienced in virtually all aspects of tax litigation at both the federal and state level, Mr. Schabes has taken the lead in many tax controversy cases involving the IRS and various state taxing authorities. These include IRS examinations and appellate matters involving income tax, excise tax and employment tax, as well as worker classification issues. His clients operate in widely diverse industries, including aviation, credit card, trucking and transportation, logistics, health care, real estate, hospitality, entertainment and the not-for–profit/exempt sectors.

Mr. Schabes has a successful track record of resolving disputes at all levels of the IRS. With many years of experience dealing with the IRS Collection Division on a national level, he is known for his determination in negotiating and resolving IRS tax assessments for both domestic and international based corporations, including Fortune 100 entities, limited liability companies, trusts and estates, entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and individuals. Once a tax liability is imposed, Mr. Schabes helps clients navigate numerous payment and priority issues. Such issues include the erroneous issuance of IRS tax liens and levies, and their subsequent release and withdrawal.

Recent economic conditions are prompting many clients to seek Mr. Schabes' counsel to handle tax workout situations involving large tax liabilities and abatement of various penalty and interest-related matters. He represents corporate and business directors, officers and employees who are confronting Trust Fund Recovery Penalty matters and similar issues at the state and local level. He provides legal counsel to both domestic and non-U.S.-based clients on participation in various voluntary compliance and amnesty-based programs, including the FBAR filing rules.

Mr. Schabes continues to serve as special tax counsel to several global companies, assisting them with numerous IRS and other regulatory and compliance-related issues, including those uniquely applicable under the federal excise tax provisions. He helps secure significant tax refunds for business clients and is often involved in groundbreaking federal excise tax matters such as those affecting various airlines and charter companies.

In addition to his involvement in various legal and aviation industry associations, Mr. Schabes is active in an array of charitable and community activities. He currently serves as a board member of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.

Beth Shapiro Kaufman is a Partner in the Washington D.C. office of the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler, practicing in the areas of estate planning, estate, gift and

generation-skipping tax, and income taxation of trusts and estates. At Lowenstein, Ms. Kaufman is the National Chair of the Private Client Services Group, where she assists wealthy

individuals with their estate planning and tax controversies. She also advises lawyers and other professionals on complex issues regarding estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes in both planning and audit contexts. She is frequently retained by counsel to advocate a taxpayer's position before the Internal Revenue Service, and has been particularly active in obtaining

relief for failed generation-skipping transfer tax exemption allocations. From 1995 to 2001, Ms. Kaufman was an Associate Tax Legislative Counsel in the U.S. Treasury Department’s

Office of Tax Policy. In that capacity, she was responsible for estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax issues, as well as income tax issues relating to trusts and estates. Ms. Kaufman is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, where she currently chairs the Estate and Gift Tax Committee and serves on the Board of Regents. Ms. Kaufman received her B.A. from Pomona College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Mr. Schaufele is in his thirteenth year with the State of Maryland. Beginning in 2022, Andy welcomed his new position serving as the Chief Deputy Comptroller of Maryland;

effectively operating as the COO for the Maryland State Comptroller, overseeing the financial functions that form the backbone of the State’s financial system. This system

interacts with more than 6 million Marylanders, 3 million households, more than 300 thousand businesses, and every level of government.

Prior to this role, Andy served as the Director of the Bureau of Revenue Estimates, effectively operating as the State’s Chief Economist, and working across the State’s non-judicial branches of

government in the formulation of economic, revenue, and budget projections. Andy also played a key role in debt management, including determinations of affordability and frequent

presentations to the major rating agencies. Andy has served as a champion for data usage in State government, ushering in the Comptroller’s data warehouse and leveraging that data for

business improvement, policy intelligence, tax compliance, public transparency, and best-in-the-nation fraud detection.

Before joining the Comptroller’s Office, Andy spent seven years in various private sector management positions, working in both consumer and commercial-oriented product lines. Andy holds a bachelor’s degree from Towson University, where he studied management and economics, and a Master of Business Administration from the joint University of Baltimore and Towson University program. He is a proud Baltimore native and currently lives in Severna Park, Maryland with his wife, daughter, and son.