Sue Edlavitch provides sophisticated tax planning for public companies, partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and closely held business owners. She addresses the myriad of U.S., state and international tax issues that can arise during the life cycle of a business. Her cost-saving tax advice covers choice of entity issues, tax accounting, business and debt restructuring, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, redemptions and liquidations. She supports clients and their return preparers, where appropriate, by memorializing the tax advice in a tax opinion or memorandum.

Ms. Edlavitch also represents for-profit and nonprofit clients involved in tax disputes with IRS and state tax authorities. She appears before the IRS on behalf of the client during the audit examination stage, alternative dispute process, and administrative appeal. If the tax controversy is not resolved administratively, Ms. Edlavitch represents the client in court litigation, typically in U.S. Tax Court.

Ms. Edlavitch has appeared frequently before the IRS National Office, representing clients in requests for private letter rulings or technical advice memoranda and commenting on proposed regulations.

In transactional tax planning and tax controversy matters, Ms. Edlavitch brings valuable insights gained from having worked on the other side of the aisle. During her 1988-1996 tenure in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, she worked in the Offices of Associate Chief Counsel for Passthroughs and Special Industries and Corporate as well as the former Interpretative Division. Her government experience included not only a wide range of tax areas but responsibility for such high-profile projects as the Partnership Disguised Sale Regulations, defense of the Consolidated Return Loss Disallowance Rule, and various conversion projects addressing the tax consequences of a domestic or foreign entity converting into another type of entity. She also had responsibility for coordinating partnership tax issues in bankruptcy workouts and developing the tax treatment of the bankruptcy liquidating trust, later affirmed in Holywell Corp. v. Smith, 503 U.S. 47 (1992). While on special assignment to the IRS District Counsel in Washington, D.C., she litigated a number of cases in U.S. Tax Court.

Before concentrating on tax law, Ms. Edlavitch worked in the Federal Communications Commission Office of General Counsel and clerked for the Honorable V. Sue Shields and the Honorable Patrick D. Sullivan of the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Significant Matters

Ms. Edlavitch has obtained favorable IRS private letter rulings addressing the consolidated group tax consequences of a REIT election, REIT qualification & compliance issues, spin-offs, and extensions of time to make tax elections. She has negotiated on behalf of clients seeking to qualify under IRS settlement initiatives for “Listed Transactions.” She has successfully defended an “UPREIT transaction,” a large cost segregation study and valuation appraisals discounting fractional interests in family limited partnerships. Ms. Edlavitch handles small disputes for individual taxpayers as well as tax controversies involving over $1 billion.