Practice Areas

The U.S. economy is the largest in the world with creative and dynamic business leaders in all sectors. Our industries and workforce are the engines that drive our competitiveness in the global marketplace and ensure good jobs at home. But today’s successful companies appreciate the need to fully understand the impact of tax policies on their bottom line. Most expect that Congress will take up some kind of tax reform legislation during the 110th Congress – which will create opportunity for some companies, and a defensive play for others.

 

Monument Policy helps clients on a range of tax issues in sectors ranging from biotechnology to insurance, energy to excise taxes. In the next year, we expect possible reforms to the popular “tax extenders” bill, which includes items such as the Research and Development Credit, and can create opportunities across a range of industries. At the same time, “Pay-as-You-Go” rules require Congress to finance new initiatives, and will require companies to constantly monitor the impact of potential tax changes. 

 

Monument’s team has experience and key relationships with the tax writers in Congress.   Monument’s partners include Tim Punke, who worked for four years for the Senate Finance Committee and Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), where he advised Senator Baucus and other members of the committee on all aspects of the committee’s international and economic agenda. In addition, from 1999-2000, Tim served at the White House National Economic Council. Partner and Founder C. Stewart Verdery, Jr. worked for two members of the Senate Finance Committee, Assistant Majority Leader Don Nickles (R-OK) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) during his six years working on Capitol Hill. 

 

Senior Vice President Scott Corley brings a wide range of experience on tax as related to emerging technologies. While serving as a senior technology staffer in the United States Senate, Scott was integral to the passage of the first extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) in 2001, which forbade states from creating new taxes on access to the Internet as well as discriminatory taxes on Internet commerce. Scott's experience also includes the application of business activities taxes and other nexus issues related to interstate commerce, including the reporting and collection of interstate sales taxes (a.k.a., the Streamlined Sales Tax Project).

 

Monument also has key relationships with the Senate centrists and the House Ways and Means Committee.  As former Legislative Director to Senator Susan Collins, Vice President Jane Alonso developed and implemented a legislative agenda on a broad range of issues, including tax policy, and was a co-founder of and active participant in the Senate Bipartisan Legislative Directors Group. While working as Legislative Director to Ways & Means Committee Member Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Senior Vice President Rich Thomas worked closely with Ways & Means on a number of tax-related issues, including Research and Development tax credit for businesses, expanding the renewable energy production tax credit, broadening the Earned Income Tax Credit, and reforming the Alternative Minimum Tax.

 

We maintain close relationships not only with key congressional committees and leadership, but also with the federal agencies with responsibility over tax policy, including the Department of Treasury, the National Economic Council, and the Office of Management and Budget. 

 

Monument Policy Group has a proven track record of advancing legislative and technical tax proposals.  In particular, we have had specific success in helping to lower tax rates paid by C-Corps and Real Estate Investment Trusts.  

Among the clients we have represented in the tax area are Weyerhaeuser, Microsoft, the Entertainment Software Association, the Biotechnology Industry Association, and the National Business Travel Association.