Elizabeth A. "Liz" Young

Liz Young provides tax counsel to private and public real estate investors, private equity sponsors, real estate developers, and tax exempt organizations to finance community development projects across the U.S.

What do you focus on?

Transactional Tax Experience

I started my legal career in the international tax department of one of the largest professional services firms in the world. There, I handled complex inbound and outbound tax planning and tax compliance for multinational clients, domestic and non-U.S. corporations and private equity groups. This experience working with multidisciplinary teams supported and helped shape my approach to tax law—and ultimately gives me a unique perspective that our clients find valuable.

Today, I work with clients on state and federal tax matters, such as corporate and pass-through entity structuring, family-owned business structuring, transactional tax planning, including real estate transactions, and tax controversy.

Tax Credit Finance

Drawing on my past experience, I work with clients to structure complex community development transactions involving the federal new markets tax credits (NMTC), historic rehabilitation tax credits (HTC) and renewable energy (solar) tax credits. These tax credits are leveraged to rehabilitate and preserve historic structures, install vital businesses, such as health care facilities and schools, in underserved areas of our communities, and develop renewable energy projects like solar facilities. I also work with my colleagues to analyze financial models, draft and issue tax opinion letters, and craft letter ruling requests necessary to close these transactions.

Tax-Exempt Organizations

In addition to providing transactional income tax advice, I guide tax-exempt organizations with the formation process, and help these organizations obtain and maintain tax-exempt status. I also handle Form 990 reporting and disclosures, advise on sound governance policies, unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) issues, for-profit/tax-exempt entity structuring and compliance with regulations governing lobbying and political activities.

Private Equity Tax Experience

I work with US and non-US private equity funds and funds-of-funds on tax structuring, in order to minimize taxation of US tax-exempt, US government and non-US investors. I also provide structuring advice to fund managers, including carried interest and publicly-traded partnership analyses, and structuring and reporting considerations for non-US investments. Of late, I have been advising clients on implementation of the recently-released IRS partnership audit guidance. Much of my work involves structuring partnership transactions and drafting tax provisions of partnership agreements and offering materials. I have also provided advice on corporate transactions, including tax-free reorganizations and spin-offs, co-investments, and taxable sales.