Ronald Aucutt, a partner in McGuireWoods’ Tysons Corner office and co-chair of the firm’s highly-rated private wealth services group, has been appointed chair of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Subgroup of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC).
IRSAC members are selected to represent the taxpaying public, tax professionals, small and large businesses, academia and the payroll community. IRSAC’s primary purpose is to provide an organized public forum for senior IRS executives and representatives of the public to discuss relevant tax administration issues. Aucutt was appointed to IRSAC in 2014 and named chair of the OPR Subgroup in January.
One of the four subgroups organized along lines of IRS operations, the OPR Subgroup works with and advises the IRS’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which is responsible for interpreting and applying the standards of practice for tax professionals. The subgroup includes a diverse group of lawyers, an enrolled agent, a certified public accountant and an appraiser.
“The OPR Subgroup plays an important role in ensuring that the standards of practice for tax professionals are applied fairly, and I’m honored to serve as its chair,” Aucutt said.
Aucutt focuses his practice on planning and controversy matters involving estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes; income taxation of trusts and estates; rules regarding tax-exempt organizations and charitable contributions; and related tax issues. He has extensive experience advising clients on the transfer of wealth from one generation to another, including the orderly and tax-efficient succession of family-owned businesses.
Aucutt is a fellow and past president of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is a former chair of its Washington Affairs Committee. He is also a former vice chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation. He was named the 2012 “Washington, D.C., Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers, and the Washingtonian recognized him as one of Washington’s 31 “Best Lawyers” in its December 2011 issue. He holds Chambers USA’s Band 1 ranking for Wealth Management and was elected to the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils Estate Planning Hall of Fame in 2009 as a Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner.
McGuireWoods’ private wealth services group focuses on the unique needs of high net worth clients. At the national level, the firm’s lawyers have contributed to the formation of tax policy by participating in the development of legislation and regulations. The group earned a Band 1 ranking from Chambers and Partners in its 2014 guide, “Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.”