Carla is a partner in the Public Finance group, where her practice focuses on the tax requirements relating to bonds issued by state and local governments.
My practice centers on the tax aspects of municipal bond financings, including tax-exempt, taxable and tax-advantaged debt obligations issued by or on behalf of state and local governments. I have acted as bond counsel, special tax counsel, underwriter’s counsel and borrower’s counsel in a wide array of bond issues financing governmental facilities, transportation facilities, nonprofit and educational facilities, water and sewer systems, energy projects, solid waste disposal facilities, charter schools, airports, community development districts, and housing projects, among others. I have also represented issuers, trustees and bondholders with tax issues relating to restructurings of defaulted bond issues. I frequently represent issuers and borrowers before the Internal Revenue Service in connection with bond examinations and voluntary closing agreements.
Previously, I was an attorney and Assistant Branch Chief in the Tax-Exempt Bond Branch of the Office of Chief Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service, where I was responsible for drafting published guidance and rulings, including guidance relating to Build America Bonds and other direct-pay obligations as well as disaster area bonds. I also served as the Chief Counsel representative to the Tax-Exempt Bond Focus Group, which provides assistance to IRS agents in connection with examinations of tax-exempt bond issues. My experience at the government provides a unique perspective when counseling clients on issues relating to IRS bond audits and ongoing compliance with the tax rules, including the permitted uses of bond-financed facilities and actions that can be taken to remediate post-issuance noncompliance.
I see the critical need to develop and finance infrastructure across the country, which in many cases can be addressed through tax-exempt financing combined with innovative arrangements with private participants. In light of increased IRS enforcement in the bond area, I also see the need for issuers and borrowers to continue to focus on the ongoing monitoring of compliance with the tax rules.
Law360 | April 20, 2018
Nixon Peabody public finance partners Travis Gibbs of San Francisco and Mitch Rappaport, Bruce Serchuk and Carla Young of Washington DC co-wrote this analysis on the new IRS procedures that can be used “to cure impermissible use of bond-financed projects.”
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., cum laude
Rutgers University, B.A., Accounting, with high honors
District of Columbia
Carla was the recipient of the Secretary of the Treasury’s “Certificate of Appreciation” for legal work in connection with the financial turmoil of 2008. She also was the recipient of “IRS Chief Counsel Performance” Awards each year from 2006 to 2009.
Carla is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers.
