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Paul M. Schmidt

Paul Schmidt, a former legislation counsel to the Joint Committee on Taxation, is firmwide Chair of Baker Hostetler’s Tax Group, which has more than 80 tax lawyers serving eleven offices, and is the firmwide practice team leader for Baker Hostetler’s International Tax Practice Team.

He has a wide range of experience in corporate and international tax matters, particularly in U.S. trade or business issues, permanent establishment and taxable presence issues, cross-border financing, transfer pricing, cross-border business expansion and restructuring, subpart F income, treaty interpretation, foreign tax credit planning, hedging transactions and the tax treatment of foreign sales corporations and extraterritorial income exclusion. He also has significant experience handling issues in connection with examination by the Internal Revenue Service, including representing clients before IRS Appeals, as well as assisting clients in obtaining private letter rulings. In addition, he frequently advises clients in connection with issues raised by foreign tax authorities.

Mr. Schmidt’s practice includes representation of several FORTUNE 500 corporate clients in industrial, energy and commodities businesses, as well as financial institutions in connection with international tax issues. He regularly advises private equity and hedge funds on tax matters and has expertise on global taxable presence and transfer pricing issues facing funds. Mr. Schmidt is experienced in matters involving publicly-traded partnerships and master limited partnerships (“MLPs”), including energy MLPs. Mr. Schmidt regularly deals with tax issues in connection with the hospitality industry, including timeshare and fractional interests, and is a regular contributor to Baker Hostetler’s HospitalityLawg, which offers commentary and opinions on hospitality industry issues, trends, challenges and news.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Schmidt was a partner in the Washington National Tax office of KPMG LLP, where he was part of the International Corporate Tax group, focusing on a wide array of international tax planning and structuring issues.

Before joining KPMG, Mr. Schmidt served as Legislation Counsel to the United States Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, where he focused on issues involving international taxation, the taxation of financial products and corporate taxation. His responsibilities included drafting legislation and legislative history, reviewing and analyzing proposed treaties for consideration by the U.S. Senate, analyzing the President’s budget proposals and responding to various congressionally mandated studies. Mr. Schmidt was involved in the legislation regarding the repeal and replacement of the foreign sales corporation rules and the tax treatment of securities futures contracts. Prior to joining the Joint Committee on Taxation, Mr. Schmidt practiced tax law at the Washington office of Dewey Ballantine LLP.

He was a regular contributor to the “Current Status of U.S. Tax Treaties” column in the Tax Management International Journal, and the United States chapter of the annual “World Tax Review” for International Tax Review. Mr. Schmidt is a frequent speaker at Tax Executive Institute and similar conferences.

Mr. Schmidt is a member of the Ohio and District of Columbia Bar Associations, the International Fiscal Association-U.S.A. Branch, as well as the International Tax and Finance Forum. He is a member of the Tax Sections of the District of Columbia Bar Association and the American Bar Association, where he serves on the Government Relations Committee, and the AICPA, where he formerly served as Chair of the International Taxation Technical Resource Panel. Mr. Schmidt is a Certified Public Accountant in Virginia and serves as an adjunct professor of law, teaching international tax at Georgetown University. Mr. Schmidt has been honored as one of the Best Lawyers in America for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012, and as a Leading Lawyer in the area of Tax Planning in Chambers USA Guide: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2011.

Mr. Schmidt has published several articles, including:

• “Tax Shelters: Evaluating Recent Developments,” Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financing, Reorganizations & Restructurings, Practising Law Institute (co-author);
• “Recent Developments Relating to Tax Shelters,” Tax Management Real Estate Journal Vol. 23, No. 10 (Oct. 3, 2007) (co-author);
• “Individuals’ Use of Offshore Holding Companies (Part II),” The Tax Advisor 462 (Sept. 2007) (co-author);
• “Individuals’ Use of Offshore Holding Companies (Part I),” The Tax Advisor 462 (Aug. 2007) (co-author);
• “Elimination of Separate Treatment of Dividends from 10/50 Companies: The Time Has Finally Come,” Tax Management International Journal Vol. 35, No. 10 (Oct. 13, 2006) (co-author);
• “10/50 Look-Through Treatment Transition Rules: Timely Elections May Be Key to Preserving Tax Attributes,” Tax Management International Journal Vol. 35, No. 9 (Sep. 8, 2006) (co-author);
• “Observations of Proposed Protocol to 1982 U.S.-Australia Income Tax Convention,” BNA Daily Tax Report No. 193, J-1 (Oct. 9, 2001) (co-author); and
• “The Hedging Rules, Clarity or Confusion?” 72 Tax Notes 1169 (Aug. 26, 1996).