Maruca Honored for Distinguished Service in Taxation

Samuel M. Maruca of Covington & Burling LLP has been announced as this year’s recipient of the inaugural recipient of the 2015 Leonard L. Silverstein Award for Distinguished Service in Tax. The award, presented by Bloomberg BNA, recognizes his long standing contributions to the field of tax, and is named in honor of Leonard L. Silverstein, a leader in the field of federal taxation for more than 50 years and the founder of the Tax Management Portfolios.

Bloomberg also announced the 2015 outstanding authors of the year: Andrew W. Needham of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, and Alden J. Bianchi of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. Both authors’ contributions are part of the Bloomberg BNA U.S. Income Portfolios Library, which can be accessed at http://on.bna.com/YqSq3002ZdF.

Needham received the Federal Tax Portfolio Author of the Year award for his work on Tax Management Portfolios™ about private equity funds and hedge funds. Bianchi was recognized as the 2015 Federal Tax Contributor of the Year for his article “Information Reporting Under the Affordable Care Act: I.R.C. §6055 and §6056,” which was featured in the Compensation Planning Journal. His insightful article covered two new reporting requirements that are of particular interest to employers that were brought about by the Affordable Care Act.

“Bloomberg BNA is delighted to recognize these very accomplished tax practitioners and to award the inaugural Leonard L. Silverstein Award recognizing the standard of excellence he has set in tax research,” said Lisa Fitzpatrick, Vice President and General Manager of Bloomberg BNA Tax & Accounting.

“Sam, Andrew, and Alden are true thought leaders in federal taxation, and we are honored to recognize the deep insights and practical expertise they have provided our subscribers. Federal taxation is complex and continually changing and these recipients are representative of why Bloomberg BNA has assembled a network of more than 1,100 leading practitioners to deliver the insights and perspectives practitioners truly value.”

“I am honored and humbled to be the first recipient of the Leonard L. Silverstein Award for Distinguished Service in Tax,” said Maruca. “Leonard and Bloomberg BNA have been at the forefront of efforts to make a complex area of the law more accessible and clearer to practitioners in the private sector and in government. It is quite a legacy.”

Maruca is a Partner with Covington & Burling and previously served as the first Director of Transfer Pricing Operations in the Large Business & International Division of the Internal Revenue Service. He has practiced exclusively in the area of federal income tax since 1983, focusing in recent years on large-case controversies, including complex transfer pricing disputes.

“Virtually every tax practitioner I know relies on these Portfolios as a source of guidance, just as I have for my entire professional career,” said Needham. “I have greatly enjoyed writing for Bloomberg BNA, a wonderful organization, and sharing my thoughts and opinions on a wide range of difficult and recurring tax issues.”

Needham’s practice concentrates on tax advisory work in mergers and acquisitions, spin‑offs, private equity and hedge funds, REIT taxation, partnership taxation and general tax planning for the preservation of net operating losses and other tax attributes. In 2012, he served as Chair of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section and is currently a member of its Executive Committee.

“Bloomberg BNA has been my ‘go to’ benefits and compensation resource for more than 25 years,” said Bianchi. “It has been an honor having my work accepted from time-to-time for publication in various Bloomberg BNA outlets. It is similarly gratifying to know that other practitioners might gain a deeper understanding of tax, benefits, and related issues as a result of my efforts and those of my fellow award recipients.”

Alden is the Practice Group Leader of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice. He is nationally renowned for his advice on the Affordable Care Act’s impact on employers. He represented the Romney administration in connection with the historic 2006 Massachusetts health care reform act, which laid the foundation for the Affordable Care Act. Alden has testified before the Senate Finance Committee on the subject of health care reform

These awards were presented at Bloomberg BNA’s reception on Friday, May 6th during the American Bar Association Section on Taxation’s May Meeting in Washington, D.C.