Capital Spending by business is expected to leap forward in 2010 and 2011 as the global economy reawakens from the Great Recession.  Capital budgets being adopted by many U. S. companies this quarter will be chock full of the kinds of investments that trigger significant incentives savings opportunities.  Every year, scrubbing the capital budget for incentives opportunities is important, but this year’s increase in corporate Cap-X is expected to be the largest in more than 6 years.  Not coincidentally, governments at every level are more eager than ever to offer tax and cash incentives in return for corporate investment.

In addition, many companies are under the false impression that tax incentives can be virtually ignored during a severe recession, since they haven’t implemented any major expansion plans. Actually, unless tax incentives and grants are actively managed, clawbacks, penalties and missed opportunities will add significantly to the tax costs of the operation at a time when most companies can least afford it.

Join BNA Tax & Accounting and Michael R. Press, M.R. Press Consulting, LLC,and Keith S. Richey, International Tax Counsel, ITT Corporation for a unique informative presentation: 12 Planning Strategies to Maximize Government-Sponsored Incentives and Speed Your Economic Recovery.

This event focuses on:

• How companies can accelerate cash and harvest significant new incentives in the short-term;
• Positioning the company to maximize the tax and cash incentives available at the federal, state and local levels as the economy begins to turn around;
• How companies can avoid the worst affects of the downturn on their existing tax and grant agreements.

View this event to understand:

• How the best companies take full advantage of cash grants and tax incentives at the beginning of a turn-around;
• The new role played by the Federal government in providing tax and cash incentives;
• Planning strategies to assure maximum benefits from major expansion programs;
• Compliance/performance risk relative to existing economic development agreements; and
• Opportunities for incentives in your company’s lease expirations and routine capital investments.

View this Webinar and learn how to:

• Scrub the Capital Plan for federal, state and local incentives opportunities;
• Identify the specific trigger events that create significant cash and tax incentives opportunities;
• Minimize the company’s exposure to performance failure risk in existing economic development agreements; and
• Identify opportunities to accelerate cash payments and revenue recognition from incentives packages.

 Register quickly and easily online to secure your space now. Or, please call 1-800-372-1033 option 6, then option 1, and refer to the date and title of the audioconference. Lines are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET, excluding most federal holidays.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear a lively, dynamic presentation. Not only are audioconferences an excellent way for you to stay current, with BNA you also get:

• Quality. Count on it. Nothing is canned.
• Objectivity. BNA Tax & Accounting provides you with the best and most objective information.
• Affordability. BNA Tax & Accounting events are inexpensive when compared to the cost of travel to attend conferences with leading experts and practitioners. Plus, you may use a speakerphone and invite as many of your colleagues as you want to listen in -- all for the price of a single registration. See pricing for more details.
• Convenience. No airlines. No travel. No time out of the office.

In addition, you'll receive:

• Personal attention. Once you've registered, send your e-mail questions in advance to mcarrington@bna.com and they will be included in the program. You'll also have a chance to e-mail your questions during the audioconference.
• Conference materials. We’ll e-mail links to the materials that will accompany the audioconference one day in advance. If you do not receive this pre-conference e-mail, e-mail mcarrington@bna.com.

Prerequisite: None
Level: Update
Delivery Method: Live
Recommended CPE Credit: 1 credit

If you would like to apply for CPE credits, please make sure to provide your contact information when you register, complete the post-conference evaluation form, note that you want to apply for CPE credits, and attend the audioconference from start to finish. Learn more about BNA's NASBA Registration .

Michael R. Press President and Executive Director at M.R. Press Consulting, LLC .

Professional Experience:

With more than 25 years of experience in economic development and tax incentives, Mr. Press has served in both government and non-government consulting roles including:

• Built and led the world's leading Business Incentives advisory practice while serving as Tax Partner at Ernst & Young.

• Built similar highly successful practices at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Duff & Phelps.

• Supervised incentives advisory engagements for Fortune 100 Companies in the aerospace, automotive, consumer products, financial services, telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage production and packaging industries.

• Supervised incentives projects in key states including: NY, NJ, CT, PA, TX, CA, OK, NC, SC, FL, GA, OH, MA, TN, MI, IL, and LA.

 • Assistant Director of Tax Studies, Senate Finance Committee, New York State Senate (Majority);

 • Chief Economist and Deputy Commissioner for Policy in the New York City Office of Business Development.

 • Chairman of the Enterprise Zone Administrative Boards of four Enterprise (EDZ's) in New York City.

Engagement highlights include:

 • Led the negotiating team that brought the Boeing Company's world headquarters from Seattle to Chicago (while considering Dallas and Denver).

 • Led the site selection and negotiating team in support of the largest industrial project of 2009 in Pennsylvania on behalf of Church & Dwight.

 • Secured the benefits package sufficient to induce a 3,000-contingent Citigroup campus to relocate to New Jersey.

 • Secured first-of-its-kind incentive in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida and New York.

 • Created new and redesigned existing key economic development programs for New York City and New York State including; REAP (Relocation and Employee Assistance Program), ECSP (Energy Cost Savings Program), ICIP (Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program) and Tax Increment Financing.

• Organized and hosted the first comprehensive private sector Business Incentives Symposium in the United States in 2009.

 • Authored "Incentives in a Down Economy", Journal of Multi-State Taxation, 2008.

Keith S. Richey

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

International Tax Counsel of ITT Corporation (2002-Present).  Responsibilities include:  international tax planning, transfer pricing planning and implementation, tax incentives, foreign tax credit planning, international acquisitions, dispositions, and reorganizations, dividend planning, licenses and royalties, joint ventures and international financing.

Director of International Tax Planning for Xerox Corporation (1991-2002) with similar responsibilities. Senior International Tax Counsel and General Counsel for the Private Bank for Citibank (1989-1991) handling sovereign debt restructuring, shipping companies, cross-border financial instruments, international private bank matters, etc.  Tax Counsel for Mobil Oil (1987-1989) covering refining and marketing operations in Asia, South America and Africa.  Exxon (1979-1986) held several positions.  Last position was in Belgium doing tax planning for Exxon's chemical operations in Europe and the Middle East. 

ACADEMIC HISTORY

BS, Business Administration, University of Southern California, cum laude.

JD, University of Texas at Austin, American Jurisprudence Award in Constitutional Law

LLM, Taxation, New York University

ARTICLES

Co-author of "Managing the debt/equity structures of a multinational", published in THE TREASURER, Summer, 1996.

"Privatization and Debt-for-Equity Swaps", published in three legal journals:  THE INTERNATIONAL TAX JOURNAL, Summer 1991, THE JOURNAL OF BANK TAXATION, Summer 1991, and THE BANKING LAW JOURNAL, Fall 1991 issue.

"Allocating Interest and Other Expenses under Code section 864(e)", THE TAX EXECUTIVE, Spring 1989.

ASSOCIATIONS

Vice-President, International Fiscal Association, Westchester County & Connecticut Region 2003 – present