Tom West moves from Treasury to KPMG’s National Tax practice

Tom West has joined KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, as a principal in the passthroughs group of the firm’s Washington National Tax (WNT) practice. Most recently, he served as tax legislative counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy. He will be based in Washington, D.C.

At Treasury, where he served since 2014, West was responsible for developing and reviewing policy, legislation, regulations, and other published guidance dealing with most all aspects of domestic federal law, including significant aspects of the 2017 federal tax reform legislation commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“Highly regarded in the tax profession, Tom brings to our firm a diverse background with government, legal and Big Four organizations,” said Manal Corwin, principal-in-charge of KPMG’s WNT practice. “We’re so pleased to have Tom as part of our team and playing a key role in assisting clients and supporting our professionals as we meet increasing demand from passthrough entities, including partnerships, S corporations, and real estate investment trusts.”

In his new position, West will focus primarily on the private equity and mergers and acquisitions arenas, advising clients on transactions that require a deep understanding of the interaction between corporate, international, and passthrough taxation—an area made even more complex by recent U.S. tax reforms, Corwin added.

Earlier in his career, West was a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig LLP, where he worked on federal tax matters and analyzed complex cross-border investments, acquisitions, and dispositions. He also worked for two other Big Four firms in their transaction tax and Washington national tax groups.

West earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University, a Juris Doctor degree from Temple University School of Law, and a Master of Laws degree in taxation with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center.