role of Vice President, Tax for Americas-Asia unit of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A., a French multinationalenterprise. Prior to LVMH, Jacqueline Wong was the US Treasury’s Senior Advisor for Tax Policy and advised the White House Staff and Treasury Officials on domestic and international tax policy matters. Jacqueline Wong has significant experience in law firms that included practicing law with Proskauer Rose in New York. Morgan Lewis in London, Womble Carlyle in Washington DC and she was a Partner with Whitman Ransom which merged into Winston Strawn.Jacqueline Wong was appointed to an eight member Treasury Team of the Obama Project to assist in drafting preliminary briefings on priority tax matters that confront the Obama Administration and the Secretary of Treasury. Jacqueline Wong earned a B.A., cum laude, National Merit Scholar from Douglas College of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey; a J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey and was also National Winner of the Tax Moot Court Competition; an LLM Taxation from New York University School of Law, New York, New York and was a COGME Fellow at Harvard Business School. She is licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey and the U.S. District Court Southern District , United States Tax Court and the Court of Federal Claims.


KJ-Please tell me why you started your tax career in a law firm and then moved to the Department of Treasury?JW-The start of my tax career was along conventional lines. I followed conventional wisdom which was to plan every step of my career in order to reach what I believed at the time was the professional pinnacle of becoming a partner in a large law firm. This was the way in which I operated early on in my tax career but at a certain point I had unexpected opportunities come along. If I had held rigidly to the idea of planning each step, I would have missed out on my Department of Treasury experience as well as other very fulfilling career opportunities. As I look back, it turns out that there was a huge bonus to these accumulated experiences in that it has enhanced my ability to analyze problems. In fact, these experiences do inform my judgment on recommending solutions that are realistic and innovative. When I started practicing law as a young lawyer and struggled to understand tax law, my efforts were wholly placed on how to apply it correctly. I never perceived that I could have a role in making or changing it. At the U.S. Department of the Treasury, I learned how tax practitioners can actually influence tax regulations and other guidance or, more dramatically, the tax code itself.


KJ-What prompted you to move from a law practice to the Department of Treasury?JW- I was a Tax Partner with Whitman and Ransom which later merged into Winston and Strawn. The idea was that I could be part of making good tax policies instead of just debating about how tax law operates and whether it was fair or logical. I arrived in Washington DC in 1993, which was the beginning of the Clinton Administration, and my role at the Department of Treasury was as its Senior Advisor for Tax Policy. This meant that I would be able to work on tax legislative proposals initiated by the Administration (including our office) and by members of Congress. I also would be able to work on very interesting interagency projects and tax guidance, including, at the time, finalizing parts of the transfer pricing regulations at the Department of Treasury. While in private law firm practice, very many of our clients’ audits involved transfer pricing issues.


KJ- How are regulations promulgated?

JW-As the Senior Advisor for Tax Policy at the Department of Treasury, I worked directly with the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Tax Policy. OTP establishes the policy criteria reflected in tax regulations and rulings, and guides preparation of them by the IRS Chief Counsel’s Office. OTP assigns at least one person to participate in each of the regulatory projects, but the actual drafting is generally done by a team of Chief Counsel lawyers. Before a regulation can be published, it has to go through a review process. The Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy must sign off on it before it goes up to the Treasury Secretary. After all, tax regulations are Treasury regulations. One of my jobs was to review the regulations and highlight the more controversial aspects for the Treasury Secretary. A benefit of being the Senior Advisor for Tax Policy, which did not have clearly defined responsibilities, was the ability to select which projects to take a more active role in. This allowed me the opportunity to look at a subject from an aerial viewpoint to a very detailed view if the regulations were of particular interest to me.
Although I left the Department of Treasury in 1997, I have continued my interest in tax policy and administration. Most recently, I have had the honor of serving on Obama’s Tax Policy Advisory Committee, and then on the small Podesta-led Transition Project. I had the triple honor of being asked to join the much larger Presidential Transition Team after the elections, and was charged with being the eyes and ears of President-Elect Obama at Treasury, particularly the IRS and Office of Tax Policy.


KJ- What is your personal view of tax policy under this Administration?

JW- Our President is a great listener and he has taken the approach that decisions in Washington DC can benefit from hearing diverse views. I believe this Administration will give people -- whether from law firms, big corporations or small businesses, NGOs -- the opportunity to come in and present their views to a Treasury team that will have an open mind. This Administration is very committed to transparency, so people will know what is going on in the Department. Substantively, I expect that there will be greater attention placed on the international aspects of tax policy and compliance.


KJ- What do you think of our new Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner?

JW- I was fortunate to have been at Treasury with Timothy Geithner during the Clinton Administration, and he is one of the brightest people I have ever met. Geithner has superior intellect and he also has a wonderful temperament. He is thoughtful in his approach, not impulsive. His years of experience with the Federal Reserve, IMF and Department of Treasury, including specifically his experience with the Asia financial crisis of the 90’s, make him an excellent choice in managing the current one. He brings a unique set of skills and experience that make me feel confident that the country will get through this crisis.


KJ- You have woven professional texture into your tax career. What did you learn from your experience in transitioning from the Department of Treasury to your in- house lead tax role for LVMH/DFS.

JW- I have a much better appreciation of the legislative and regulatory process, which aids me in how I approach the application or interpretation of a statute or regulation. Of course, this is particularly true if an issue comes up that involves statutory language that was passed or regulations that were issued while I was at the Department of Treasury. I also have a greater sensitivity to tax trends as a result of my Treasury experience. I would also mention that, in the international context, it has been of particular benefit to have had first-hand experience with the crafting of our treaty positions. I am in a much better position to interpret and apply a treaty properly, than if I had not had such exposure.


KJ-How do you feel about your tax career given your diverse experiences in the field?

JW- I reached a point in my life where I began to make career choices around the core need to find fulfillment and joy in my work. My career decisions began to be highlighted by factors such as colleagues who sharpen my thinking, clients whom I enjoy helping, and encountering new experiences. This led to not turning away unexpected opportunities. Something I have consistently looked for and have had from day one was the presence of challenges (for me, the more complex the problems, the better). As a result, I am rarely ever bored, and that’s fun.

KJ- Jacquline, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Your perspective is valuable to the Tax Intelligence Report readers around the world and we genuinely appreciate the time you gave to share your experiences.


Kathleen Jennings (KJ)
Editor, The Tax Intelligence Report
Kathleen@etsearch.comJacquline Wong (JW)
Vice President and Senior Tax Counsel
CKX., Inc. and FX Real Estate and Entertainment Inc.

If you would like to send a private email to Jacquline, please contact Kathleen Jennings at Kathleen@etsearch.com.