PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Colette Karam has over 15 years of experience handling tax controversy matters at the federal and state levels. Colette spent most of her career with a Big Four accounting firm as a specialist in the firm’s Federal Tax Controversy group, and she continues to handle tax disputes. She has handled large case IRS examinations and appeals with international and cross-border issues, audits, administrative hearings, settlements, and appeals. She is experienced in interacting with the Franchise Tax Board and the California Office of Tax Appeals as well as with the IRS. She has handled state apportionment and unitary business analysis, research and development tax credit defense, and a wide variety of other issues.
Colette has substantive tax experience on a wide range of complex tax issues across an extremely wide variety of industries. She has advised individuals and business on issues related to transaction planning, disclosure, debt/equity, migration of intellectual property, penalty abatement and cross border royalty/interest payments.
Colette is originally from Chicago, Illinois. She attended DePaul University where she received her undergraduate degree in Business Law. She graduated at the top of her class at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law where she received her J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation and served at the Candidacy Editor for the Journal of Computer and Information Technology.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Member, State Bar of California, 2010
Member, State Bar of Illinois, 2006
EDUCATION
University of California, Los Angeles, Certificate in Accounting, 2014
University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation, 2006
Dean’s Scholarship and Baim Excellence Scholarship
Candidacy Editor, Journal of Computer and Information Law
DePaul University, B.A., summa cum laude, 2003
ARTICLES
How RARs, Federal Waivers, and Competent Authority Agreements Trigger and Complicate State Tax Compliance, BNA: Weekly State Tax Report, Vol. 2011, No. 44 (October 28, 2011).