Tax Services

Learn more

Barbara M. Angus is with Ernst & Young LLP's International Tax Services practice. Based in Washington, DC, she advises clients on international tax policy and international tax planning.

Barbara previously served as the International Tax Counsel for the Office of Tax Policy, Department of the Treasury, from 2001 to 2005. In that position, she served as the federal government's principal legal advisor on all aspects of international tax policy, including development of legislation, promulgation of regulations and administrative guidance, negotiation of tax treaties, and representation of the United States in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Barbara earlier was the Business Tax Counsel for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, with primary responsibility for all international aspects of tax legislation and analysis of tax treaties considered by the Senate.

Barbara also has extensive private sector experience, including forming and operating a consulting firm that developed legislative and regulatory solutions for multinational clients across the spectrum of tax issues. She was a national partner in the Federal Tax Policy Group at another Big Four firm and was a partner with a major law firm in Chicago.

Barbara received an AB (mathematics and economics), magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Dartmouth College. She received a JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School and an MBA (finance and accounting), with high honors, from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Barbara has been a member of the adjunct faculty in the LLM program at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching the course on tax treaties.

Learn more

F. Michael Dell is a member of Ernst & Young LLP Partnership Transactional Planning & Economics Group. He also leads the Ernst & Young LLP Center for Tax Policy. Mike advises the firm’s clients in numerous industries and assists them in identifying tax efficient strategies arising from legislative, regulatory, and tax policy changes.

Mike’s focus is in the taxation of intellectual property, and he has provided tax services to multinational companies. He advises companies with respect to planning for anticipated business changes, computing the potential earnings impact of these changes, and reviewing tax efficient strategies to accomplish a company’s business objectives.

Mike also advises clients on a variety of specific issues, including amortization of intangible assets, accounting methods review, INDOPCO, acquired and self-created intangibles, depreciation, like-kind exchanges, software development costs, and controversies with the Internal Revenue Services.

Mike has a B.S. and an M.S. from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He is a certified public accountant licensed in the states of California and Illinois and the District of Columbia. Mike is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where he serves on the Tax Legislation and Policy Committee, a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, and a member of the Illinois CPA Society.

Learn more

Michael Mundaca is Co-Director of the National Tax Department and the Americas Tax Center at Ernst & Young LLP.

Prior to re-joining Ernst & Young LLP in 2011, Michael served at the U.S. Treasury Department as the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, at the appointment of President Obama, heading the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy and advising Treasury Secretary Geithner on all matters relating to taxation. Upon leaving Treasury, he received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the Treasury Department’s highest honor.

Prior to his appointment as Assistant Treasury Secretary, Michael served from 2007-2009, during both the Bush and Obama Administrations, as the Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary for International Tax Affairs. He represented the United States at various international forums, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well in the negotiation of various tax treaties and other international agreements.

Michael also served at the Treasury Department from 1997-2002, during both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, in Tax Policy’s Office of the International Tax Counsel, leaving as Deputy International Tax Counsel.

From 2002-2007, Michael was a principal in the International Tax Services group of Ernst & Young LLP’s National Tax Department in Washington, DC. Prior to joining Treasury in 1997, he worked at Sullivan & Cromwell, a New York law firm.

Michael holds a B.A. from Columbia University, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an LL.M. from the University of Miami.

Learn more

Eric Solomon is a principal in Ernst & Young LLP’s National Tax Department. Based in Washington, D.C., Eric advises clients on a wide range of transactional and tax policy issues. He has more than 30 years of tax experience in private practice and government service.

Eric served as Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the US Treasury Department from December 2006 to January 2009. As Assistant Secretary, he headed the Office of Tax Policy, which serves as the primary advisor to the Treasury Secretary on legal and economic matters relating to domestic and international taxation and compensation and benefits. The Office of Tax Policy plays a leading role in the formulation and implementation of US tax policy.

Eric joined the Office of Tax Policy in 1999. He served as Senior Advisor for Policy, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy) and Deputy Assistant Secretary (Regulatory Affairs) prior to his 2006 confirmation as Assistant Secretary.

In recognition of his accomplishments as a Treasury executive, Eric received the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award. He also received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest award for service to the Treasury Department. The Tax Council Policy Institute presented Eric its first Pillar of Excellence Award for his contributions in the field of tax law and policy, and the Tax Executives Institute presented him its Distinguished Service Award. The Taxation Section of the Federal Bar Association presented Eric the Kenneth H. Liles Award for Distinguished Service. He also received an outstanding achievement award from the Tax Section of the State Bar of Texas.

From 1996 to 1999, Eric was a principal in Ernst & Young LLP’s National Tax Mergers and Acquisitions group in Washington, D.C. Previously, he was Assistant Chief Counsel (Corporate) at the Internal Revenue Service, heading the IRS legal division responsible for all corporate tax issues. He began his career with law firms in New York City and was a partner at a Philadelphia law firm.

Eric received his A.B. from Princeton University (Phi Beta Kappa), his J.D. from the University of Virginia and his LL.M. in taxation from New York University. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association. Eric is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches a course in corporate taxation. He is also a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel.

Learn more

Karen Gilbreath Sowell is a member of Ernst & Young LLP’s National Tax Department. Based in Washington, DC., Karen serves as a co-leader of the Mergers and Acquisitions group and as the National Tax Director of Global Accounts.

Karen was the U.S. Treasury’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy from July 2007 to January 2009. She worked closely with the leadership of the Treasury Department during the financial crisis. She participated in the legislative process for the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) of 2008, and played a leadership role in the expedited issuance of important guidance projects directed at economic stabilization. She was co-leader of the Treasury Department’s promulgation of standards for the executive compensation requirements of EESA. She received the Treasury Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her contributions.

Among her other duties as Treasury’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Karen worked closely with the Internal Revenue Service to issue published guidance, particularly in the area of domestic and cross-border transactions. In addition to the important guidance that focused on economic stabilization during her tenure, the Office of Tax Policy and IRS issued a substantial amount of significant regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices and other guidance.

Karen first served at the Treasury Department from 1997 to 2001, where she was Associate Tax Legislative Counsel. She was primarily responsible for matters relating to corporate taxation. From 2001 to 2007, Karen was a principal at Ernst & Young LLP and was co-leader of the National Tax Mergers and Acquisitions group.

Karen is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association and co-chair of the Corporations Committee. She is a former chair of the Corporations Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association.