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Jenny A. Austin

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Jenny Austin is a partner in Mayer Brown's Chicago office and a member of the Tax Controversy practice. She concentrates her practice on federal tax controversy and litigation, working across all industries, including medical device, pharmaceutical, health care, retail, and technology companies. She guides clients through all stages of tax controversies, from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits to administrative appeals, alternative dispute resolution proceedings, and litigation. Jenny is prepared to respond to a variety of both domestic and international issues that the IRS audits and challenges. Jenny favors strategies to resolve issues successfully with the IRS at the earliest possible stage without litigation.

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In a recent Legal Update[1], we discussed the emerging intersection between Tax and ESG and highlighted the various external stakeholders pressuring for greater visibility into the global tax positions of multinational companies (MNEs).  One increasingly vocal stakeholder group is activist shareholders.  Recently, a group of institutional investors of a Fortune 50 company initiated a shareholder proposal calling for the company to publicly disclose where and how much tax it pays around the world.  This is only the latest in what is becoming a regular request by activist shareholders.
Continue Reading Tax Meets ESG: Shareholder Activism Expanding to Tax Transparency

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In a recent Legal Update[1], we discussed the intersection between Tax and ESG and the challenges companies will face responding to external pressures for greater transparency into a company’s global tax position.  We predicted that once the SEC reporting season began this month, the press would focus on the effective tax rates of high-profile companies.  That is exactly what happened recently when a leading national news outlet reported on the tax position of a well-known multinational.  The article paints an unflattering picture of the multinational’s global tax position and makes generalized observations on structures it might have used to achieve its tax results.  In this blog post, we discuss how companies can prepare for similar reporting.
Continue Reading Tax Meets ESG: Preparing for Bad Press