Bingham

Bingham

John B. Magee

Partner

John Magee is practice chair of Bingham’s Tax Group. He focuses on tax controversy, with a general emphasis on complex domestic and international issues and a particular emphasis on transfer pricing issues. His practice transfer pricing experience includes extensive identification, valuation and movement of intangible properties in a wide range of industries. John has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of income tax planning, Internal Revenue Service administrative proceedings and tax litigation. He has tried cases in the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. District Courts, and has also argued in the U.S. Court of Appeals.

John teaches “Introduction to Transfer Pricing” as an adjunct professor in the Graduate Tax Program of Georgetown University Law Center and speaks extensively in a variety of tax forums. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the American College of Tax Counsel.

Recognized by Chambers USA as “one of the best litigators around,” he is also described as a “superb trial lawyer who knows how to talk to courts and fight the government” and “a veteran with superb insight.” John has been named a leading tax lawyer by various publications for more than a decade. Most notably, he has been ranked in Band 1 for National Tax Controversy by Chambers USA each year since the category was established.

A graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, he served on the Law Review and received the Order of the Coif distinction.

Experience

Representative cases in which John was either lead counsel or a principal participant include the following:

  • Amazon v Commissioner, Tax Court Docket 31197-12; Transfer pricing: valuation of Cost Share Buy-in and related CSA issues; Answer filed March 2013
  • B.F. Goodrich Co. v. United States, Docket No. 5:98CV0846 (N.D. Ohio) — Economic substance for Corporate Owned Life Insurance (“COLI”), settled
  • Boeing Co. v. United States, 98-2 USTC ¶50,722 (W.D. Wash. 1998), rev’d, 123 S. Ct. 1099 (2003), aff'g 258 F.3d 958 (9th Cir. 2001) — DISC/R&D, expense allocation
  • Exxon Corp. v. Commissioner, 66 T.C.M. (CCH) 1707 (1993), aff’d, 98 F.3d 825 (5th Cir.1996) — §482, Aramco Oil transfer pricing
  • Exxon Corp. v. United States, 931 F.2d 874 (Fed. Cir. 1991) — Bad debts/expropriation loss
  • United States v. G-1 Holdings Inc. 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115850 (D. N.J. 2009) — TEFRA, partnership economic substance
  • General Electric Co. v. Commissioner, Tax Ct. No. 14715-92 — R&D credit, settled
  • GlaxoSmithKline Holdings (Americas) Inc. v. Commissioner, 117 T.C. 1 (2001) — §482 preservation of testimony
  • GlaxoSmithKline Holdings (Americas) Inc. v. Commissioner, U.S. Tax Court Docket Nos. 005750-04 and 6959-05 — §482 U.S. drug sales; largest tax case in U.S. history; settled
  • Host Marriott Corp. v. United States, 267 F.3d 363 (4th Cir. 2001) — §172(f)
  • The Dow Chemical Company v. United States, 250 F. Supp. 2d 748, modified by 278 F. Supp. 2d 844 (E.D. Mich 2003), rev’d, 435 F.3d 594 (6th Cir. 2006) — Economic substance of corporate-owned life insurance
  • The Dow Chemical Company v. United States, Docket 05-944-C-M3 (M.D. La. 2005) — TEFRA, partnership economic substance, trial evidence closed June 2011
  • Weyerhaeuser Co. v. United States, 92 F.3d 1148 (Fed. Cir. 1996) — §165 - Mt. St. Helens volcano timber loss

Awards & Honors

  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business — Tax (2002–present)
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business — Tax Controversy (2006–present)
  • Chambers Global: World’s Leading Lawyers for Business — Tax (2001–2006)
  • International Tax Review’s World Tax (2005–present)
  • Legal 500: Tax Controversy
  • The Best Lawyers in America
  • Euromoney’s Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers, Tax Advisers
  • Euromoney’s Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers, Transfer Pricing Advisers
  • Euromoney’s Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers, The Best of the Best (2011)
  • Practical Law Company’s Cross-Border Tax on Transactions Handbook
  • International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers

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