Spotlight on New York City Tax Partner Irina Kimelfeld

Our Spotlight series highlights the careers and lives of tax professionals around the world. This week’s Spotlight is on Irina Kimelfeld, a tax partner at EisnerAmper and a member of its financial services group in New York City.

Kimelfeld offers tax planning and compliance services to private equity funds, hedge funds, investment advisers, and other financial services companies.

When she’s not working, Kimelfeld tries to spend as much time as possible with her children, ages 16 and 12. “We like to travel as a family, and the kids really like amusement parks—they possibly enjoy watching me being scared on the roller coasters even more than riding them,” she says.

She also volunteers with refugee resettlement organizations, including those helping Ukraine refugees, and is a board member for her synagogue.

What’s your official title and what does it mean? I’m a tax partner in the financial services group at EisnerAmper. I lead teams helping clients meet tax compliance obligations and advise them, primarily in the asset management space, on a wide variety of tax issues, such as tax implications of fund structuring, investment structuring, management company operations, and tax treatment of various types of securities transactions.

Free time: book, audiobook, or podcast? I usually reach for a book and then a podcast.

Tax is a huge subject. What’s your area of special interest? I specialize in the taxation of financial products and private investment funds.

What’s the last movie or show that you watched and loved (DVD, Netflix, or in the theater)? On a few of my longer flights recently, I’ve taken advantage of the time and have been able to watch more movies and shows than usual. I watched “The Menu,” “Triangle of Sadness,” and binged the first season of “Inside Man.” Each of these was entertaining and thought-provoking.

What college did you attend and what did you study? I received my bachelor’s degree in finance and master’s in business taxation from the University of Southern California.

Go-to pick-me-up: Coffee or tea? Either when I’m at home, coffee when I’m out.

What’s the best tax or financial advice that anyone ever gave you? A professor of mine used to say, “There are three parties to every transaction: the buyer, the seller, and the government.” It’s a good reminder to always consider the tax implications of every transaction. Additionally, whenever there is a debate about what the right tax rate should be, the professor would say, “I will let you pick my rate if I get to pick my base.” Although the rate is just math, the hard part is what should be taxed—that’s where policy and the real substance of the transactions come in and debates take place. If anyone reading this recognizes themselves in these sayings, I thank you for your influence.

If you weren’t working in the tax profession, what would your dream job be? I would have liked to work for the State Department, and I even took the Foreign Service Officer Test earlier in my career. Additionally, I have taught graduate level courses on taxation of financial products and transactions as an adjunct professor at Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, so I would have explored the opportunity to work as a full-time faculty member.

If you had the opportunity to make one change in the tax world—an extra credit, a disallowed deduction, whatever—what would it be? There are a few. I would expand Section 199A deduction to more businesses including asset management, repeal state and local tax deduction limits, and repeal research and development capitalization requirements.

Favorite food, snack, or candy during tax season or other busy time? Grapes and cheese.

What tax news or move made the most impact on your practice or clients this past year? Although these may not have occurred in the past year, the passage of the pass-through entity tax regimes by various states, implementation of Section 1061 (carried interest rules), and introduction of Schedules K-2/K-3 have had a significant impact on my clients. While intended to be taxpayer-friendly, applying all the PTET rules has proven to be administratively burdensome for a lot of clients, bringing some unanticipated consequences on the operational level.

If you received a big tax refund check right now, what would you do with it? Recently, I’ve attended a number of conferences focused on women in private equity and venture capital. I was so inspired by all the amazing investment opportunities discussed that I would be excited to invest in many of these businesses.

You can find out more about Kimelfeld on Linkedin.

You can learn more about Kimelfeld’s firm, EisnerAmper, on its website.

If you’d like to recommend a tax pro to be featured, send your suggestion to rbaker@bloombergindustry.com with the subject: Spotlight. Please include the following information: tax professional’s name, title, email address, and geographic area (city/state/country).