Gary Bornholdt, tax counsel for Nixon Peabody LLP and former legislative counsel to the Joint Tax Committee, died Saturday as he was shoveling snow. He was 42 years old.
Mr. Bornholdt specialized in tax-exempt finance, tax-credit bonds, as well as bond-related legislation, regulation and tax controversies for the firm, which he joined in July 2008. He had been retained along with Mitchell Rapaport, a partner at the firm, by the Regional Bond Dealers Association to help it develop legislative and regulatory strategies and proposals for municipal bonds.
Prior to joining Nixon Peabody, Mr. Bornholdt spent four years as legislative counsel with the JTC, where he worked closely with the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees in developing and analyzing tax legislative matters, including those involving tax-exempt bonds, tax-credit bonds, tax compliance, and tax incentives for energy and transportation. He played a major role in the development and drafting of the tax provisions in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
Before working for the JTC, he was a senior attorney with the tax-exempt bond branch of the Internal Revenue Service. There he drafted bond-related regulatory and other published guidance, private-letter rulings, and technical advice documents on arbitrage, private use, advance refundings, exempt facilities, and 501(c)(3) financings and other issues. He also was responsible for coordinating the settlements of tax-exempt bond audits, and presenting tax-exempt bond cases before the U.S. Tax Court.
Mr. Bornholdt joined the IRS as a trial attorney and covered a variety of tax controversy matters, including individual, corporate, and exempt organization matters.
"Gary had a unique and rare combination of skills, with knowledge of technical tax issues, the workings of Capitol Hill, and the tax litigation process," said Bruce Serchuk, a partner at Nixon Peabody who also worked with Mr. Bornholdt at the IRS. "On a personal level, he was someone who was easy to like. He will be missed."
He received his master of laws degree in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center and his law degree from Hofstra University School of Law.
Mr. Bornholdt is survived by his wife, Michele; and three children, Gary Jr., 13; Meaghan, eight; and Katherine, three.
A visitation is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 27, from 2:00 to 4:30 and 7:00 to 9:30 at Chapey's Funeral Home, 200 East Main Street, East Islip, N.Y. A funeral mass will be held the following Monday morning at St. Mary's Church at 20 Harrison Avenue in East Islip.
