This article has been saved to your Favorites!

ABA Cancels Munich Tax Conference Due To COVID-19 Fears

By Alex M. Parker · 2020-03-10 19:48:34 -0400

The American Bar Association announced Tuesday that it is canceling an upcoming tax conference in Munich, while U.S. organizers are reconsidering upcoming events due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The ABA's Tax Section said it decided to cancel the 20th Annual U.S. and Europe Tax Practice Trends Conference, scheduled for April 1 through April 3, after several speakers and attendees pulled out due to local travel restrictions. All across Europe, governments have put into place measures to try to halt the spread of the coronavirus, which surpassed 100,000 worldwide on Saturday, according to the World Health Organization.

But the ABA has also said its annual Section on Taxation meeting in Washington, D.C., scheduled for April 30 through May 2, is still set to continue.

"The ABA Section of Taxation takes the health and safety of our meeting attendees and staff seriously," the ABA said in a statement posted to its website on Friday. "As more is learned regarding the current conditions in a meeting location, the ABA Section of Taxation will share information, make decisions and update this statement regarding whether a meeting will occur. At this time, Section of Taxation will hold the 2020 May tax meeting as scheduled."

Professor David Bowen of the University of San Diego School of Law said the school's annual Transfer Pricing Symposium, set for April 2 and April 3, will be postponed until a later date.

Barbara Phalen, director of the Pacific Tax Policy Institute, said the organization's annual Pacific Rim Tax Conference in Redwood City, California, is still set to occur on May 7 and May 8.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.