Will Thistle practices primarily in the areas of federal and state and local taxation. He regularly counsels public and private businesses on Alabama tax matters, with particular emphasis in the areas of sales, use, and property taxes.
A significant portion of Will's practice is dedicated to the representation of taxpayers in all phases of federal, state, and local tax controversy, including audit assistance, administrative hearings, and litigation. Other areas of his practice include advising clients with regard to business license obligations, abandoned and unclaimed property, tax compliance obligations, voluntary disclosure agreements, and property tax litigation. In economic development matters, Will has advised clients regarding the available state and local tax incentives for their particular project and assisted with obtaining these incentives. Specifically, Will has worked with the Alabama Film Office and the Alabama Department of Commerce to secure incentives for film and other production projects qualifying under Alabama’s Entertainment Industry Incentive Act.
Will’s practice also involves advising clients on methods of restructuring their organizations and choosing the proper entity through which to conduct their business in an efficient and effective manner that minimizes taxes. Will is knowledgeable with choice-of-entity issues and the use of LLCs and LLPs. He is Vice-Chair of the Pass-Through Entities Subcommittee of the ABA Tax Section’s Committee on State and Local Taxes and is the coauthor of a series of charts and articles on the state tax treatment of LLCs and LLPs that have appeared in numerous publications.
Will is a frequent presenter at national and regional seminars regarding state and local tax issues. In addition, he has written several articles regarding state and local tax issues and is a regular contributor to State Tax Notes, the Journal of Multistate Taxation, and the Journal of Business Entities. Notably, Will was a contributing author in the most recent edition of Richard D. Pomp’s textbook, State & Local Taxation and is a coauthor of the Alabama chapter in the ABA’s Property Tax Deskbook.
In 2008, Will graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law. While in law school, he received the John C. O’Byrne Award for Excellence in the study of Taxation and served as a notes editor on the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. Will is a certified public accountant and prior to attending law school worked for a Big Four accounting firm, where he advised clients on a variety of federal, state, and local tax matters. He holds a Master of Tax Accounting from the University of Alabama and graduated summa cum laude from Birmingham-Southern College in 2002, with a bachelor's degree in Accounting.