Practice Expertise

  • Economic Development
  • Governmental Affairs
  • Energy
  •  

Areas of Practice

  • Economic Development
  • Energy
  • Governmental Affairs
  • Retail
  • State and Local Tax
  • Tax
  • Tax Controversy and Litigation
  • View More

Profile

Bruce Ely’s more than 40 years of experience have allowed him to handle projects as diverse as serving on the recruiting teams that successfully induced both Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai to locate their first U.S. manufacturing plants in Alabama to representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service, the Alabama Department of Revenue and local taxing authorities. His practice focuses on three concentric areas: representing taxpayers in federal, state and local administrative and judicial forums; advising companies on choosing the proper form of entity through which to conduct business in the Southeast and potential tax incentives; and advising companies and various trade and professional organizations regarding state and local tax legislative matters. He also devotes a substantial amount of time to teaching and writing on tax-related topics.

Bruce was founding chair of the firm’s State and Local Tax (SALT) Practice team, which represents taxpayers before the Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi Departments of Revenue, as well as local government taxing authorities and the state and federal courts. He has served as counsel to multistate taxpayers in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, but more often before the Alabama appellate courts, circuit courts, and the Alabama Tax Tribunal. He also recently co-chaired the New York University Institute on State & Local Taxation and was selected by State Tax Notes/Tax Analysts as one of its “Top Ten Tax Lawyers in the U.S.”

Bruce has coauthored a number of landmark pieces of tax and business entity legislation in Alabama and numerous statute-specific tax bills. He was privileged to serve as counsel to several state tax reform, economic development, and constitutional reform commissions over the years and has written extensively on those topics, as well as on other multistate tax issues and incentives matters. He also speaks regularly on the tax aspects of pass-through entities at the national and state levels, and coauthors a series of charts on the state taxation of LLCs and LLPs that have appeared in numerous tax and business entity journals and treatises.

Bruce also serves as a Senior Fellow to Bloomberg Tax & Accounting and lead editor of Bloomberg BNA’s Pass-Through Entity Navigator, a comprehensive online resource providing detailed analysis and practical guidance on a state-by-state basis for each type of pass-through entity and pass-through entity owner. The resource tool allows tax professionals to quickly access more than 1,700 topics, such as formation, federal tax classifications, taxes imposed, withholding, or composite returns.

As a longstanding Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and newly appointed Regent, Bruce is the only Alabama member included in the International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers.

Bar Admissions

  • Alabama, 1980

Court Admissions
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
  • Supreme Court of Alabama
  • United States Tax Court
  • United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama

Education

  • New York University School of Law, LL.M. (Taxation), 1981
  • University of Alabama School of Law, J.D., 1980, with honors; Moot Court Board; Bench and Bar
  • University of Alabama, B.S., Accounting, 1977, cum laude; Beta Gamma Sigma, Honorary Academic Fraternity, 1976; Beta Alpha Psi Honorary Academic Fraternity, 1976

Areas of Practice

  • Economic Development
  • Energy
  • Governmental Affairs
  • Retail
  • State and Local Tax
  • Tax
  • Tax Controversy and Litigation

Blogs

Declassified

The Declassified blog offers commentary and insights on the latest class action suits, significant class action opinions, relevant changes to laws and rules, and important class action trends. Declassified covers topics ranging from significant Supreme Court and appellate court decisions regarding class certification requirements to proposed or enacted legislation, rules and regulations that impact class action litigation to key industry developments that may indirectly impact class action...

It Pays to Be Covered

Bradley's It Pays to Be Covered Blog discusses insurance law developments and industry trends in property and casualty insurance, including the growing cyber insurance market, coverage for drones, and blockchain exposures. We also address practical risk management strategies of interest to risk managers, legal staff, and corporate officers and directors responsible for property and casualty insurance policy portfolios, claims management, and resolution. Our attorneys provide insights based on...

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