Connecticut Legislative Update: Everything You Need to Know

Bonnie Stewart is the executive director of the Connecticut Society of CPAs (CTCPA). She came to CTCPA from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), where she served as vice president of government and public affairs and general counsel. As CTCPA executive director, Bonnie serves as the society’s Chief Executive Officer, reporting to the Board of Directors, and is responsible for the overall management and progress of the organization. As CEO, she leads a dynamic team of talented professionals dedicated to the success of Connecticut’s certified public accounting profession, its individual members, and their organizations, employers, and clients. Since joining the staff, Bonnie has worked with the board and membership to deliver a number of new initiatives enhancing the advocacy, community, and professional development the CTCPA provides. These initiatives fall under the aegis of “CTCPA Vision 2025”, a comprehensive strategic plan addressing membership expansion; broadening of professional development programming; improved branding and communication; technological advances; and improved advocacy. Initiatives now in place include “CTCPA Connect”, the society’s online community; livestreaming of professional development programming; a robust schedule of regional and special interest group meetings across various member occupational and geographic demographic dimensions; a vibrant diversity and inclusion program; and expanded communications reflecting a focus on members’ broad and particular needs and interests, from a newsletter for firm leadership to a regular advocacy update. A registered lobbyist, Bonnie represents the CTCPA before our elected state officials and regulatory bodies. She also represents the profession nationally before such organizations as the American Institute of CPAs, where she serves as a member of the AICPA Peer Review Board, and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy Bonnie serves on numerous legislative task forces studying healthcare, paid family and medical leave, and medical privacy and noncompete agreements. She has been a member and continues to serve on numerous boards and councils including the NAM/AFL-CIO Labor Management Discussion Group on Workers’ Compensation, the Employment Security Advisory Board, the Connecticut Child Day Care Council, and the executive committee for the Connecticut Bar Association’s labor and employment law section. Bonnie chairs the state’s Second Injury Fund Advisory Board, and previously chaired the board of directors of UWC, an advocacy group addressing unemployment and workers’ compensation matters. Before joining CBIA in 1988, Stewart worked for the office of the Connecticut Attorney General. She received her Juris Doctor from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire, and her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut.

David Bigger Esq., Associate, Shipman & Goodwin LLP

David Bigger is chair of the firm’s Tax and Employee Benefits Practice Group, providing comprehensive counsel on international, federal, state and local tax matters to individuals and businesses active in a broad range of industries. His clients include individual entrepreneurs, business owners and executives, as well as companies at every stage of the business lifecycle, from startup to established enterprise.

David focuses his practice primarily on privately held and family-owned mid-size companies, recognizing that — in today’s interconnected economy — businesses of all sizes are likely to face tax-related issues from numerous jurisdictions and tax authorities. After beginning his legal career at Shipman, he served as in-house federal tax counsel at MassMutual, where he assisted with a wide range of investment and employment tax matters. Returning to Shipman and the private practice of law, this in-house experience further deepened his insights into the priorities, challenges and issues facing his clients.

David counsels clients on the full spectrum of income, sales and use, property, capital gains and other taxes. He has particular experience in tax-related issues that arise in the context of major corporate events — including business formations, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions — and with respect to specific entity structures, including limited liability companies, partnerships and S-corporations, insurance tax and other general business tax matters. He advises clients on issues arising out of bankruptcies, restructurings and reorganizations, as well as with respect to investment strategies and federal and state tax-credit, incentive and economic-development programs, including the Qualified Opportunity Zones program.

When disputes arise, David represents and defends taxpayers before relevant tax authorities. He has advised clients on and negotiated resolutions to enforcement and collection matters, appeals of tax rulings, and other federal and state tax controversies.

David has spoken at and served as a panelist for numerous legal and industry events, including webinars, seminars and roundtables, where he has discussed a range of tax issues, including updates to Connecticut state tax law and the ever-changing Internal Revenue Code. He also regularly provides continuing legal education (CLE) instruction through firm- and third-party-sponsored courses.

Louis Schatz, Partner, Shipman & Goodwin LLP

Louis Schatz served as chair of Shipman’s Tax and Employee Benefits Practice Group for more than 20 years and, from 2007 to 2017, served on the firm’s Management Committee. A past chair of the Tax Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, Lou draws on his decades of experience in federal and Connecticut tax matters to help clients understand the real-world impact of complex tax laws and regulations, make effective tax-planning decisions, and resolve disputes with tax authorities.

In addition to being a tax-specific counsel, Lou serves as a trusted, primary relationship partner for many of his clients. He has developed strong relationships within the accounting community and has a deep understanding of the connection between business performance and tax strategy. Lou uses these insights to help clients identify and assess potential opportunities and challenges and engage appropriate counsel and other advisors to address a broad range of legal, financial and business issues.

Lou advises clients from across the spectrum — including high-net-worth individuals, family-owned and privately held businesses, and national and multinational, companies. He has particular experience representing closely-held businesses organized as limited liability companies, partnerships and S corporations; real estate joint ventures; and taxpayers involved in federal and Connecticut tax controversies. In recognition of his experience and legal acumen, he has been appointed to several State of Connecticut tax panels, advisory boards and special committees tasked with reviewing and providing recommendations on a range of state tax laws.

Lou was a primary organizer of the firm’s Opportunity Zones team, a multidisciplinary group that advises clients on the federal program that provides incentives to invest in economically distressed urban and rural communities. In this regard, Lou counsels clients — including institutional investors, developers, banks, private equity and venture capital firms, fund sponsors, private investors, family offices and nonprofits — from across the country on opportunity zone matters both within and without the State of Connecticut.

Committed to educating business leaders as well as the next generation of legal and tax professionals, Lou is a frequent lecturer on Federal and Connecticut tax, partnership and limited liability company issues. For many years, he has provided annual updates on Connecticut tax developments to accountants practicing in New York and New Jersey. His recent lectures include presentations to the Connecticut Bar Association, the Connecticut Society of CPAs, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, the New York State Society of CPAs, the Long Island Tax Practitioner Symposium, the National Business Institute, the University of Connecticut Income Tax School, the New England Tax Institute and the Foundation for Accounting Education in New York City. He is frequently asked to author articles about state and local tax developments, such as the Tax Notes article entitled “Big Changes Coming to Connecticut’s Passthrough Entity Tax” which was published in 2023.

Lou is widely published; among numerous articles, book chapters and commentaries, he authored the latest edition of Connecticut Limited Liability Act: Forms and Practice Manual, the leading treatise in Connecticut on limited liability companies.