Our Attorneys

Position: Attorney
E-Mail swilley@simmonsperrine.com
115 3rd Street SE, Suite 1200
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401-1266

Phone 319-366-7641
Fax 319-366-1917
vCard

Susan H. Willey graduated from UCLA in 1975 cum laude with an A. B. degree in political science and a minor in economics. Ms. Willey spent two quarters at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design working toward a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning. She was admitted to the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1975 and earned her J. D. degree in 1978. Ms. Willey earned her Masters in Taxation (L.L.M.) from Georgetown University Law Center in 1985.

Upon graduation, Ms. Willey was hired as a legislative assistant by then-Congressman Charles Grassley. Her focus during his last two years as a member of the House of Representatives was environmental law; legal issues affecting senior citizens and a wide range of matters before the House Judiciary committee including administrative law reform, school busing, abortion rights and gun control.

Upon Mr. Grassley’s election to the US Senate, Ms. Willey had the opportunity to choose to support his efforts on one of the four committees to which he was assigned. Weary of the emotionally-charged issues before the Judiciary committee, Ms. Willey chose to staff Mr. Grassley on his tax issues before the Senate Finance committee. In her capacity as Tax Counsel, she supported Mr. Grassley’s legislative priorities as Subcommittee Chairman of the Oversight of the IRS committee. In this capacity, she organized the hearings and recommended witnesses to testify before the subcommittee. She provided tax technical support to Mr. Grassley and accommodated the requests for witnesses and scheduling for minority and majority members of the subcommittee. Significant tax legislation during her tenure included the tax compliance provisions of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982.

Ms. Willey also provided technical assistance to Mr. Grassley on his assignment to the Subcommittee on Estate and Gift Taxation and on all tax matters before the Senate Finance committee. Her duties included preparing opening statements, drafting amendments and questions for witnesses before the committee, editing Mr. Grassley’s remarks and monitoring Senate floor action to brief the Senator on important developments. Ms. Willey met with constituents, trade associations and Senate colleagues to develop tax legislation. Ms. Willey was involved in Conference Committee deliberations and Republican leadership meetings during her tenure on Capitol Hill. She actively assisted Senator Grassley on the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, the Subchapter S Revision Act of 1982, the Highway Revenue Act of 1982, the Payment-in-Kind Tax Act of 1983, the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, the tax provisions of the omnibus budget reconciliation bills and Technical Corrections to earlier legislation.

In 1985, Ms. Willey joined McGladrey & Pullen’s National Tax team. Her initial responsibilities included monitoring and communicating new federal tax legislative developments and analyzing federal tax regulatory guidance for clients and McGladrey & Pullen tax professionals. As a Managing Director, she led teams of tax specialists to develop new tax ideas for clients. During her tenure with McGladrey, Ms. Willey testified before the IRS, participated in Finance Committee hearings, worked with trade associations and met with legislative staff to advise them of issues of concern to the accounting profession and clients.

At McGladrey & Pullen, Ms. Willey served as a national leader on estate and gift tax issues. In that role, she drafted the initial Estate Planning Practice Guide, advised on tax practice and ethical responsibilities in the estate planning engagements and advised on content and speakers for internal estate planning conferences. Ms. Willey has presented seminars on buy-sell agreements and tax planning for high net worth individuals.

Ms. Willey organized the tax due diligence project and interoffice reviews for the merger of RSM McGladrey with American Express Tax and Business Services. She led tax practice integration efforts to address and resolve business management and software integration issues: capitalizing on her tax practice management consulting skills she honed working with RSM McGladrey’s Southern California, Mid-Atlantic, Philadelphia and Seattle tax practices.

Ms. Willey joined Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman PLC in 2008. She is a member of the firm’s estate planning, corporate, tax, real estate and banking teams. She has assisted clients in structuring their estate plans, including generational transfers. Ms. Willey works with clients on corporate structuring, mergers and the creation of special entities to achieve business and family objectives. She has also helped clients with succession planning. She has drafted trusts, wills and other dispositive documents to help clients meet their goals.

With her understanding of the IRS, she has assisted clients in resolving tax controversies and facilitated conferences with the IRS National Office on Tax Interpretations.

Ms. Willey has retained many Washington DC legislative connections and assists clients with federal legislative issues.

She has presented on tax topics before the Iowa State Bar Association, Cedar Rapids Estate Planning Council and various civic groups.

Articles:

• Erroneous Worker Classification Creates Tax Liability, March 6th, 2010. The article discussed the recently revised guidelines that the Internal Revenue Service utilizes to determine whether workers are independent contractors or employees. The article also discussed the consequences of a misclassification and recent enforcement efforts on both the federal and state levels. Read More >>
• Summary of Significant Tax Provisions in the American Recovery and Economic Stimulus Bill of 2009, March 1, 2009. This article discusses the tax provisions of the stimulus package and the changes affecting business and individual taxpayers, employee benefit changes, energy efficiency incentives, bond financing provisions, and other changes. Read More >>

Admitted to Practice (States)

• State of California, 1978
• State of Iowa, 1985

Memberships, Offices and Committee Assignments in Bar Associations

• American Bar Association Tax Section
• California State Bar Association
• Iowa State Bar Association Tax Section
• Linn County Bar Association
• Legislative Chair of Tax Section of ISBA

Place of Birth

Glendale, California

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Edge Business Magazine publishes article by Susan Willey on worker classifications and tax liability

The March 2010 issue of Edge Business Magazine published an article by Susan Willey titled “Erroneous Worker Classification Creates Tax Liability.” The article discussed the recently revised guidelines that the Internal Revenue Service utilizes to determine whether workers are independent contractors or employees. The article also discussed the consequences of a misclassification and recent enforcement efforts on both the federal and state levels.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Kyle Wilcox and Susan Willey to Speak at Nuts & Bolts CLE

Kyle Wilcox and Susan Willey are scheduled to speak at the "Nuts & Bolts CLE" on Monday, October 19, 2009. Their topic will be: "Estate Planning Basics."

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Susan Willey Presents Program on Tax Changes in Stimulus Package

Susan H. Willey is presenting a program for the Greater Iowa City Homebuilders Association entitled “Tax Changes in the Stimulus Package – will they grow your Business?” Her presentation is scheduled from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. on April 9, 2009. Her talk will focus on the recent tax changes in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that benefit the construction industry. Later in the month, she will address the Cedar Rapids Homebuilders’ Association on the same topic. This discussion will take place on April 20th at the Embassy Club, El Kahir Shrine Temple in Cedar Rapids from 12:00 to 1:00. She was recently interviewed by the Cedar Rapids Gazette on the changes to the First-Time Homebuyers’ Credit at the request of the Greater Iowa City Homebuilders to help inform prospective buyers about the benefits of the credit.

Monday, March 02, 2009

Summary of Significant Tax Provisions in the American Recovery and Economic Stimulus Bill of 2009

Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman attorneys are organized by practice area to deliver comprehensive legal services to clients. Our practice areas review new legislation for opportunities for clients, including the new American Recovery and Economic Stimulus Act of 2009.

Our Labor and Employment Law Practice group is working to rapidly implement the COBRA premium subsidy with clients and employees. Our Renewable Energy Practice group is strategically collaborating with wind and solar producers to develop projects that capture the new legislative incentives. Our Municipal Law practice group has assessed the new bond and public finance opportunities created under the Act.

Many business taxpayers can optimize cash flow by reviewing the new law to increase depreciation deductions or carry back net operating losses. The economic stimulus bill also includes some beneficial corporate changes affecting S corporations and financial institutions. Our Taxation Law practice group, Corporate Transaction and Business Counseling practice group, and our Finance and Financial Institutions practice group are working with clients to capitalize on the incentives created in this new law.

For more information on the Act, please see this article by Susan Willey.