Stephen M. Brecher
CIRA, CPA, J.D., LLM, MBA |
Partner
Stephen.Brecher@WeiserMazars.com |
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Bio
Steve is WeiserMazars Country Business Unit (CBU-Tax) leader and he is a member of the Global Business Unit (GBU-Tax) at Mazars group level. He focuses on cross-border business development as well as heads the Tax Go-to-Market initiatives. Steve has more than 40 years of experience in providing professional tax and consulting services to international banks and global businesses. He has extensive international tax experience with a great deal of concentration in financial services and capital markets. Previously, as head of KPMG’s International Bank Practice, Steve had oversight of a very broad range of consulting engagements, including risk management, enterprise structure, controls and large federal and state tax examination. He chaired that firm’s Global Banking and Finance Tax Group and served as a member of its Global Banking & Finance Steering Committee.
Steve has testified numerous times at hearings of the Internal Revenue Service on proposed tax regulations and provided comments to the OECD on issues of cross-border taxation. He has substantial experience with international tax treaties as well as negotiation of advance pricing agreements with the Internal Revenue Service and has spearheaded direct negotiation with foreign governments.
A frequent lecturer on tax topics, both in the U.S. and abroad, he has also led numerous seminars in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Steve has also written on a broad spectrum of tax subjects and has served as a contributing editor on financial services and capital market issues for several publications.
One of Steve’s signal accomplishments includes being selected as the representative of the accounting profession to serve on a Blue Ribbon Commission chaired by the New York Superintendent of Banks to review the regulation of foreign-owned financial institutions in New York State, following the collapse of BCCI.
Steve served as one of the four independent directors of Refco, Inc. while it was in a chapter 11 proceeding.