Biography
Heather Ripley is a partner in Alston & Bird’s Federal & International Tax Group and a member of the firm’s REITs and Real Estate Funds tax team. She counsels U.S. and foreign business entities and high-net-worth individuals on tax-efficient structuring for their U.S. and cross-border investments and activities, understanding their U.S. tax and compliance obligations and risks, and rectifying noncompliance issues. She has advised clients on income tax treaty application, FATCA, FIRPTA, and other tax issues for inbound investments into the United States, the anti-deferral regimes for outbound investments (CFC, PFIC), and tax aspects of M&A transactions. Heather also advises clients on various tax information reporting regimes.
Heather also has experience in federal tax controversy work and has navigated numerous clients through the IRS’s voluntary disclosure procedures, letter rulings, and competent authority requests. She has also counseled various charitable and nonprofit organizations on incorporation, tax exemption applications and restrictions, and other tax issues, as well as providing volunteer income tax assistance for low-income individuals.
Heather was identified as “One to Watch” by The Best Lawyers in America© in Tax Law and has been recognized as a New York Law Journal Rising Star. She’s a frequent speaker at tax conferences and writes regularly about international tax developments. She is vice chair of the Committee on U.S. Activities of Foreigners and Tax Treaties in the Tax Section of the American Bar Association and a board member of Volunteers of Legal Services (VOLS). She also serves on alumni board for the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.