Pacific Tax Institute 2023

John Colvin

John draws from his almost three decades of practice and experience in tax law to develop legal theories and strategies in defense of his clients. John keeps a close eye on developments in the tax law, which enables him to provide his clients an unparalleled awareness of current developments and their implications.

John is a very active and respected member of the American Bar Association Tax Section, having served as Chair of the Committee covering tax controversy matters, and currently overseeing Tax Section comments on government regulatory efforts in the procedural areas as part of the Committee on Government Submissions. He is often sought out to speak at a national level on various tax law issues, and has been intimately involved in drafting comments to proposed regulations on a variety of topics on behalf of the ABA Tax Section. He also teaches Tax Crimes: Investigations, Prosecutions, and Penalties at the University of Washington School of Law.

John is a wine and food connoisseur and is always on the lookout for Seattle’s next great restaurant. He enjoys swimming and, in addition to tax news, is an avid reader of non-tax materials.

John Hetherington

Having nearly 10 with Deloitte and Ernst & Young as a strategy consultant and 25 years in the technology industry, John brings expertise in delivering large scale, strategic transformation with the nimbleness and speed of an independent specialist.

John leverages insights and cutting edge ideas from peers, thought-leaders and networks dedicated to innovation and growth and translates this into practical, hands-on advice and training using his vast experience working as a high-level consultant and industrial experience working at all organizational levels to deliver results.

John has worked with a wide range of international companies including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Bank of Scotland, Royal and Sun Alliance (RSA), Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Talisman Energy, INLIV Health, Enbridge Pipelines.

Clients working with John appreciate his no-nonsense British approach to simplifying complexity into clear actions that drive meaningful outcomes.

John is based in Calgary, Canada but regularly travels to the UK and around the world to meet his clients needs

LYDIA AHN, CPA Partner at VSH CPAs

After graduating from Western Washington University in 2005, Lydia joined a certified public accounting firm in Bellevue, WA focusing on tax preparation for high net worth individuals and their privately held businesses. Lydia then joined VSH CPAs where she helped lead the international tax department and was promoted to a partner position. After working over ten years with certified public accounting firms, specializing in tax and consulting, Lydia founded n Tax & Business Advisors, PLLC in 2015. In 2021, she is back at VSH CPAs in her role as Partner. Her areas of specialty include partnerships, real estate, professional services, cross-border business, foreign asset holdings and taxation of U.S. persons living abroad. Lydia helps businesses manage their world-wide tax liability and explore implications of cross-border investments and operations. Lydia is a regular presenter on cross-border and real estate topics in Washington, British Columbia and Alberta.

Mark Hawkins

Mark Hawkins is a senior manager in Moss Adams State and Local Tax Practice. He has consulted in state and local tax matters since 2001. Mark provides tax advisory services to clients in a wide array of industries including retailing, manufacturing, automotive, transportation, and financial services. Mark assists clients in analyzing the state tax implications of business reorganizations and other transactions. Mark also assists clients in their state and local tax compliance functions as well as during audits and examinations and represents them in administrative proceedings with state departments of revenue and taxation. Mark holds a BA from the University of Washington and a JD from Ohio State University.

Samuel Donaldson

Samuel A. Donaldson, J.D., LL.M., is a Professor of Law at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Prior to joining the Georgia State faculty in 2012, he was on the faculty at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle for 13 years. During his tenure at the University of Washington, he was a five-time recipient of the Philip A. Trautman Professor of the Year award from the School of Law’s Student Bar Association. Professor Donaldson served for two years as Associate Dean for Academic Administration and for six years as the Director of the law school’s Graduate Program in Taxation. He teaches a number of tax and estate planning courses, as well as courses in the areas of property, commercial law and professional responsibility. Professor Donaldson is an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a member of the Bar in Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. Among his scholarly works, he is a co-author of the popular West casebook, Federal Income Tax: A Contemporary Approach, and a co-author of the Price on Contemporary Estate Planning treatise published by Wolters Kluwer. Professor Donaldson has served as the Harry R. Horrow Visiting Professor of International Law at Northwestern University and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Professor Donaldson earned his J.D. at University of Arizona and LL.M. (Taxation) from the University of Florida. An amateur crossword constructor, his puzzles have been published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets. Professor Donaldson was recently notified by email of his selection to receive substantial sums of money from high-level Nigerian business officials in exchange for his bank account information.

Edward Zollars

Ed Zollars, CPA, is a tax partner in the Phoenix CPA firm of Thomas, Zollars, & Lynch, Ltd., having been in practice since 1982 dealing with taxation of individuals and closely held businesses. He also is the principal author of materials on the Current Federal Tax Developments website and provides a weekly audio and video update on federal tax developments online. He presents and authors continuing education courses for Kaplan Financial Education.

Edward Zollars

Ed Zollars, CPA, is a tax partner in the Phoenix CPA firm of Thomas, Zollars, & Lynch, Ltd., having been in practice since 1982 dealing with taxation of individuals and closely held businesses. He also is the principal author of materials on the Current Federal Tax Developments website and provides a weekly audio and video update on federal tax developments online. He presents and authors continuing education courses for Kaplan Financial Education.