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Chamberlain Hrdlicka Invites You to Attend Our 2025 McAllen Tax & International Business Planning Seminar
Join Chamberlain Hrdlicka for an essential event dedicated to tax professionals, accountants, business advisors, and in-house counsel looking to stay ahead in an ever-evolving tax landscape. This full-day seminar will cover the latest developments in federal, state, and international tax law and business transactions. With insightful presentations, practical strategies, and valuable networking opportunities, this seminar is designed to provide attendees with actionable takeaways to better serve their clients and businesses. We look forward to welcoming you for another year of engaging discussion and professional growth.
Seminar Details:
- Date: Monday, November 10, 2025
- Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.
- Location: McAllen Convention Center, 700 Convention Center Blvd., McAllen, TX 78501
- Cost (includes lunch):
- $150.00 - Digital Materials Only
- $175.00 - Digital + Print Materials
- CLE Credits:
- Texas CPAs: 8.0 hours of CPE credit hours
- Texas Attorneys: 6.75 CLE credit hours
- No prerequisites for this Tax Seminar
Keynote Speaker:
Isaac Tawil
McAllen City Manager
Presentation Title: From the Courtroom to City Hall: A Trial Lawyer's Journey to Becoming a City Manager
Description:
Isaac Tawil, City Manager of McAllen, shares a personal and unexpected journey that began in the aisles of his family’s small businesses in San Antonio—grocery stores, clothing shops, and retail electronics—where entrepreneurship was less a career path and more a way of life. Trained as a trial lawyer, Isaac’s path took a turn toward purpose when he co-founded Amara Hospice, establishing the first free-standing general inpatient hospice south of San Antonio. His legal acumen and business sensibility eventually led him to represent McAllen during pivotal years of growth, helping shape the city’s development with strategic insight and deep community care. Now serving as City Manager, Isaac reflects on the lessons learned across industries and how each chapter—law, business, healthcare, and government, among others—has prepared him to lead with empathy, agility, and vision.
About Isaac:
Isaac Tawil is a proven community leader with over 25 years of dedicated service to Texas municipalities. His extensive experience and expertise span multiple facets of municipal governance, making him an invaluable asset to the communities he serves.
On September 13, 2024, Mr. Tawil was appointed as the City Manager of McAllen, where he currently oversees the City’s $650 million budget and is responsible for the daily management of the City’s international airport, two international ports of entry, cultural arts facilities and golf course among 36 city departments. Prior to serving as City Manager, Tawil served in the City Attorney’s Office for nearly 13 years, most recently as City Attorney, where he provided McAllen with practical legal and management advice on a wide array of issues. His role in negotiating and composing first-of-their-kind economic development agreements and fostering international relationships designed to stimulate local economic growth has been instrumental in McAllen’s continued prosperity.
Mr. Tawil has significant experience working with airports, public safety, code compliance, human resources, public infrastructure development, land acquisition, real estate, cultural arts, complex construction management, municipal finance, public utilities, and capital improvement procurement. His experience with intergovernmental federal and state cooperation, community and social services, grant compliance, emergency management, and healthcare systems further underscore his comprehensive understanding of municipal operations.
Mr. Tawil holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law. He is an active member of Temple Emanuel and enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.
Event Agenda:
| Time | Event |
| 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. | Registration |
| 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. |
International Tax Changes After This Year's 2025 Tax Reform — Implications for U.S. Multinationals and Global Planning Presenters: Anuar Estefan and Andres Berdugo |
| 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. |
Tax Savings with C Corporations Presenter: Joshua A. Sutin |
| 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. |
When Special Agents Come Calling Presenter: Larry A. Campagna |
| 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m. |
LUNCHEON KEYNOTE From the Courtroom to City Hall: A Trial Lawyer's Journey to Becoming a City Manager Presenter: Isaac Tawil |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. |
Cross-Border Estate and Wealth Planning for Multinational Families in Light of Recent Mexican Judicial Reforms and U.S. Tax Reform Presenters: Patrick W. Martin, Luz E. Villegas-Banuelos, and Roberto Perez Teuffer |
| 2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. |
Tax Controversy and IRS Enforcement Update Presenters: Jaime Vasquez and Leo Unzeitig |
| 3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. |
Texas Sales and Use and Franchise Tax Updates Presenter: Bryan J. Dotson |
| 4:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. |
Cross-Border Business and Tax Planning in 2026 and Beyond: Opportunities Under the ~14% Global Tax Rate & Growing Corporate Value Presenters: Patrick W. Martin, Anuar Estefan, and Zachary Cruz |
Presentation Details:
9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. – International Tax Changes After this Year’s 2025 Tax Reform – Implications for U.S. Multinationals and Global Planning
Presenters: Anuar Estefan and Andres Berdugo
Description: On July 4, 2025, the U.S. enacted the H.R.1, a sweeping piece of legislation that fundamentally alters the international tax landscape for U.S. multinationals. Under OBBB, the long‑standing regimes of GILTI (Global Intangible Low‑Taxed Income) and FDII (Foreign‑Derived Intangible Income) have been replaced with Net CFC Tested Income (NCTI) and Foreign‑Derived Deduction Eligible Income (FDDEI), respectively. There are also provisions fundamentally domestic that can affect the planning of cross-border businesses and families, including the increase of the lifetime exclusion amount for gift and estate tax purposes, and the permanent application of the bonus depreciation rules.
10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. – Tax Savings with C Corporations
Presenter: Joshua A. Sutin
Description: This seminar will provide a review of the taxation of C corporations after the recent changes in tax law and how C corporations may be a better choice of entity for some businesses. An in-depth review of Qualified Small Business Stock (IRC 1202) will provide the history of this tax exclusion provision and the recent changes that make it this tax provision very powerful to minimize taxes on exiting a business. Further, time will be spent reviewing Qualified Opportunity Zones and the recent changes in tax law that make permanent a good tool to defer capital gains and minimize taxes.
11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. – When Special Agents Come Calling
Presenter: Larry A. Campagna
Description: A primer on criminal tax with special emphasis on the roles of counsel and accountants.
12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m. (Keynote) – From the Courtroom to City Hall: A Trial Lawyer’s Journey to Becoming a City Manager
Presenter: Isaac Tawil
Description: Isaac Tawil, City Manager of McAllen, shares a personal and unexpected journey that began in the aisles of his family’s small businesses in San Antonio—grocery stores, clothing shops, and retail electronics—where entrepreneurship was less a career path and more a way of life. Trained as a trial lawyer, Isaac’s path took a turn toward purpose when he co-founded Amara Hospice, establishing the first free-standing general inpatient hospice south of San Antonio. His legal acumen and business sensibility eventually led him to represent McAllen during pivotal years of growth, helping shape the city’s development with strategic insight and deep community care. Now serving as City Manager, Isaac reflects on the lessons learned across industries and how each chapter—law, business, healthcare, and government, among others—has prepared him to lead with empathy, agility, and vision.
1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. – Cross-Border Estate and Wealth Planning for Multinational Families in Light of Recent Mexican Judicial Reforms and U.S. Tax Reform
Presenters: Patrick W. Martin, Luz E. Villegas-Banuelos, and Roberto Perez Teuffer
Description: Multinational families with assets or heirs across borders, especially involving Mexico, face a changing environment both in legal structure and in tax policy. A major development in Mexico was the 2024 judicial reform which restructured how judges are selected (moving toward popular elections), reduced the number of Supreme Court justices, shortened their terms, relaxed requirements like minimum age and work experience, and established mechanisms for oversight and accountability. These reforms alter not just how quickly disputes may be resolved but potentially shift the predictability, impartiality, or legal stability of courts dealing with inheritance, wills, or estate disputes. On the tax side, there are draft or proposed reforms in Mexico to the Income Tax Law (LISR) to impose taxes on inheritances, donations, or large legacies above certain thresholds, including graduated rates. For families with U.S. citizenship or residency, or U.S. estate tax exposure, there is also the interaction of U.S. law with foreign assets, treaties, forced heirship rules, and basis‑step up rules. In this changing context, estate plans, wills, trusts, or equivalent vehicles must be reviewed: ensuring that they are valid under all relevant jurisdictions, that legal uncertainties are mitigated, that transfer timing is optimized, and that heirs’ residences and citizenships are considered, along with any treaty protections. The judicial reform in Mexico increases the urgency of planning now while law and interpretation are still settling.
2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. – Tax Controversy and IRS Enforcement Update
Presenters: Jaime Vasquez and Leo Unzeitig
Description: Topics will include the current state of IRS enforcement, reductions in force, penalty enforcement (particularly with respect to information returns), ERCs, tax litigation priorities, and the state of IRS collections.
3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. – Texas Sales and Use and Franchise Tax Updates
Presenter: Bryan J. Dotson
Description: This session discusses recent developments in the Texas sales and use and franchise taxes. The discussion will cover key legislative changes, recent court decisions, and amendments to Texas Comptroller regulations.
4:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. – Cross-Border Business and Tax Planning in 2026 and Beyond: Opportunities Under the ~14% Global Tax Rate & Growing Corporate Value
Presenters: Patrick W. Martin, Anuar Estefan, and Zachary Cruz
Description: Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, with OBBB’s major international tax provisions coming fully into effect, businesses will confront a new baseline: many foreign‑derived or foreign‑income regimes will carry an effective tax rate around 14% (once foreign tax credits are considered). This change alters the calculus for structuring growth, directing investment, and generating value. Companies whose strategy depended on low‑tax offshore jurisdictions, or generous tax deductions tied to tangible asset investment, will find those advantages compressed or eliminated. Moreover, this new tax environment interacts deeply with corporate valuation: after‑tax profits, certainty of tax treatment, treaty risks, and jurisdiction stability all feed into how investors assess future earnings. Innovation incentives, supply chain placements, licensing, intercompany financing, and more will require reconsideration about restructuring.
Additional Details:
Registration is open to everyone and there are no prerequisites to the courses presented.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Meg Grossman at meg.grossman@chamberlainlaw.com.