Jason Kohout is an associate practicing with Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm's Taxation, Estates & Trusts, and Government & Public Policy Practices and the Health Care Industry Team. Mr. Kohout’s work encompasses all areas of tax and corporate law, and focuses on the areas of tax-exempt organizations, charitable giving, and political and lobbying law.
Mr. Kohout advises a variety of tax-exempt organizations in all aspects of formation and on-going operations. He currently assists a large membership organization in issues related to unrelated business income tax. Recently, he provided a detailed analysis of UBIT issues for a healthcare research organization. Also recently, he formed two organizations to operate national donor-advised funds. He has advised both donors and charities on how to facilitate tax-advantaged contributions, including donations of interests in operating entities.
Mr. Kohout works with Foley’s Government & Public Policy Practice to advise candidates for elected office, political organizations and businesses regarding campaign finance rules and regulations as well as lobbying registration and reporting requirements. He recently drafted a successful FEC advisory opinion request.
Mr. Kohout has co-developed Foley's Charitable Academy, a presentation series to prepare professionals for board service and involvement with non-profits as pro bono advisors. Mr. Kohout is also an active member of the ABA Tax Section.
In addition to his focus on tax-exempt organizations, Mr. Kohout’s practice includes a wide variety of corporate matters. He has experience with mergers and acquisitions, internal business reorganizations, closely-held business issues, and business formation. He has the following experiences:
- Assisted in drafting operating agreement and reorganization documents for a large hedge fund
- Drafted tax opinion for $700 million public company merger
- Drafted tax opinion for $160 million solar project financing
- Drafted numerous operating agreements and shareholder agreements for new businesses and joint ventures
Authorship & Presentations
- Co-presenter, “Tax-Exempts and Political Law,” Milwaukee Tax Club, July 8, 2012
- Co-author, “Bellco Credit Union Decision Extends Tax-exempt Royalty Treatment to Income from Insurance Sales,” Taxation of Exempts, Sept/Oct 2011 Issue
- Co-author, Lexis-Nexis Treatise on State and Local Tax Issues
- Co-author, Tax Chapter, Guide to Wisconsin Nonprofit Law, Wisconsin Bar Association Deskbook
- Contributor, Council on State Taxation (COST) updates
- Co-author, Wisconsin State Bar Annual Review of the Law (Tax)
Community Involvement
Mr. Kohout is very involved in the community, including the following positions:
- Secretary, Harvard Club of Wisconsin
- Director and treasurer, CARMEN High School of Science and Technology Charter School
- Chair, City of Wauwatosa Community Development Authority
- Co-vice chair, Wisconsin Chapter of the Republican National Lawyers Association
- Former board member, Young Non-profit Professionals Network—Greater Milwaukee Chapter
- Former member, Citizens Advisory Board for Capital Improvements for City of Wauwatosa
Mr. Kohout received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2007. While in law school, he organized the Harvard Law School’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. Mr. Kohout also won the HLS Sidney I. Roberts Award for the best paper on the subject of taxation. He graduated, magna cum laude, from Harvard College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and received a Hoopes Prize for his thesis work on Wisconsin school finance. Mr. Kohout was previously a research consultant for the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, a Wisconsin think-tank.
Mr. Kohout is admitted to practice in Wisconsin.