Overview
Martha (Marty) Groves Pugh advises clients on federal income tax issues with a particular emphasis on the nuclear and energy industries. Marty has helped clients seek and receive many private letter rulings and has extensive experience in drafting legislative language for tax proposals and interacting with the US Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on important industry issues. Her practice also includes tax planning for proposed transactions and advising clients on audits, appeals and litigation issues.
Marty has extensive experience with renewable energy incentives, such as production tax credits for wind, biomass, and geothermal projects and investment tax credits related to solar projects. She has been heavily involved in developing opportunities for clients related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, including the Section 1603 Grant Program, the advanced energy credit, converting of the production tax credit to the investment tax credit and others. She has extensive experience with new market tax credits in both the context of transactions and legislative efforts related to new market tax credits.
Marty also has extensive experience counseling energy industry companies on tax accounting issues such as repairs, placed-in-service, depreciation and contract restructuring issues, contribution in aid of construction issues and corporate and partnership issues involved in restructurings. She is well known for advising clients on nuclear decommissioning issues before the Internal Revenue Service, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state public service commissions.
Marty is editor of McDermott’s Energy Business Law blog.
Results
- Advised several electric utilities on tax implications of special transfers and contributions to qualified nuclear decommissioning trust funds to obtain private letter rulings confirming tax consequences allowing for significant tax deductions
- Advised electric utilities on the tax and regulatory implications relating to the permanent shut down of a nuclear power plant in California; served as lead counsel in obtaining first of its kind private letter ruling confirming that severance and transitional costs are eligible expenditures that may be paid from the qualified nuclear decommissioning trust funds
- Advised an electric utility on the tax implications of decommissioning nuclear plants and nuclear decommissioning trust funds and obtained private letter ruling confirming certain decommissioning expenditures are eligible for special net operating loss carryback rules allowing the taxpayer to carryback losses to 1984
Recognitions
- The Legal 500 2015, Energy Regulatory
- The Legal 500, Tax Controversy
Community
- American Bar Association, Public Utility Communications and Transportation Law Section, Taxation and Accounting Committee, co-chair
Credentials
Education
Golden Gate University School of Law, JD, 1993
West Virginia University, MS, 1987
West Virginia University, BS, 1986
Admissions
California
District of Columbia