The latest victim of COVID-19: the American Bar Association Section of Taxation’s annual May meeting in Washington.
“Recent events . . . make it clear that going forward with the Spring Meeting would be unreasonable and likely impossible,” tax section Chair Tom Callahan said in a March 17 statement, citing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, the White House’s declaration of a national emergency, and the travel restrictions imposed by the government and law firms on their employees.
The organization’s May meeting — its largest gathering of the year — had been scheduled to take place April 30 through May 2. Instead of its normal in-person conference, the tax section is looking into ways to provide digital content, spread out over the next few months, Callahan said.
The announcement is the latest in a string of tax conference cancellations related to the coronavirus, both by the ABA tax section and other conference organizers. The tax section canceled its state and local tax meeting in New Orleans just days before it was scheduled to begin this week, as well as its European tax meeting that was scheduled to be held April 1 through April 3 in Munich.
The Tax Executives Institute also recently announced it had canceled its midyear conference that was scheduled for March 22 through March 25 in Washington, citing the need to be “responsible global citizens” and protect the health of conference attendees.
Let’s Get Digital
With in-person gatherings frowned upon, conference organizers are weighing their options.
Given the amount of preparation that goes into planning the conference’s program, the tax section is looking into ways to “try and present a meaningful amount of the programs to our audience on a virtual basis over the next 2-5 months,” Callahan said.
Similarly, TEI is exploring ways to convert its planned conference sessions into an online-accessible format.
“Details are still evolving, and we will share information with the membership as it becomes available,” the organization said in a cancellation-related FAQ.
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