2024 Tax Facts on Insurance & Employee Benefits (Volumes 1 & 2)

Prof. Robert Bloink worked to put in force in excess of $2 billion of death benefits for the insurance industry’s producers in the past five years. His insurance practice incorporates sophisticated wealth-transfer techniques, as well as counseling institutions in the context of their insurance portfolios and other mortality-based exposures. Prof. Bloink is a professor of tax for the Graduate Program of International Tax and Financial Services, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Deigo, CA.

Previously, Prof. Bloink served as Senior Attorney in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, Large and Mid-Sized Business Division, where he litigated many cases in the US Tax Court, served as Liaison Counsel for the Offshore Compliance Technical Assistance Program, coordinated examination programs audit teams on the development of issues for large corporate taxpayers, and taught continuing education seminars to Senior Revenue Agents involved in Large Case Exams. In his governmental capacity, Prof. Bloink became recognized as an expert in the taxation of financial structured products and was responsible for the IRS’s first FSA addressing variable forward contracts. Mr. Bloink’s core competencies led to his involvement in prosecuting

some of the largest corporate tax shelters in the history of the United States.

William Byrnes is the leader of National Underwriter's Financial Advisory Publications, having been appointed in 2010. He is a professor and an associate dean of Texas A&M University School of Law. He is one of the leading authors and best-selling authors in the professional markets​ with 30 books that have sold in excess of 100,000 copies in print and online, with thousands of online database subscribers. His National Underwriter publications include Tax Facts, Advanced Markets, and Sales Essentials.

Mr. Byrnes held senior positions of international tax for Coopers & Lybrand and has been commissioned and consulted by a number of governments on their tax and fiscal policy. He has served as an operational board member for companies in several industries including fashion, durable medical equipment, office furniture and technology. 

He pioneered online legal education in 1994. In 1998 he developed the first online program to achieve American Bar Association acquiescence. His Master, LL.M. and doctoral programs are leveraged by wealth managers, financial planners and life insurance underwriters.

Bill is a principal of Mahony & Reeve, LLC, a medium-sized CPA firm specializing in tax planning and tax preparation, located in Natick, Massachusetts. His role in the firm is to provide clients with stock option strategies, AMT planning, and oversee the taxation of clients’ like-kind exchanges and their activity in DSTs – Delaware Statutory Trusts. In addition, he is a registered representative of Kastel Capital Advisors, LLC, a wealth management firm in Wellesley, Massachusetts. At this firm, he provides clients with asset management strategies and retirement planning services. From 1995 to 2005, he ran Sound Financial Planning, Inc., an investment advisory firm that specialized in portfolio management and tax planning.

Bill taught Tax Planning and Investment Planning for Boston University’s classroom program for more than 15 years. He was also a contributor to the online program’s Tax course and Investment course where he wrote and edited curriculum. Currently, he is an instructor for Northeastern University’s graduate program, teaching accounting, finance, and economic courses. He has been adjunct faculty for Northeastern University since 1996.

Bill previously taught tax planning and case analysis for the BU/Kaplan Review. He also taught financial planning courses for Merrimack College and Northeastern University, and at financial service firms, such as John Hancock, American Express, PNC Bank, Fidelity Investments, Merrill Lynch, and Eastern Bank. He has also taught financial planning and retirement planning to employees of Pepsi, Shaws Supermarkets, Exelon,and Northern Trust Bank, as well.

In addition to being a CFP® professional, a CFA charter holder, and an Enrolled Agent (EA), Bill also has anMBA with a specialization in Finance. Upon completion of his degree, he was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, a national honor society for business students. Bill is a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA), the CFA Institute, the Boston Security Analysts Society (BSAS), and was one of the founding members of the Boston Area Alumni Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma.