Robert
M. Tobiassen
Chief Counsel
Robert M. Tobiassen is the Chief Counsel,
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB),
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC.
The legal office he heads is responsible for
rendering interpretive legal memoranda, reviewing
regulations and administrative rulings, drafting
legislation, and evaluating enforcement actions
and litigation under the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, the Federal Alcohol Administration
Act, and other Federal laws relating to alcohol
and tobacco products. His practice areas are
taxation, regulation, international trade and
general law and ethics. Mr. Tobiassen represents
TTB in contacts with congressional committees,
Federal and State agencies, and trade associations
and public interest advocacy groups. He serves
on the United States delegations to the World
Trade Organization and on the United States
team negotiating bi-lateral trade agreements.
From 1992 to 2002, Mr. Tobiassen was a delegate
to the International Office of Vine and Wine,
Paris. He was also instrumental in organizing
the International Conference on Illicit Tobacco
Trade held at the United Nations Headquarters,
which was attended by delegates from 142 countries.
Mr. Tobiassen has taught foreign government
representatives in training sponsored by the
Department of State and has made presentations
at government and industry sponsored conferences,
including the 2002 Annual Meeting of the International
Trademark Association, and for staff of the
Joint Committee on Taxation.
Mr. Tobiassen started his career with the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Chief
Counsel in 1978, in Washington, DC, and is a
member of the Senior Executive Service. From
1985 to 1988, he served in the ATF counsel office
in San Francisco before returning to Washington,
DC. Prior to becoming Chief Counsel for TTB,
Mr. Tobiassen was the Associate Chief Counsel
(Alcohol and Tobacco) for ATF. He received the
2003 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious
Executives.
Mr. Tobiassen is a native of California. He
graduated from the University of California,
Berkeley, with an A.B. Political Science in
1975, with distinction. He earned his J.D. in
1978 from Lewis and Clark College, School of
Law and served on the law review. Mr. Tobiassen
went on to earn a Masters of Law (Taxation)
from the Georgetown University Law Center in
1982.
1/2009