Our Team
Gary W. Carter, PhD, MT, CPA (Founder)
Gary received a BA in accounting from Eastern Washington University in 1977, and a Master of Taxation degree from the University of Denver in 1980. He worked as a revenue agent for the state of Alaska, a staff accountant with a LeMaster & Daniels, PLLC in Spokane, Washington, and as a senior staff accountant for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., the predecessor of KPMG, in Denver, Colorado. He has been a certified public accountant since 1977, and is member of the AICPA and Minnesota Society of CPAs.
After receiving a PhD in taxation at the University of Texas at Austin in 1985, Gary became a tax faculty member at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, and the Associate Director of the Carlson School's Master of Business Taxation Program. He remained on the tax faculty at the University until 2010. He received multiple teacher-of-the-year awards, and, in 2013, was inducted into the inaugural Carlson School of Management, Master of Business Taxation Program Hall of Fame.
In 1995, Gary began working with the IRS and the Minnesota Department of Revenue to establish a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site at the University, dedicated to helping foreign students and scholars with their federal and state tax filing obligations. In 1996, he launched the predecessor of US Tax Guide for Foreign Nationals, which has been continually updated since then. It was the first, free comprehensive web-based source of U.S. tax information for foreign nationals, predating even IRS web resources.
At that time the University had 4,000 to 5,000 foreign students, researchers and visiting faculty on campus from approximately 135 countries. For the next 15 years, Gary annually recruited, trained and supervised accounting students for the free preparation of thousands of nonresident tax returns for students and scholars. These services were provided, not only to nonresidents at the University of Minnesota, but to those at several other area colleges and universities as well.
In 1999, Gary founded a part-time tax practice, and in 2010, GW Carter, Ltd. was launched.
Publications
Books:
- From eBay to Mary Kay, Taxes Made Easy for Your Home Business, J.K. Lasser (John Wiley & Sons), November 2005.
- Taxes Made Easy for Your Home-Based Business, 1st through 5th Edition, J.K. Lasser (John Wiley & Sons), November 1997-2002.
- Getting Started in Tax Consulting, (John Wiley & Sons), January 2001.
Law Review Articles:
- "Donative Transfers of Expensed Property and the Fundamental Inconsistency Rule of Hillsboro," Tennessee Law Review, Winter 1991, pp. 151–229.
- "The Commissioner's Nonacquiescence — A Case for a National Court of Tax Appeals," Temple Law Quarterly, October 1986, pp. 879–918.
Tax Publication Articles:
- "Starting and Running a Web-Based Tax Service," TaxPro Journal, Fall 2001, pp 29–34
- “A Primer on Home Office Deductions,” Home-Based & Small Business Network, Spring 1996, pp. 3–5.
- “Improved Treatment of Barter Transactions For Accrual-Method Taxpayers,” (written for The Tax Accounting Policy Subcommittee of the American Taxation Association), Tax Notes, March 20, 1995, pp. 1851–1857.
- “Is Bartering Still Business As Usual Under the Economic Performance Regs?” Taxes, November 1993, pp. 675–684.
- "Attorney Fee Recoupment in Tax Litigation After the Tax Reform Act of 1986," The Review of Taxation for Individuals, Fall 1988, pp. 335–352.
- "Nonacquiescence: Winning by Losing," Tax Notes, September 19, 1988, pp. 1303–1307.
- "An Example That Clarifies Section 469(g)(1)(A)," 52 Tax Notes 1654 (Sept. 30, 1991).
- "Fixing the Passive Activity Rules," 51 Tax Notes 247 (April 15, 1991).
Karl Disney, CPA, MBT (Tax Manager)
Karl is a CPA and holds a Masters of Business Taxation degree (MBT) from the University of Minnesota. He has over 20 years of extensive corporate and public accounting tax experience - from Big 4 accounting to corporate tax accounting for Fortune 500 companies to acting Tax Director for small to mid-size firms.
Karl started his tax career working for four years at KPMG in its Financial Services Division. He then spent the next nine years working in industry for companies such as Best Buy, Katun Corporation, GMAC Residential Funding Corporation, Northwest Airlines and CRP Holdings, LLC. He served in a variety of roles from tax senior to tax analyst to tax manager.
He started his own firm in 2008, serving as controller and tax director to several small and mid-size firms. In 2011, he reunited with a favorite professor from the University of Minnesota's MBT Program - Gary Carter. He specializes in corporate, partnership, expatriate and nonresident returns.
Karl's commitment to serving clients to ensure their satisfaction makes him an asset to this firm. He is an independent self-starter and highly motivated to deliver exceptional results. He has strong organizational and time management skills and his communication abilities provide peace of mind to those he serves.
Yilian (Elaine) Li, CPA, EA (Tax Manager)
Yilian has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting (CPA track) from the College of Saint Benedict. She is fluent in Mandarin, Sichuan (Szechuan) dialect and English. She interned at Shanghai Certified Public Accountants and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Yilian is a specialist in expat and nonresident taxation with advanced knowledge of taxation of passive foreign investment companies (PFICs) and foreign trusts. Her attention to detail and calm demeanor makes her a valuable asset to the firm.