2016 Sales Tax Symposium
JW Marriott Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN
September 18—21, 2016
2016 Sales Tax Symposium Speaker Bios
2016 Sales Tax Symposium Speaker Listing
2016 Sales Tax Symposium Registration List as of 9/7/2016
Final Brochure
2016 Sales Tax Symposium CLE
Updated Papers
Utility Issues
Contents
General Sessions
Ethics Rock Extreme!
How the Economic Climate Impacts Decisions made by Legislatures and Department Employees
Modern Transactions: Crowdfunding, Virtual Currencies, Online Delivery Models; Shared Economies
Creating a Department that Adds Value: More Than Internal Tax Advisers, But Business Partners
The Year in Review
Overthrowing Quill
Breakout Sessions
Beginner Basic
Mastering Transactional Tax Controversies
Audit Doldrums – Best Practices and Strategies for Keeping the Auditor Engaged
Sales and Use Tax Automation
The Wild Wild West: Gross Receipts Taxes
State Sales and Use Tax Trends: Coping with the Digital World
Indirect Tax Reserves – Practical Application of ASC450
Remote Sellers: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going?
Louisiana Law Changes
Taking the Pulse on the Healthcare Industry
Sales Tax Issues Related to Loyalty and Rewards Programs
FOB? What Did You Call Me?
Managing a Global Retail Indirect Tax Department
Internet of Things – What is it and why do I care?
Indirect Tax Life Cycle and Tax Technology Strategies
Pitch Perfect – The Art of Maximizing Credits and Incentives
Unclaimed Property – Legislative Updates and Hot Topics
Puerto Rico
Samples are Never Satisfying – Using Sampling in the World of Advanced Data & Analytics Technologies
Industry Issues - Oil & Gas
Hot Topics in VAT
The Resale Exemption – Your New Best Friend
Local Taxes: Compliance, Audits, and Controversy
Utility Issues for Suppliers and Consumers
Hotel Industry – Checking In
Credit Card Bad Debts – Is Anyone Entitled to Sales Tax Refunds?
Hot Topics: Sales and Use Tax Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions
Navigating Washington Sales and Use Tax and Business & Occupation Tax
Manufacturing Exemptions and Related Issues – How to Maximize Exemptions and Minimize Your Tax Liabilities!
Construction Issues in Sales and Use Tax
Taxing the Cloud and Electronically Delivered Software
General Sessions
Ethics Rock Extreme! - This unique legal and accounting ethics seminar combines current ethics problems in both fields, advice, news and interactive hypotheticals with professionally performed parodies of some of the greatest rock and roll songs ever written. Customized and up-to-the-minute, the session will challenge participants to solve difficult legal and accounting ethics dilemmas, all based on actual cases, led by lawyer-ethicist Jack Marshall. The scenarios will be sung in new parody versions of pop and rock classics from such legends as Paul Simon, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Queen, Billy Joel and others, all by professional guitarist/singer/actor Mike Messer.
Ethics
Speaker:
Jack Marshall
President
ProEthics, Ltd.
Alexandria, Virginia
How the Economic Climate Impacts Decisions made by Legislatures and Department Employees - This session will provide an interactive opportunity to hear from senior State tax administrators as they discuss the most important tax issues in their states and around the country. Additionally the impact of various economic issues will be related to tax policy concerns in their states.
Economic Climate
Moderator:
Joe Huddleston, Esq.
Executive Director, Tax Services
Ernst & Young, LLP
Washington, DC
Speakers:
Connie Beard
Director
Illinois Department of Revenue
Springfield, Illinois
Andrew Kossack
Commissioner
Indiana Department of Revenue
Indianapolis, Indiana
Kimberly Lewis Robinson
Secretary
Louisiana Department of Revenue
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Marshall C. Stranburg
Deputy Executive Director
Multistate Tax Commission
Washington, DC
Modern Transactions: Crowdfunding, Virtual Currencies, Online Delivery Models; Shared Economies - This session will address how state and local governments are approaching new business models such as the sharing economy, cloud computing, and online commerce. Attendees will learn about the different types of businesses that state and local governments are currently targeting as well as the various outcomes across the country.
Modern Transactions
Speakers:
Susan Haffield, CPA
Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Christopher T. Lutz, Esq.
Senior Associate
Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered
Washington, DC
Thomas A. Pucci
Senior Director of Global Indirect Tax
Expedia
Seattle, Washington
Creating a Department that Adds Value: More Than Internal Tax Advisers, But Business Partners - Corporate tax departments vary in several ways from one organization to another. Whether it be the size of the department, the emphasis placed on compliance versus planning, or how active the department is with lobbying for legislation, each department has a unique approach to working within their respective company. This session will focus on some of the approaches taken to bring a quantifiable value prop to the table within their respective organization.
Creating a Department that Adds Value
Moderator:
Marilyn A. Wethekam, Esq.
Partner
Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered
Chicago, Illinois
Speakers:
Paul Broman, Esq.
State Tax Issues & Appeals
BP America
Houston, Texas
Jeffrey L. Hyde, Esq.
Senior State Tax Counsel
IBM Corporation
Armonk, New York
The Year in Review - A look at the last twelve months of legal decisions, a summary of cases you need to know, critical cases pending, and trends within the court system.
Year in Review
Speakers:
Mark W. Eidman, Esq.
Managing Partner
Ryan Law Firm, LLP
Austin, Texas
Joseph A. Vinatieri, Esq.
Attorney-At-Law
Bewley, Lassleben & Miller, LLP
Whittier, California
Lee A. Zoeller, Esq., CMI
Partner
Reed Smith LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Overthrowing Quill - As states continue to expand their sales and use tax nexus provisions to unprecedented levels in an effort to elicit a judicial challenge to the Quill physical presence standard, remote sellers are being forced to re-evaluate their collection responsibilities nationwide. In this session, the speakers will explore the various types of provisions that states have utilized to expand nexus to remote sellers, with a particular focus on specific efforts during state legislative sessions this year.
Overthrowing Quill
Speakers:
William M. Backstrom, Jr., Esq.
Partner
Jones Walker LLP
New Orleans, Louisiana
Stephen P. Kranz, Esq.
Partner
McDemott Will & Emery
Washington, DC
Margaret C. Wilson, Esq.
Partner
Wilson Agosto LLP
Somerville, New Jersey
Breakout Sessions
Beginner Basic - This session provides a basic overview of sales and use taxes, including the distinction between sales taxes and use tax. Fundamental principles governing sales and use taxes will be discussed, including: when a company is subject to a state’s sales or use tax; the distinction between sales and use taxes; what constitutes a sale; what is a retail sale (including withdrawal from stock); basic definition of tangible personal property; what is meant by statute of limitations and what exemptions commonly exist for sales and use taxes.
Beginner Basic 1
Beginner Basic Glossary
Beginner Basic - The Constitution
Speakers:
Michael Campbell
Senior Non-Income Tax Manager
Johns Manville
Denver, Colorado
Linda A. Falcone, CMI
Director, Sales and Use Tax
Ryan, LLC
Charlotte, North Carolina
Mastering Transactional Tax Controversies - This session will cover strategies, best practices, and pitfalls during all stages of transactional tax controversies, from pre-controversy planning to appellate litigation. Questions the presenters will address include the following: What is the best time to discuss settlement? How do you decide whether to appeal administratively or go directly to court?
Mastering Transactional Tax
Speakers:
Robbie Blacketer
SALT - Director
Grant Thornton LLP
Dallas, Texas
Masha M. Yevzelman, Esq.
Shareholder, Tax Disputes and Litigation
Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Audit Doldrums: Best Practices and Strategies for Keeping the Auditor Engaged - The session will focus on strategies and techniques for successful audit management. Audits in today’s society are a fact of life, but that does not mean that the audit process should take what seems like forever to complete with interest being a significant part of the overall liability.
Audit Doldrums
Speakers:
Suneeta Davi, CMI
Director – Indirect Tax
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
New York, New York
Kathleen A. Foster, CMI
Tax Manager
Dimension Data North America, Inc.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Sales and Use Tax Automation - You’ve heard the spiel on automating your sales and use tax processes. It all makes sense, but perhaps you have heard some horror stories of implementations that didn’t go so well and want to know how to avoid the train from coming off the track.
Automation
Speakers:
Stuart D. Bray, CMI
Manager Non-Income Tax
Tyson Foods, Inc.
Springdale, Arkansas
Steven E. Parish
Principal – State and Local Tax
RSM US LLP
Charlotte, North Carolina
The Wild Wild West: Gross Receipts Taxes - There are a number of states and localities in the Western states that have recently proposed, enacted or amended their gross receipts taxes – Oregon, Nevada, Washington, and localities like San Francisco and Los Angeles in California. This session will provide an overview of what to consider when thinking about how these taxes may apply to you or your clients.
Wild West
Speakers:
Ana Malvar, Esq.
Senior Tax Manager, Indirect Tax Planning, Policy, and Controversies
Starbucks Coffee Company
Seattle, Washington
Tremaine “Trim” Smith, CMI
Senior Manager
Ernst & Young, LLP
Seattle, Washington
State Sales and Use Tax Trends: Coping with the Digital World - This session will provide an update on the core issues involved in the application of state sales and use tax to purely digital transactions, with a focus on how buyers and sellers can handle the rapid rate of development of the law in this area and ongoing state-to-state conflicts.
Digital World
Speakers:
Jim Ervin, Esq.
Partner
Holland & Knight
Tallahassee, Florida
Brian J. Kirkell
Principal
RSM US LLP
Washington, DC
Indirect Tax Reserves: Practical Application of ASC450 - No one wants to be an alarmist, but how do you practically manage communication around ASC450 so that leadership is not surprised; when do you communicate, what do you communicate and how often do you communicate?
Indirect Tax Reserves
Speakers:
Faranak Naghavi
Partner – National Tax
Ernst & Young, LLP
Washington, D.C.
Gary D. Yeats, Esq.
VP Corporate Tax / Tax Counsel
Valassis Communications
Hartford, Connecticut
Remote Sellers: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going? - The e-commerce business model has been a colossal success. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, online sales accounted for more than a third of total retail sales growth in 2015, totaling in excess of $341 Billion. All good news… so what’s the problem? If a remote retailer has no physical presence in a state, the retailer is not obligated to collect and remit that state’s sales tax.
Remote Sellers
Speakers:
Brent R. Fryar, CMI, CPA
Director – Specialty Tax
Walmart
Bentonville, Arkansas
James (Jim) Tauber
Managing Director
Andersen Tax LLC
Chicago, Illinois
Louisiana Law Changes - General overview of law changes due to 2016 special session and the effects on doing business in Louisiana.
Louisiana Law Changes
Speakers:
Mark Campo, Esq.
Sr. Tax Attorney
Entergy Services, Inc.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Jason M. DeCuir, MBA, JD, LLM
Controversy Resolution
Ryan Advocacy
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Taking the Pulse on the Healthcare Industry - A key to success in the industry is understanding trends, technology and how to navigate through the various requirements throughout state jurisdictions.
Healthcare Industry
Speakers:
Nicholas Bradley
Manager, Sales and Use Tax
HCA
Nashville, Tennessee
Erica Love
Principal, Sales and Use Tax
Ryan, LLC
Dallas, Texas
Sales Tax Issues Related to Loyalty and Rewards Programs - Many businesses utilize some version of a loyalty or reward program as part of their marketing strategy to attract new customers and solidify their customer base. While good for business, these programs present numerous complexities when determining how the redemption of the rewards should be treated for sales tax purposes.
Sales Tax Loyalty
Speakers:
Gregg D. Barton, Esq.
Partner
Perkins Coie LLP
Seattle, Washington
Andrew L. Nunes
Director, Indirect Tax
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
FOB? What Did You Call Me? - The session will discuss the history and evolution of shipping terms from a legal perspective as well as the impact shipping terms can have on the sales or use tax calculation.
FOB
Speakers:
Andre Burvant, Esq., CPA
Partner
Jones Walker LLP
New Orleans, Louisiana
Jeff Greene, JD
Owner
Jeff Greene Transaction Tax Attorney, LLC
Carmel, Indiana
Managing a Global Retail Indirect Tax Department - This session will focus on what challenges you may face managing or building a Retail Global Indirect Tax Function.
Managing a Global Retail Indirect Tax Department
Speakers:
Sandy Jacobs, CMI
Principal
KPMG LLP
San Francisco, California
Patrick J. McWilliams, CMI
Senior Director – Sales, Use and Value Added Tax
Gap Inc.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Internet of Things – What is it and why do I care? - All we hear about is this concept of the “Internet of Things” (IOT) – what does it mean, where did it come from, is it just the latest buzz word and how does it impact tax professionals, if at all? This in-depth session will walk through how IoT became such a big term in today’s technology lexicon and where it is headed.
Internet of Things
Speakers:
Joe Greco
Vice President, Indirect Tax
Verizon Communications
Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Jim Nason
Partner
Deloitte Tax LLP
Parsippany, New Jersey
Indirect Tax Life Cycle and Tax Technology Strategies - Discussion on the indirect tax life cycle from procurement to sales and how the process impacts indirect tax and technology.
Indirect Tax Life Cycle
Speakers:
Tim Carpenter
Partner, SALT, Indirect Tax
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Charlotte, North Carolina
Debra Nin
Sales and Use Tax Manager
Sealed Air Corporation
Charlotte, North Carolina
Pitch Perfect: The Art of Maximizing Credits and Incentives - Tax credits and incentives are essential considerations in acquisitions, capital investments and expansions, and can add directly to a company’s bottom line. This session will discuss the consideration of incentives and the crucial dynamics in the facilities planning process, and specifically, the tax department’s role.
Pitch Perfect
Speakers:
Minah C. Hall
Managing Director
True Partners Consulting, LLC
Chicago, Illinois
Kenneth Hansen
VP of Tax
Follett Corporation
Westchester, Illinois
Unclaimed Property: Legislative Updates and Hot Topics - Overview of unclaimed property laws, current environment and best practices for coming into and staying in compliance.
Unclaimed Property
Unclaimed Property 2
Unclaimed Property 3
Speakers:
Janet Gagliano
Partner, National Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Practice Leader
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Atlanta, Georgia
Michael Houghton, Esq.
Partner
Morris, Nichols, Arsht and Tunnell LLP
Wilmington, Delaware
Jamie Ryan, Esq.
Member
Bailey Cavalierri LLC
Columbus, Ohio
Puerto Rico - In an effort to improve its relatively low sales and use tax collection rate, the Puerto Rico government has instituted substantial changes to the statute since its enactment in 2006.
Puerto Rico
Speakers:
John T. Dalton, CMI
Director – Multi-Channel Indirect Tax
Walmart Stores, Inc.
Bentonville, Arkansas
Pablo Hymovitz
Executive Director Indirect Tax Leader, Puerto Rico
Ernst & Young Puerto Rico LLC
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Samples are Never Satisfying – Using Sampling in the World of Advanced Data & Analytics Technologies - Has sampling in sales and use tax audits and reverse audits become obsolete? With dramatic advances in technologies and processes related to gathering, validating and analyzing tax sensitized data, many of the factors that have driven taxpayers to use sampling have disappeared.
Sampling
Speakers:
Christopher Fontana
Senior Executive Director, State and Local Tax
CBS Corporation
New York, New York
Garth Roark
Managing Director
KPMG LLP
Seattle, Washington
Industry Issues: Oil & Gas - This session will focus on sales and use tax hot topics faced by the oil and gas industry including a discussion of the latest cases (e.g. Southwest Royalties Inc v. Combs), rulings, and legislation (e.g. Louisiana’s recently enacted sales/use tax legislation).
Oil and Gas
Speakers:
Nicole M. Busey, Esq.
Tax Legal & Audit Manager
Marathon Petroleum Company LP
Findlay, Ohio
Doug Sigel, Esq.
Partner
Ryan Law Firm, LLP
Austin, Texas
Hot Topics in VAT - Value-added taxes (VAT) is one of the most important and prolific tax regimes in the world today. This session will focus on the importance of VAT to governments and companies around the globe.
Hot Topics in VAT
Speakers:
Carlos V. Hernandez
Senior Manager
Ernst & Young, LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
The Resale Exemption: Your New Best Friend - This session will address the broadly applicable resale exemption from sales and use tax. The session will begin by focusing on the variances in requirements between jurisdictions, including but not limited to: (1) the application to tangible personal property vs. services, (2) the requirement that tax is collected on the resale, and (3) the requirements for the form in which the item is resold.
Resale Exemption
Speakers:
Pamela L. Wegner, CMI
Sales/Use Tax & Property Tax Manager
Sonoco Products Company
Hartsville, South Carolina
Jennifer White, Esq.
Associate
Reed Smith LLP
New York, New York
Local Taxes: Compliance, Audits, and Controversy - We have recently seen local governments become increasingly more aggressive with respect to enforcement of a variety of local taxes.
Local Taxes
Speakers:
Bob Andre
Senior Manager
International Paper
Memphis, Tennessee
Breen M. Schiller, Esq.
Partner
Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered
Chicago, Illinois
Utility Issues for Suppliers and Consumers - This session will focus on the issues faced by utility suppliers and consumers of the services. Including a discussion of issues resulting from book-outs, net metering, cogeneration and transmission/distribution.
Utility Issues
Speakers:
David L. Moore, CPA
Manager State & Local Taxes
American Electric Power
Columbus, Ohio
Gerard Quinlan
Principal
Ryan, LLC
Dallas, Texas
Hotel Industry: Checking In - The hotel industry faces a more distinct taxing scheme than most other industries. This session will examine the sales/use, occupancy, and other miscellaneous taxes, along with issues associated within the hospitality industry.
Hotel Industry
Speakers:
Jennifer M. Ardrey, JD
Manager, Indirect Tax
Grant Thornton LLP
Chicago, Illinois
D. Mitchell Morton, CPA, CMI
Senior Manager, Tax Audit
Hilton Worldwide
Memphis, Tennessee
Credit Card Bad Debts: Is Anyone Entitled to Sales Tax Refunds? - Does your company issue private label credit cards? Do your customers purchase on credit? Do you know whether your company or the finance company can claim sales tax refunds or credits when your customers fail to pay off their obligations?
Credit Card Bad Debt
Speakers:
Amy Nogid, Esq.
Counsel
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
New York, New York
Tom Zessman, CMI
Sr. Tax Manager
US Bank, NA
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Hot Topics: Sales and Use Tax Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions - An overview of recent hot topics with sales and use tax related to M&A. Gain knowledge not only about what’s new this year, but also recommendations on how to integrate and resolve some of the issues discovered in a due diligence review.
Mergers & Acquisitions 1
Mergers & Acquisitions 2
Mergers & Acquisitions 3
Speakers:
Jordan Goodman, Esq.
Partner
Horwood Marcus & Berk, Chartered
Chicago, Illinois
Julie Stakenburg
Director of US Indirect Tax
Accenture
San Francisco, California
Navigating Washington Sales and Use Tax and Business & Occupation Tax - Washington’s Business and Occupation (“B&O”) tax has a strange and symbiotic relationship with the state’s sales/use
tax. There are also numerous local jurisdiction B&O taxes which are similar yet different enough from the state’s tax to cause confusion and frustration.
Washington Sales & Use Tax
Washington Sales & Use Tax 2
Speakers:
Darcy Kooiker, CPA
Principal
Ryan, LLC
Bellevue, Washington
Tarah (Seehafer) McLaughlin, CPA
State & Local Tax Director
Weyerhaeuser
Seattle, Washington
Manufacturing Exemptions and Related Issues: How to Maximize Exemptions and Minimize Your Tax Liabilities! - The majority of states enact sales tax incentives for manufacturers that allow manufacturing concerns to exempt sales tax or a reduced tax rate on certain purchases within the manufacturing operations.
Manufacturing
Speakers:
Daniel E. Megathlin
Principal – State and Local Taxation
Crowe Horwath LLP
Atlanta, Georgia
James San Fillippo
Director, Multi-State Tax Services
BDO
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Construction Issues in Sales and Use Tax - This break-out session will explore fundamental sales and use tax issues with respect to the construction industry, focusing on definitional and taxability aspects.
Construction Issues
Speakers:
Linda Joers
Senior Manager
Deloitte Tax LLP
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Luis G. Partida
State Tax Manager
Bechtel Corporation
Houston, Texas
Taxing the Cloud and Electronically Delivered Software - Cloud technology has fast become the norm and not the exception as the backbone of the IT platform. This session will cover the business strategy drivers for using the technology and the challenges faced by the purchases of Cloud technology.
Taxing the Cloud
Speakers:
Carolynn S. lafrate Kranz, Esq.
Partner
Industry Sales Tax Solution
Washington, DC
Jill D. Nielsen
Managing Director
KPMG LLP
Chicago, Illinois