The State and Local Tax Committee is responsible for TEI’s educational and advocacy efforts for U.S. state and local tax issues.
The committee monitors state and local tax developments throughout the country, files amicus briefs with state and federal courts on impending state and local tax issues, and files comment letters addressing various legislative and administrative proposals.
The committee has also developed an extensive set of policy statements reflecting TEI's position on important administrative and procedural issues. These statements facilitate advocacy by providing formal position papers TEI's members can use when communicating with taxing agencies. Finally, the committee regularly conducts liaison meetings with state and local taxing authorities to discuss tax-enforcement and policy matters in those jurisdictions.
TEI Supports Passage of Mobile Workforce Legislation
On July 22, 2011, Tax Executives Institute submitted the following comments to the House Committee on the Judiciary and its Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law, recommending the enactment of H.R. 1864, the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2011. TEI endorses federal legislation that would create a uniform standard for the state taxation of income earned by employees who travel for work, and the related withholding obligations of their employers.
TEI Files Amicus Brief in Iowa's KFC Physical Presence Litigation
On June 1, 2011, the Institute filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court decision allowing Iowa to tax corporations with no physical presence in the State, KFC Corporation v. Iowa Department of Revenue. The core issue in this case is whether the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution prohibits a State from imposing its corporate income tax on businesses with no connection to the State other than having customers located there.
TEI Holds Liaison Meeting with Ohio Department of Taxation
On May 5, 2011, members of TEI's Cleveland and Cincinnati Chapters attended their annual liaison meeting with the Ohio Department of Taxation. The TEI contingent met with high-level Department personnel, including Commissioner Joe Testa and many of his direct reports. Participants discussed the state budget, the commercial activities tax (CAT), the state's sales and use tax, and other issues.
TEI Supports Creation of Independent Tax Court in Alabama
On April 12, 2011, TEI filed a letter urging the Alabama legislature to pass bill establishing a pre-payment, independent tax appeals tribunal but raising concerns with the legislation's proposed "substantial understatement" penalty. TEI's comments were prepared under the aegis of its State and Local Tax Committee, whose chair is Linda Dickens. Daniel B. De Jong, TEI Tax Counsel, serves as legal staff liaison to the committee and coordinated the preparation of the letter.
TEI Files Amicus Letter in California's California Taxpayers' Association Penalty Litigation
On February 24, 2011, TEI filed an amicus letter with the California Supreme Court urging the Court to grant the pending Petition for Review filed by the California Taxpayers's Association in Supreme Court Case No. S189996.
TEI Urges California Supreme Court to Grant Review in River Garden Retirement Home
On September 21, 2010, TEI filed an amicus letter with the California Supreme Court in River Garden Retirement Home v. Franchise Tax Board urging the court to accept the case and clarify the rules for determining remedies when a state tax provision has been found unconstitutional. The amicus letter was filed under the aegis of TEI's State and Local Tax Committee, whose chair is Cathleen Stevens of Brunswick Corporation; Daniel B. De Jong, TEI Tax Counsel, was the principal author of the brief.
TEI Comments on Washington's Emergency Regulations
On September 2, 2010, TEI filed comments suggesting changes to proposed Washington Department of Revenue emergency regulations (WAC 458-20-19401, 458-20-19402 and 458-20-19403) interpreting recently enacted nexus and sales factor sourcing legislation. The comments were filed under the aegis of TEI's State and Local Tax Committee, whose chair is Linda Dickens; Daniel B. De Jong, TEI Tax Counsel, serves as legal staff liaison to the committee.
TEI Opposes Proposed Strict Liability Penalty Legislation in California
On August 4, 2010, TEI filed a letter commenting on California AB 2498.
TEI Responds to Questions from Congressional Subcommittee on State Taxation
On June 25, 2010, TEI filed answers to eight follow up questions issued by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law on The Role of Congress in Developing Apportionment Standards. The Subcommittee issued the questions following TEI Tax Counsel Daniel B. De Jong's May 6, 2010 testimony on that subject.
TEI Testifies Before Congressional Subcommittee on the Role of Congress in Developing Apportionment Standards
On May 6, 2010, TEI Tax Counsel Daniel B. De Jong testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the role of Congress in developing rules for the apportionment of income among states. A copy of his testimony is attached.