policy statement

The Hill Extra interviewed TEI Tax Counsel Pilar Mata and covered TEI's State Tax Havens Policy Statement in a recent article regarding state tax haven legislation. The article notes that although only six states and the District of Columbia have enacted such legislation to date, other states are likely to follow suit in upcoming legislative sessions. The article also notes that state tax haven laws raise many constitutional questions and referenced TEI's policy statement on state tax haven legislation, which was issued on June 15, 2016.

On September 20, 2016, TEI issued a new policy statement on retroactive tax legislation. The policy statement takes the position that sound tax policy and administration require governments to provide taxpayers with certainty and fairness, and these principles are not satisfied when legislatures are permitted to enact retroactive tax legislation without meaningful limits.

On June 15, 2016, TEI issued two new state and local tax policy statements on alternative apportionment and state tax haven legislation.

On April 26, 2016, TEI issued a policy statement on statutes of limitation for state and local taxes. TEI maintains statutes of limitation for assessments and refund claims should be equal; unilateral administrative actions should only toll statutes of limitation for a reasonable, limited period; and when a federal change reopens a state or local statute of limitation, any resulting assessment should be limited to the impact of the federal change on the taxpayer's tax liability unless the taxpayer has signed an agreement extending/modifying the jurisdiction's statute of limitation.

In November 2015, TEI issued five state and local tax policy statements: (1) Reporting Federal Income Tax Changes, (2) Audit Procedures, (3) Corporate Tax Return Due Dates, (4) State and Local-Imposed Audit Fees, and (5) Interest Rates. TEI's policy statements reflect TEI's position on important state and local administrative and procedural issues. They are intended to enable TEI to respond quickly to issues as they arise across the country and to facilitate advocacy by providing formal position papers TEI's members can use when communicating with taxing agencies.

On February 1, 2012, TEI issued a policy statement setting forth the Institute's position encouraging all states to establish pre-payment, independent tax tribunals presided over by individuals possessing a strong knowledge of the tax law.

On August 15, 2011, Tax Executives Institute released a policy statement setting forth the Institute's position on contingency fee audits. The statement urges jurisdictions to renounce the use of contingency fee auditors for all types of taxes, fees, and unclaimed property audits.