State Tax 'Think Tankers'

Who will be the next generation of state tax 'think tankers'? 

We have had great leaders in the SALT profession, you know the group of thought leaders, national tax office prognosticators, prolific professors that tell us what each case means, that tell us the impact proposed legislation will have. They are the ones that tell us what legislation is 'good' and what legislation is 'bad.' They speak at every seminar. They write the articles we read. They handle the big cases. They provide advice to the largest corporations. They are the ones we look up to. 

We have enjoyed their leadership for decades. My question is, who is next? Who will lead us in the future? Will it be you? Will it be someone else?

Those of you who work tirelessly in large corporate tax departments, are you holding onto a wealth of knowledge that needs to be released? Are you looking for an outlet? Are you wanting the opportunity to raise your hand and voice?

Those of you who are learning the ropes in a large firm. Are you looking for an opportunity to speak your mind? To share your thoughts? To express what you are learning?

We all have visions of the future. Aspirations. Dreams. To make those dreams come true, we all have the same requirement - we must start where we are. 

We don't know who will be the next state tax 'think tankers.' But one thing we do know, it could be you.

When Will Your State Make Tax Law Changes?

If you are looking for some insight into 'when' your state will make tax law changes in 2016, I have provided a link to Multistate Associates schedule of state legislative session dates, and a Map of Current Legislative Sessions.

Let me know if you have any questions or any insights into what changes your state may make. Some of the hot topics or possibilities seem to be a continuation of prior years, depending on what your state has enacted in the past:

1. Imposing nexus on remote retailers for sales tax collection purposes
2. Market-Based Sourcing for apportionment of services
3. Combined Reporting
4. Single-Sales Factor apportionment
5. Tax Haven legislation
6. Transfer Pricing 
7. Addback legislation for related party expenses
8. Sales taxation of services
9. Credits and Incentives

Building the Innovation Nation

I provided a link to this site (govtech.com) yesterday in the LEVERAGE SALT LinkedIn group and got feedback that it was an interesting site. To help ensure you didn't miss it, I thought I would post a link via this blog as well.

State Tax Haven Legislation Got you Down? Read COST Report.

The State Tax Research Institute (STRI), a foundation affiliated with the Council On State Taxation (COST) released a study on state “tax haven” legislation. The report, “State Tax Haven Legislation: A Misguided Approach to a Global Issue,” provides an in-depth analysis of the problems, fallacies, and risks associated with adopting tax haven legislation.  

States have been attempting to reach income that they perceive is escaping taxation through sophisticated tax planning for the past 20+ years. To that end, states have enacted economic nexus, addback rules for related party transactions, worldwide combined reporting and scrutinized transfer pricing studies. Over the past couple of years, tax haven legislation has gained some traction as a new tool to combat unintended consequences created by state tax policy.

If tax haven legislation is impacting or could impact your company, read the COST report for a detailed analysis. It may help you defend your company or lobby against such legislation.

WE ARE WHAT WE ALLOW

"We are what we allow" - if you watch Grey's Anatomy, then you may know I got this quote from last week's show. When Dr. Grey made the comment, I was like 'yes,' we are what we allow. If we allow others to treat us small, then we will be small. If we allow others to define who we are and what we do, then we will become that version of ourselves.

We have a choice. We have a daily decision. Are we going to be what we want to be? Or will we allow others to decide who we will be and how they treat us?

In regards to working in the state tax profession, whether you work in a corporate tax department, the Big 4 or a small regional firm, people in your department or partners will try to define who you are. They will treat you a certain way. You need to decide if you are okay with how they are treating you. Are you who you want to be? Is how they are treating you interfering with who you want to become? Just say no. Stop it today. Decide for yourself.

In regards to state taxation, corporations can get ran over by auditors, by unconstitutional laws, by unreasonable compliance deadlines and notices. Will you sit by and let it go on? Or will you stand up? Will you fight? Will you take action? Will your company defend itself? Will your company lobby for better policy? Will you take your audit issues to appeals? 

We are what we allow.

Peace.

Rhode Island Adopts Final Combined Reporting Regulations

Hopefully you extended your 2015 Rhode Island corporate return that was due on March 15, 2016, because Rhode Island recently adopted final combined reporting regulations with an effective date of March 30, 2016 applying to tax returns filed for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2015.

You can compare the final regulations to the proposed regulations which I described in a previous post.

Rhode Island has also published a FAQ page on its website which should be helpful in beginning the analysis and application of the regulations.