44th Institute on State and Local Taxation 2025 (presented by NYU School of Professional Studies)

Lindsay LaCava | Baker McKenzie

Lindsay M. LaCava is a Partner of the Firm’s Tax Practice Group in New York and is a member of the Firm’s Global Indirect Tax Steering Committee. Lindsay advises individual and business clients on a full range of state and local tax issues. She was ranked by Chambers in 2019 and 2020, was named a “Rising Star” in Tax Law in 2015 by Law360, has been recognized by International Tax Review in its “Women in Tax” Leaders Guide since 2016, and has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a New York-Metro “Rising Star” for Tax since 2013.

Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Lindsay was a partner in the state and local tax group of an international law firm. In addition, she previously worked at a Big Four accounting firm, where her practice focused exclusively on state and local tax. Lindsay speaks on a variety of state tax topics at events around the country and also frequently writes about state and local tax issues, including serving as the former Managing Editor (State and Local Tax) for the American Bar Association’s “The Tax Lawyer,” co-authoring Bloomberg’s Connecticut Corporate Income Tax Navigator, and co-authoring Checkpoint Catalyst’s New York Corporate Franchise Tax guide. She also teaches State and Local Tax as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law.

Michael J. Hilkin, Esq. | McDermott Will & Emery

Michael J. Hilkin represents clients in all aspects of complex state and local tax matters. He has a particular focus on tax controversy and transactional issues relating to state and local income, franchise, sales and use, gross receipts and other business taxes. Michael has extensive experience handling state and local tax issues before US administrative and judicial systems.

Michael is the current chair for the State and Local Tax Committee for the New York City Bar Association. He also frequently speaks on concerning state and local tax issues before the Council on State Taxation, the Practising Law Institute, the New Jersey State Bar Association, The New York State Bar Association, TeleStrategies and Interstate Tax.

Jorge Rodriguez, Esq., Managing Principal | Rodriguez Law Firm

Rodriguez Law Firm, PLLC is a boutique law firm with offices in New York City and Washington, DC offering specialized services in tax law, including international, federal and state and local taxation, tax controversy and commercial litigation. Rodriguez Law Firm is dedicated to providing the finest legal services and counsel with an unwavering commitment to achieving clients’ objectives. Rodriguez Law Firm was founded by attorney Jorge Rodriguez.

Ian Boccaccio, Principal and Practice Leader | Ryan

Mr. Boccaccio currently serves as Principal and Practice Leader at Ryan’s New York office, where he specializes in income tax with a focus on increasing shareholder value through innovative and quantitative tax strategies.

His expertise includes green energy investing and tax credit transfer monetization, U.S. and green energy tax incentives, the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit, Interest Charge Domestic International Sales Corporation (IC-DISC), Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII), tax accounting method optimization, and technology-based tax controllership, including compliance and ASC 740 global tax provisioning. He also advises on withholding tax risk and recovery, foreign tax attribute optimization, Foreign Tax Credit realization, Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) modeling, and Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) planning.

Previously, he was a Partner at a global tax services firm, where he developed and implemented complex international tax solutions for Fortune 500 companies, hosted an annual global international tax summit for corporate tax leaders, and authored a comprehensive international tax compliance training program.

Mr. Boccaccio has lectured on various tax topics for Ryan clients and spoken at events hosted by organizations including Accounting Today, IndustryWeek, the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Solarplaza Summit North America, the Tax Executives Institute, and Yahoo Finance. He is affiliated with the Chicago Tax Club, the International Fiscal Association, and the Institute for Professionals in Taxation. Mr. Boccaccio holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Bryant University and is licensed as a General Securities Representative (Series 7, FINRA) and Series 63 (NASAA).

Carolynn Kranz | Sales Tax Institute

Carolynn is the founder and managing member of two firms: (1) Kranz & Associates, PLLC, a boutique law firm specializing in state and local tax consulting; and (2) Industry Sales Tax Solutions, LLC (“ISTS”), which offers a subscription database containing the sales and use taxability of software related transactions, digital content and cloud services. The ISTS database is also licensed by Avalara and utilized to maintain content as part of their AvaTax platform. Carolynn specializes in state and local tax matters on a multi-state basis, particularly in the area of sales and use taxes. In addition to Carolynn’s sales and use tax expertise, she has significant experience in state and local income / franchise tax, as well as federal tax matters.

Carolynn has over twenty-five years of experience in state and local taxation coupled with over seven years of experience in federal taxation. Prior to founding ISTS, Carolynn spent most of her career working in the state and local tax practice of Big Four public accounting firms. In addition, Carolynn has held a management position in the Tax Department of an international pharmaceutical company with responsibilities involving federal and international tax matters, coupled with a primary focus in state and local taxation.

Carolynn holds a law degree from Widener University School of Law and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management with a major in Accounting and a minor in Spanish from Widener University. Carolynn is a CPA; a member of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania bars; and also a member of various professional organizations, including the ABA, AICPA, IPT, District of Columbia Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Carolynn is also a member of the advisory committee to Widener University’s Department of Taxation and Accounting, has served as a visiting professor at Widener University, and was an adjunct professor in Widener University’s Master of Taxation Program. She is also a member of the Advisory Board to NYU’s Annual Institute on State & Local Taxation; and is a member and officer to the board for the Streamlined Sales Tax Business Advisory Council.

Carolynn was recognized by State Tax Notes in its monthly State Tax Spotlight, which regularly profiles a person or organization influential in the state and local tax world. In addition, Carolynn is a frequent speaker on multi-state sales and use tax matters for clients, businesses, and a number of professional organizations, including the ABA, COST, IPT, New York University, PICPA, and TEI. Carolynn has also authored a book published by LexisNexis – State Tax Guide to Digital Content and Cloud Services, 1st through 6th Editions; a chapter of IPT’s book on Sales and Use Taxation; numerous articles for LexisNexis’ Practitioner Insights; and has been published in State Tax Notes, BNA, and the Pennsylvania CPA Journal.

Lindsay McAfee Cukier, Esq., Principal | Deloitte Tax

With over 18 years of state and local tax experience, Lindsay advises clients on indirect tax issues relating to technology companies, software and “cloud” service providers, blockchain and digital assets transactions, and retail companies, online marketplace operators, and manufacturers, among others. She provides a broad array of services to her clients, including nexus and taxability reviews, consulting for mergers and acquisitions, ASC 450 reviews, refund reviews, tax remediation pursuits, audit support, and industry-specific consulting matters.

Lindsay is a frequent speaker at national tax events, including Institute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT), American Bar Association (ABA), and Tax Executives Institute (TEI), and is passionate about mentoring the next generation of sales tax leaders.

Prior to earning her law degree, Lindsay worked as the Legislative Associate for the Council On State Taxation (COST). At COST, she was responsible for tracking and analyzing legislation in all 50 states and federal legislation pertaining to state and local taxation. Lindsay also assisted with the implementation and launching of the Business Advisory Council to the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. Lindsay graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she was a Note and Comment Editor for the Iowa Law Review. She holds an undergraduate degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

DiAndria Green, Esq., Partner | Bennett Thrasher

DiAndria “Dee” Green is a Partner in Bennett Thrasher’s State and Local Tax (SALT) consulting practice, where she focuses on providing state income/franchise tax consulting, sales/use tax consulting and other state tax services to clients of varying sizes and legal entity types. In this role, she assists clients in reducing their tax liability and effective state tax rates. Additionally, Dee leads the SMART Compliance practice, which assists clients with meeting state sales tax compliance requirements and implementing and managing an automated sales tax software solution.

While at Bennett Thrasher, DiAndria has also advised motion picture studios, television networks, independent film producers and digital entertainment companies across the country on how to pursue, utilize and monetize movie production incentives and film tax credits. Her work primarily consists of educating clients on the law surrounding available state film tax credits and the qualifications required in pursuing those credits. While assisting clients with claiming film tax credits, DiAndria has also analyzed production expenses to determine qualifying expenditures, conducted due diligence reviews and drafted due diligence reports that indicated relevant procedures and findings.

DiAndria has more than 15 years of tax consulting and business development experience. Prior to joining Bennett Thrasher, she worked at Ernst & Young, where she focused on Research & Development (R&D) credit study services, and at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Washington National Tax Office, where she provided merger and acquisition tax consulting services to public and privately-held corporate clients.

Grace Kyne | Ernst & Young

Principal, EY, Boston, MA.

Jeffrey A. Friedman | Eversheds Sutherland LLP

Jeff provides sophisticated state and local tax planning, strategic advice, and advocacy to numerous Fortune 100 and industry-leading companies.

His comprehensive practice includes state and local tax planning, compliance, legislation and policy, and litigation and controversy matters involving income, franchise, sales and use, and property taxes. Jeff’s clients span a variety of industries, including e-commerce, energy, technology, and telecommunications.

A recognized thought leader on state and local tax issues, Jeff works on high-profile and precedent-setting litigation and controversy matters across the country. These matters impact critical questions on nexus, apportionment, the Multistate Tax Compact and the equal protection, due process, and commerce clauses of the United States Constitution. Jeff is also a well-respected advocate on issues of tax policy, including the taxation of digital economy transactions.

Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland (US), Jeff was a partner in KPMG’s Washington national tax practice; served as an attorney adviser in the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy, where he assisted with the development of the U.S. government’s position on domestic and international electronic commerce tax issues; and served as vice president and counsel of the Committee (now Council) On State Taxation (COST).

Richard Pomp | University of Connecticut

Richard D. Pomp is the Alva P. Loiselle Professor of Law. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan and a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. He has taught at Harvard, New York University, Columbia, University of Texas, and Boston College. In addition, he has been a Distinguished Professor in Residence, Chulalongkorn Law School, Bangkok, Thailand, and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Tokyo Law School and at Harvard Law School.

Professor Pomp has been qualified as an expert witness in more than 30 states and the federal district courts and has appeared in more than 120 cases. He serves as counsel and a litigation consultant to law firms, corporations, accounting firms, and state tax administrations. He has participated in various capacities in U.S. Supreme Court litigation.

Professor Pomp has also served as a consultant to cities, states, the Multistate Tax Commission, the Navajo Nation, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Treasury, the Department of Justice, the IRS, the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, and numerous foreign countries, including the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China, Indonesia, the Gambia, Zambia, Mexico, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, and Vietnam. He is the former Director of the New York Tax Study Commission.

Under his tenure, New York restructured its personal and corporate income taxes, and created an independent tax court. Professor Pomp’s casebook, State and Local Taxation, now in its 9th edition, has been used in more than 100 schools, state tax administrations, and major accounting firms for their internal training. Portions of the casebook have been translated into Chinese, Dutch, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. He is also the author of more than 110 articles, numerous chapters in books, and various books and monographs. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times.

In addition to the local and regional media, Professor Pomp has been interviewed by CNN, NPR, Bloomberg Radio, Sirius Radio, KCBS, WINA, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Sacramento Bee, The Baltimore Sun and The International Herald Tribune.

In 2007, he received the NYU Institute on State and Local Taxation Award for Outstanding Achievement in State and Local Taxation. In 2011, he was awarded the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the 2012 winner of the University of Connecticut’s Faculty Excellence in Teaching – Graduate Level. Tax Analysts selected him as its 2013 State Tax Lawyer and Academic of the Year. In 2014, he received the Council on State Taxation’s Excellence in State Taxation Award. The Connecticut Law Tribune selected him for a 2015 Professional Excellence Award. In 2017, he won the Perry Zirkel ’76 Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2022, he was appointed a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, the highest honor the University can bestow on a faculty member.

Alysse McLoughlin | Jones Walker LLP

Alysse McLoughlin is a partner in the Tax Practice Group. She focuses her practice on state and local tax planning and controversies, with an emphasis on issues facing financial services companies, insurance companies, and utilities.

Alysse provides broad-ranging state and local tax counsel to clients across the country. With years of experience in private practice, as in house tax counsel at leading financial institutions, and as an attorney in the Chief Counsel Division of the Internal Revenue Service, she understands the goals and priorities of businesses and tax authorities. Alysse draws on this knowledge to help clients make effective tax-planning decisions and resolve tax disputes.

Alysse advises on multistate tax matters, with an emphasis on New York and New Jersey issues. She has represented airlines, media and entertainment companies, banks and financial institutions, and other taxpayers before the New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal and the New York Appellate Division with respect to corporate income tax, insurance tax, bank tax, and sales tax issues. She has represented pharmaceutical companies, utilities, and other clients in New Jersey courts.

Alysse served as head of state tax for Barclays Capital, where she oversaw all state tax matters, including income, sales and use, franchise, excise, and other tax issues. Among other responsibilities, she established the company’s tax-return filing positions and reserves, participated in the development of financial statements and reports, consulted on the structuring of commodity transactions, and responded to audits conducted by state tax authorities. Prior to joining Barclays and after leaving the IRS, Alysse was state tax counsel for Lehman Brothers.

Diann L. Smith, Esq., Counsel | McDermott Will & Schulte, Washington, DC

Diann Smith focuses her practice on state and local taxation and unclaimed property advocacy. Diann advises clients at any stage of an issue, including planning, compliance, controversy, financial statement issues and legislative activity.

Her goal is to find the most effective method to achieve a client’s objective regardless of when or how an issue arises. Diann emphasizes the importance of defining a client’s objective – whether it is finality of a frequently audited issue, quick resolution of a stand-alone tax liability, or avoiding competitive disadvantages in the application of a tax. The defined objective then governs the choice of the path to a solution.

Lynn A. Gandhi | Foley & Lardner LLP

Practicing for more than three decades, Lynn A. Gandhi has acquired a wealth of experience as a sophisticated tax attorney, including 14 years as corporate in-house counsel, providing her extensive knowledge of the challenges facing businesses in their tax reporting obligations, risk management, and planning. Lynn is a partner in the firm’s Detroit office member of the Tax, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, and Estate Planning Practices.

Lynn advises her clients on sophisticated multistate tax planning opportunities, manages complex audits, provides transactional support on the multistate tax implications of merger and acquisition transactions, constructs submissions for tax insurance policies, and assists with unclaimed property audits and voluntary disclosures.

She is a successful litigation attorney in tax matters at the administrative, trial, and appellate levels in multiple jurisdictions throughout the United States. Lynn is also a registered lobbyist and represents clients in legislative and policy initiatives across multiple industry platforms. Her clients include foreign- based companies with U.S. operations, Fortune 500 companies, private equity funds, as well as trade associations. She is sought out for her practical approach in resolving controversy matters, and when settlement is not possible, her strategic approach is to avoid unnecessary “scorched earth” litigation.

Lynn is well-known for her enthusiasm and engagement with tax policy initiatives and is considered a subject matter expert within her professional community. She has led legislative, administrative, and regulatory changes large and small to benefit business entities and their owners. Lynn is particularly well- versed in Michigan taxes, including unemployment taxes, gaming excise taxes, cannabis and liquor excise taxes, insurance company taxes, officer liability exposure, and unclaimed property laws.

Lynn has written extensively and is a frequent subject matter speaker on state tax topics, having published more than 60 articles and spoken or presented at over 100 events. She currently writes a State Tax Notes column entitled “Smitten with the Mitten.” Lynn is also an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School, her alma mater.

In addition to being an accomplished state tax attorney, Lynn is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Maria M. Todorova | Eversheds Sutherland LLP

Maria Todorova serves as national state and local tax counsel to many of the Fortune 100 and other industry-leading companies.

She helps them successfully navigate through multi-state state and local tax audits and litigation, complex tax reporting positions, and sophisticated business restructuring opportunities. Maria currently serves on the firm’s Executive Committee and as a deputy practice group leader of the firm’s Tax practice.

She regularly represents clients in a variety of industries, including communications, energy, technology, financial, retail, manufacturing and hospitality, providing strategic advice and advocacy on matters across the United States in all areas of state and local taxation. Maria has extensive experience with industry-specific communications, energy and technology tax issues.

Maria stays active in the SALT community and frequently speaks on state and local tax topics in various forums, including the Broadband Tax Institute, the Wireless Tax Group, the State Tax Roundtable for Utilities and Power, Telestrategies, the Tax Executives Institute’s national and regional tax conferences, the Council on State Taxation’s national and regional state tax conferences, New York University’s Institute on State and Local Taxation, the Hartman SALT Forum. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Emory University School of Law teaching state and local taxation.

Maria is conversant in Italian and Russian and fluent in Bulgarian.

Mark F. Sommer | Frost Brown Todd LLP

With his local, regional and national recognitions, Mark is a highly sought-after attorney resident in the firm’s Louisville office where he leads the firm’s Tax, Benefits and Estates Practice Group and practices in the areas of state, local and federal tax, tax controversy and litigation, and economic development/incentives.

In small matters as well as in “bet the company” situations, Mark has assisted his clients in avoiding hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in improperly asserted tax obligations and securing hundreds of millions in refunds and credits. His successes have lead to a national reputation as a practitioner and as a thought leader in State Taxation. He is a go-to advisor on State and Local Taxes in this part of the Country.

With over 35 years of private practice experience, Mark has on a local, regional and national level successfully counseled and advocated in well more than a thousand federal, state and local tax matters, cases and planning/transactions involving multiple types of businesses, entities, trusts and individual taxpayers. He has also represented more than 115 members of the past and present Fortune 500.

Applying creativity, experience and work ethic, Mark serves his clients daily on all elements of state, local and federal taxation as well as civil/criminal tax controversy/litigation, business law, gaming law, economic development and incentives, tax-related governmental relations and bankruptcy taxation, with significant experience in the manufacturing space, and the automotive and maritime industries.

As a thought leader on taxation, over the years Mark has moderated, presented or spoken at more than 275 seminars and conferences sponsored by various organizations, including the Council on State Taxation, American, Kentucky and Louisville Bar Associations, Institute for Professionals in Taxation, Hartman SALT Forum, Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators, NYU Advanced SALT Conference, TEI and many more organizations.

Nicole L. Johnson, Esq., Partner | Blank Rome

Nicole works with clients to resolve state and local tax controversies at the audit, administrative, and judicial levels and advises clients on state and local tax law in transactional matters. She represents clients on matters that implicate virtually every category of taxes, including corporate income and franchise taxes, gross receipts taxes, gaming taxes, sales and use taxes, and transactions taxes.

Chambers USA notes that clients say Nicole is “a great state and local tax attorney, with the depth and experience needed to handle complex litigation,” “proactive and knowledgeable,” and “very strong with technical aspects of the law and applying those to reach a practical solution.”

Nicole frequently delivers lectures on state and local tax matters and has presented at several organizations, including the Council On State Taxation, Tax Executives Institute, Energy Tax Association, Ohio Tax Conference, and California Tax Policy Conference. In 2022, she was appointed to the Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum Advisory Board. Nicole was also appointed to the New York Tax Appeals Tribunal Advisory Panel in 2018. She regularly provides expert insights and commentary to the annual Bloomberg Tax Survey of State Tax Departments.

Prior to joining Blank Rome, Nicole was a partner at a leading Am Law 100 firm and served as a local state and local tax manager at one of the big four accounting firms. In 2006, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Michael B. Thornton, U.S. Tax Court.

Bruce P. Ely | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Bruce Ely’s more than 40 years of experience have allowed him to handle projects as diverse as serving on the recruiting teams that successfully induced both Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai to locate their first U.S. manufacturing plants in Alabama to representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service, the Alabama Department of Revenue and local taxing authorities.

His practice focuses on three concentric areas: representing taxpayers in federal, state and local administrative and judicial forums; advising companies on choosing the proper form of entity through which to conduct business in the Southeast and potential tax incentives; and advising companies and various trade and professional organizations regarding state and local tax legislative matters. He also devotes a substantial amount of time to teaching and writing on tax-related topics.

Bruce was founding chair of the firm’s State and Local Tax (SALT) Practice team, which represents taxpayers before the Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi Departments of Revenue, as well as local government taxing authorities and the state and federal courts. He has served as counsel to multistate taxpayers in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, but more often before the Alabama appellate courts, circuit courts, and the Alabama Tax Tribunal. He also recently co chaired the New York University Institute on State & Local Taxation and was selected by State Tax Notes/Tax Analysts as one of its “Top Ten Tax Lawyers in the U.S.”

Bruce has coauthored a number of landmark pieces of tax and business entity legislation in Alabama and numerous statute-specific tax bills. He was privileged to serve as counsel to several state tax reform, economic development, and constitutional reform commissions over the years and has written extensively on those topics, as well as on other multistate tax issues and incentives matters. He also speaks regularly on the tax aspects of pass-through entities at the national and state levels, and coauthors a series of charts on the state taxation of LLCs and LLPs that have appeared in numerous tax and business entity journals and treatises.

Bruce also serves as a Senior Fellow to Bloomberg Tax & Accounting and lead editor of Bloomberg BNA’s Pass-Through Entity Navigator, a comprehensive online resource providing detailed analysis and practical guidance on a state-by-state basis for each type of pass through entity and pass-through entity owner. The resource tool allows tax professionals to quickly access more than 1,700 topics, such as formation, federal tax classifications, taxes imposed, withholding, or composite returns.

As a longstanding Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and newly appointed Regent, Bruce is the only Alabama member included in the International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers.

David Merrien, Esq., Tax Specialist | Multistate Tax Commission

David Merrien is a Tax Specialist for the Multistate Tax Commission.

Prior to joining the Commission earlier this year, he served as the bureau chief in charge of audits and pass-through entities at the Montana Department of Revenue. Before becoming bureau chief, David was the pass-through unit manager for three years and an income tax specialist for four.

Prior to joining the Montana Department of Revenue, David occupied the role of the deputy tax attaché at the Embassy of France in Washington DC for five years, working on the application of tax treaties, mutual agreement procedures, and exchange of tax information for the French tax administration. David has an LLM in US and international taxation from the University of Michigan Law School, a master’s degree in journalism and communication from the University of Paris II and a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Rouen.

Dale Y. Kim, CPA, Partner | PwC

Kelvin M. Lawrence, Esq., Partner | Dinsmore

Kelvin is a business and tax lawyer who saves clients money by minimizing their tax exposure and finding solutions to their Ohio and multi-state tax issues. He advises on taxes implicated in multi-state transactions and has resolved Ohio state income tax, sales tax, commercial activity tax, pass-through entity tax, municipal income tax, and property tax appeals.

Kelvin helps his clients manage interactions with taxing authorities and get the most from the involvement of expert witnesses and consultants in tax and unclaimed property audits and controversies. He has secured significant refunds in Ohio sales tax proceedings, as well as in real property tax exemption and valuation disputes. Kelvin has helped tax-exempt organizations obtain and preserve federal tax-exempt status by advising them on joint ventures, combinations, restructuring, compensation procedures, charitable activities, and financial assistance policies. He has also helped these organizations receive tax exempt bond financing.

Argi O’Leary, Esq., Principal | Ryan

Ms. O’Leary currently serves as Principal at Ryan’s New York City office, where she specializes in tax strategy and audit assistance, focusing on tax issue negotiations and resolution, policy advice, and advocacy across all tax types. Previously, she maintained a private law practice.

In the public sector, she serves as a Volunteer Member of the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee for the Internal Revenue Service and as a Trustee on the Board of Education for the Voorheesville Central School District. Her prior public service includes positions as Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Federal Law Clerk for the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, and Assistant District Attorney for the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

Ms. O’Leary lectures on tax topics for Ryan clients and the Ryan Professional Development Program and has been a featured speaker for organizations such as the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, the New York and Tri-State Taxation Conference, the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the New York University State and Local Tax Conference, and the Northeastern States Tax Officials Association.

She is an active member of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation and serves on the Business Advisory Council of the Streamlined Sales Tax™ Governing Board, Inc. Ms. O’Leary holds a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law, a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College, and is a licensed attorney in New York and New Jersey. (Ryan is not a law firm.)

Elil Arasu, Esq., Principal | BDO

Elil leads the Greater Washington DC State and Local tax practice.

The SALT team consults on state income franchise taxes, sale and use tax, property tax, credits and incentives and unclaimed property. Elil’s team is a firm resource for DC, Maryland and Virginia technical questions as well as on local taxes such as the BPOL.

Justin Hill, Esq., CPA, Partner | KPMG

Justin Hill is a partner at KPMG in Dallas, where he is in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice. He holds the titles of CPA and Esq. (attorney) and is involved in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Veronica Caputo, CPA, Principal | Grant Thornton

Veronica is a Principal in the Atlanta State and Local Tax (SALT) Practice. She has over 18 years of tax experience, in both public accounting and private industry. She has served both large multistate and multinational corporations in the manufacturing, consumer products, wholesale, retail, financial services and pharmaceutical industries.

Her practice concentrations include: multistate corporate income and franchise tax planning; accounting for income taxes and uncertain tax positions; compliance and refund reviews; audit defense; nexus studies; voluntary disclosure agreement negotiations to minimize state tax exposure; and credits and incentives.

Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Veronica spent seven years with a Big Four public accounting firm and also spent seven years in industry. Veronica’s roles in industry broadened her skill set as she was also responsible for federal income tax, sales and use tax, local gross receipts tax, and personal property taxes.

Joe Garrett, Esq., Managing Director | Multistate Tax Group

Joe joined Deloitte Tax LLP in 2019 as a managing director in the Multistate Tax practice. Prior to joining Deloitte, Joe served as deputy commissioner for the Alabama Department of Revenue for 17 years. He began his state tax career in public accounting as a state and local tax manager in Atlanta.

Joe is well known and respected in the state tax community for his strong tax technical skills, which he demonstrated regularly by working with other states’ tax officials on tax policy matters and subjects such as Wayfair and the state impacts of federal tax reform.

Joe is the 2015 recipient of the Paull Mines Award, the Multistate Tax Commission’s award for significant contributions to state tax jurisprudence. He was also the State Tax Notes Notable Tax Administrator of 2016 and featured in that publication’s “Spotlight” article (September 2015).

At the Alabama Department of Revenue, Joe led the state’s policy work addressing the state impact of federal tax reform and post-Wayfair implementation issues. Joe also served as a leader of the Multistate Tax Commission’s policymaking work on these and other significant state tax developments. His ability to connect with various states on tax technical or procedural issues provides a substantial benefit to clients.

Joe holds a BS in finance from Auburn University, a JD from the University of Alabama School of Law and an LLM in taxation from University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Patrick J. Reynolds, Esq., CPA, President & Executive Director, Council | State Taxation

Patrick J. Reynolds is President & Executive Director of the Council On State Taxation (COST), where he has served since 2016. COST, with a membership of over 500 multistate corporations, is dedicated to preserving and promoting equitable and nondiscriminatory state taxation of multi-jurisdictional entities.

He serves on the Advisory Board of the Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum. He also serves on the Board of Directors and as President of COST’s research affiliate, the State Tax Research Institute (STRI).

Prior to joining COST he was Senior Managing Counsel with J. C. Penney and for 14 years provided legal support for audits, litigation, and appeals for income, franchise, sales/use, property and transfer taxes, as well as unclaimed property. Pat started his career with Price Waterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska, and subsequently served for six years as an attorney in the Nebraska Department of Revenue’s Legal Division.

He received his JD from Creighton University School of Law and his BSBA – Accounting from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is a member of the Nebraska and Texas state bars and is a licensed CPA in Texas.

Gregory S. Matson, Esq., Executive Director | Multistate Tax Commission

Nikki E. Dobay | Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Nikki Dobay is nationally known for her deep experience and understanding of state tax policy and the legislative process. She also advises her clients on sophisticated multistate tax issues as well as the consequences and planning opportunities related to corporate M&A transactions and oversees state and local tax controversy matters, ranging from audits to appellate litigation, and involving sales and use taxes, income and franchise taxes, property taxes, and constitutional issues.

Nikki regularly engages with statewide business and taxpayer associations and departments of revenue, as well as national tax administrator organizations, including the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA), the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC), and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), on key SALT issues impacting multijurisdictional taxpayers.

Nikki’s previous experience includes spending five years as senior tax counsel for the Council On State Taxation (COST). She also gained experience working in the national office of a Big Four accounting firm and at a large international law firm and a large corporate law firm in Oregon, where she assisted clients with multistate tax issues and Oregon tax controversy matters, including proceedings in the Oregon Tax Court.

Craig B. Fields, Esq., Partner | Blank Rome

Craig regularly litigates state and local tax matters as well as counsels clients on state and local tax planning. In addition to representing clients in state and local tax controversies before administrative and judicial systems in jurisdictions throughout the United States, he has resolved hundreds of non-public record cases around the country.

He has secured successful outcomes for clients in state general jurisdiction courts and tax courts as well as appellate courts for a multitude of clients across various industries. He has also advised clients on the potential state and local tax consequences of complex restructurings involving corporation income (franchise) taxes, sales and use taxes, and miscellaneous taxes.

Craig has published numerous articles on state and local taxation, which have appeared in leading industry publications such as the Journal of State Taxation, State Tax Notes, Tax Management’s Multistate Tax Report, COST’s State Tax Report, TEI’s Tax Executive, Research Institute of America’s State and Local Taxes Weekly, the Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives, Law360, Cyberspace Lawyer, the Interstate Tax Report, and The American Bar Association’s The State & Local Tax Lawyer.

Craig also frequently delivers lectures on state and local tax issues and has spoken before many organizations, including the National Multistate Tax Symposium, New York University’s Institute on State and Local Taxation, Vanderbilt University Law School’s Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum, Georgetown University Law Center’s Advanced State and Local Tax Institute, the Tax Executives Institute, the Council On State Taxation, the Energy Tax Association, STARTUP, the Chicago Tax Club, the Tulane Tax Institute, Practicing Law Institute, and the Tax Section of the American Bar Association.

Jennifer S. White, Esq., Tax Principal | KPMG

Jennifer S. White, Esq., is a Tax Principal at KPMG in New York, NY.

She is an attorney specializing in tax law and has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers from 2018-2024. Ms. White graduated from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2011 and was admitted to the New York bar the same year.

Christopher T. Lutz, Esq., Partner | Jones Walker

Chris is a highly experienced state and local tax professional who provides sophisticated counsel to regional, national, and international businesses on the full spectrum of state and local income, sales and use, and related taxes. Equal parts advisor and problem-solver, he works with companies across the country to develop effective tax strategies and resolve disputes heard before state courts and administrative tribunals. Chris has represented clients from the state of Washington to Washington, DC, and in dozens of jurisdictions in between.

Chris’ clients include publicly traded Fortune 500 corporations as well as midsize, privately held businesses, emerging growth companies, and startups with interests, investments, and operations in numerous industries, including financial services, insurance, technology, telecommunications, biopharmaceuticals, retail, automotive, energy, and more. He works with owners, executives, and in-house tax departments at every step in the corporate life cycle, from business formation and early-stage financing to mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other major transactions.

A firm believer that tax controversy and tax compliance work go hand in hand, Chris draws on his successes in court and in hearings before tax authorities to develop practical, proactive solutions that help clients achieve their core business objectives.

Eric M. Anderson | Andersen Tax LLC

Eric Anderson provides state and local tax services as part of the US National Tax practice. He has expertise in strategic tax planning, controversy representation, and tax risk management for clients across the firm. Eric also focuses on income tax planning and compliance, sales and use tax transaction planning, mergers & acquisitions, local tax matters, and administrative tax controversies.

Eric also has extensive experience with unitary tax planning, business and non-business issues, and entity structuring to manage multistate tax liabilities.

Eric serves as an Andersen firm-wide resource for credit and incentive consulting, including negotiated incentives related to company expansions and training activities, as well as statutory tax credits. He has helped clients obtain refunds for a variety of statutory credits aggregating millions of dollars.

Eric has practiced in the state and local tax area since 1994. Before joining Andersen, he worked with international professional services firms consulting in a variety of state and local tax areas. He also held a tax planning position with a Global 100 technology consulting corporation, where his team led a global reorganization to place the company in a tax-efficient structure leading up to an initial public offering.

Eric serves as an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. He previously taught state and local taxation in other law programs. He is also a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences.

Brian Kirkell | RSM US LLP

Brian Kirkell is principal and leader of the state and local tax group in the Washington National Tax office of RSM US LLP.

A licensed attorney, he provides advanced technical analysis of state and local tax issues important to middle market businesses. He joined RSM in 2012 and has more than 20 years of experience with state and local tax issues.

Aliza L. Sherman | Stevens & Lee

Aliza represents clients in a variety of state tax matters, including corporate income, franchise, sales and use, realty transfer and personal income taxes. Her experience from working in accounting firms, as in-house counsel and as an attorney handling complex state tax litigation provides her with a comprehensive perspective to handling state tax matters.

Aliza assists clients with state tax audits, administrative appeals and, when necessary, litigation. She has represented clients in state tax controversy matters before the New Jersey Tax Court, New Jersey Appellate Division, New York Division of Tax Appeals and Tax Appeals Tribunal, New York Appellate Division, Pennsylvania Board of Appeals and Board of Finance and Revenue and Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board. Aliza also provides clients with advice regarding the state tax implications of their everyday business operations as well as mergers and acquisitions.

Aliza served as a pro bono attorney for six years with Partners for Women and Justice, a nonprofit public law firm providing legal representation, advice and legislative advocacy that furthers positive change in the lives of domestic violence and sexual assault victims.

Scott Susko, Esq., Principal | Ernst & Young

Scott is a Principal in the National Tax Department and serves as the firm’s US Indirect Tax Controversy (SALT) Leader.

In this role, he provides thought leadership on technical matters, establishes and monitors quality control standards, coordinates the State Tax Desk Network, maintains key relationships with various state tax authorities and industry groups, develops EY technology to enhance the delivery of controversy-related services to clients, and sets the overall strategic vision for the SALT Controversy practice.

Previously, Scott was a partner at a global law firm specializing in multijurisdictional SALT matters involving planning, risk management, merger and acquisition activity, government relations and litigation.

Scott earned a JD from Albany Law School, an LLM in Tax from Boston University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Siena College. Scott practiced law for almost 15 years.

David J. Shipley | Stevens & Lee

David is the Co-Chair of Stevens & Lee’s State and Local Tax Group. He focuses on representing clients in complex state tax controversies during audits, before administrative boards and in courts across the country. David also provides sophisticated multistate tax advice to his clients regarding their business operations, assists with navigating the state tax implications of corporate mergers and acquisitions and consults with clients and their lobbyists on pending state tax legislation and regulations.

With nearly 30 years of experience in state tax, David brings to his clients an extensive knowledge of state tax law, strong relationships with state revenue departments, a track record of successfully litigating state tax cases and a deep understanding of procedural and strategic aspects of handling complex state tax audits and appeals.

David has extensive experience in all areas of state taxation including state corporate income, sales and use, personal income, utility, insurance company and realty transfer taxes. He also advises clients on tax incentives, unclaimed property and unemployment compensation issues. David has handled audits, administrative appeals and litigation across the country and in states including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

David is a frequent national speaker on multistate tax topics for many organizations, including the Council on State Taxation, the New York University Institute on State and Local Taxation, the Institute of Professionals in Taxation, the Tax Executives Institute, the Practicing Law Institute, the Georgetown Advanced State and Local Tax Institute, the Wall Street Tax Association – State and Local Tax Committee, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

David is a member of the American Bar Association’s State and Local Tax Committee, a member of the advisory board for the New York University Institute on State and Local Taxation, a founding committee member for the Institute for Professionals in Taxation’s Income Tax Schools and has served as a member of New Jersey’s Corporation Business Tax Study Committee. He also is a member of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s and New Jersey Business and Industry Association’s Joint State Tax Committee and frequently contributes to those organization’s legislative and regulatory efforts.

Additionally, David has published state tax articles in State Tax Notes, the American Bar Association’s The State and Local Tax Lawyer and Commerce Clearing House’s State Tax Review and he is frequently contacted by news organizations to comment on emerging state tax issues.

Ilya A. Lipin, Esq., Principal | BDO, Philadelphia, PA

Ilya A. Lipin is a Tax Principal in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice of BDO USA in Philadelphia. He serves as the SALT practice leader for the firm in the Mid-Atlantic Region, including the Greater Philadelphia Market. Ilya provides clients with state tax advice in the area of multistate income taxes, sales and use taxes, tax controversy, compliance, and various SALT aspects that arise from M&A transactions.

Ilya is an attorney and a member of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts Bars. Ilya is an active member of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and American Bar Association (ABA) Tax Sections. Ilya is a former Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association Tax Section and its SALT Committee, Vice-Chair of the M&A Committee, Vice-Chair and elected member of the Tax Council for the Pennsylvania Bar Association, as an Editor for the ABA SALT Committee ConNexus Newsletter and Pennsylvania Bar Association Tax Law Section Newsletter. Additionally, Ilya regularly publishes articles in the national tax journals, law reviews, and various professional publications.

Specialties: state & local taxes, tax controversy, nexus & apportionment studies, SALT due diligence, business transactions & restructuring, voluntary disclosure agreements (VDAs), compliance & refund reviews, tax research and writing.

Marc A. Simonetti | State Tax Law LLC

Marc Simonetti advises and represents business clients on matters across the United States in all areas of state and local taxation, including income, franchise, sales & use tax, and gross receipts tax. He represents clients in tax controversy matters, advises clients on uncertain tax positions, counsels clients on tax planning engagements, and works with clients on tax policy matters.

Marc zealously represents his clients in controversy matters from audit through litigation—defending their tax positions and working to achieve practical solutions to controversy matters. He represents clients in matters ranging from audit defense to appellate litigation.

Marc leads the team through every aspect of litigation: discovery, depositions, motion practice, trial and appeal. Marc is a skilled appellate advocate who has argued before state appellate courts around the country. He strives to make complex tax and Constitutional arguments clear for the appellate justices. Recognizing the inherent risks in litigation, Marc is skilled in attaining the best resolution for his client.

With a wide array of business clients, including Fortune 100, mid size, and start up companies, Marc advises on state and local tax issues that affect their business to maximize opportunities and minimize tax liabilities. He understands the national state tax landscape and advises his clients on the most tax efficient way to conduct business operations and avoid costly missteps.

In the changing business environment where many clients face new and difficult tax issues regarding the application of old tax laws to new technology, Marc advises his clients on the tax consequences of participating in the digital economy.

Marc advises his clients on strategic business transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, and mergers as well as business restructuring transactions. He skillfully advises his clients on how to navigate the state and local tax traps for the unwary in business transactions while working to achieve a tax efficient business structure.

Marc counsels his clients on tax policy matters to achieve their business goals. He works with clients to develop the tax technical points to advance their tax policy initiatives from legislative to regulatory matters.

Kimberly A. Krueger, Esq., CPA, Partner, State & Local Tax | PwC, New York, NY

Kim Krueger is a Partner in the South Florida office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Kim has been a member of the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice since 2005. Kim serves a variety of asset management and Fortune 500 companies. She specializes in Income/Franchise tax matters, controversy resolution, and leading large scale compliance engagements.

Kim’s experience has primarily consisted of analyzing the state and local tax implications of corporate acquisitions/reorganizations, managing negotiations and developing strategies in connection with state tax controversy matters, and reviewing state tax returns for purposes of identifying opportunities and/or exposures.

Kim graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Michigan State University, earned a Masters in Accounting with specialization in Taxation from Michigan State University, and received her Juris Doctor in May 2011 from Fordham University School of Law. Kim is a Florida and New York licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and was admitted to the New York Bar in 2014.

Richard Genetelli | Genetelli

Richard was previously with Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) for 20 years, having served as partner for 10 of those years. Richard was at the forefront of the state and local tax practice at Coopers & Lybrand, having served as the national and regional leader, before leaving to form The Genetelli Consulting Group in 1991. Each of the Firm’s tax professionals has more than two decades of concentrated experience in the state and local tax area.

Specialties: Richard’s firm addresses issues over the spectrum of state and local taxes in all 50 states, including corporate income and franchise, sales and use, personal income, gross receipts, business license, property, realty transfer, payroll, and estate and gift. The firm also assists law firms, accounting firms and professional organizations throughout the country on state and local tax issues.

John Biello | Connecticut Department of Revenue Services

John Biello is the Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) in Hartford, CT. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and has represented the department at events like CTBILT’s #ConnStruct2024.

Patrick M. Browne | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue

On January 12, 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro nominated Patrick M. Browne as the Secretary of Revenue. Browne has had a long career in public service, including nearly three decades as an elected official in the Pennsylvania legislature, representing Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Browne, an Allentown native, served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 16th District from 2005 to 2022. He was first elected to the Senate following a special election in April of 2005 and served for 18 years until November 2022.

Prior to joining the Senate, Browne represented the 131st District for 10 years as a member of the state House of Representatives. During his service in the Senate, he was elected by his colleagues in the Senate Republican Caucus to serve as Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman for four consecutive legislative sessions from 2014-22. The committee, the most powerful of the Senate’s standing committees, reviews all legislation for its fiscal impact and plays a crucial role in developing the state budget.

Browne was the author of dozens of initiatives ranging from job creation to education to reforming state government. He wrote several laws which fundamentally reformed Pennsylvania’s public pension systems and created an independent fiscal office to monitor state spending and the budget process. He led in rewriting both the Pennsylvania Basic Education and Special Education funding formulas. Browne also was the Founding Chairman of the Early Childhood Education Caucus and the Arts and Culture Caucus. He has received national recognition for his Early Childhood advocacy and was widely acknowledged to be Pennsylvania’s leading proponent.

In 2009, Browne crafted legislation that created the one-of-a-kind, 130-acre Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) to help revitalize and expand the tax base of the then financially struggling city of Allentown. There has already been more than $1 billion of new development investment in Allentown and more than $13 million in annual school property tax revenues for Allentown School District generated through the zone. The NIZ has served as a model for economic development in other distressed areas – cities, boroughs and townships – throughout the Commonwealth with the creation of the City Revitalization and Improvement Zones (CRIZ) which afford a similar tax financing program to smaller cities in Pennsylvania.

Prior to being elected to public office, Browne worked as Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and attorney. He was a tax manager for Coopers and Lybrand from 1990 to 1994 and a tax supervisor for Price Waterhouse from 1986 to 1990.

Browne graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School in 1982. He received his Bachelor of Arts in business administration/accounting from the University of Notre Dame, and a juris doctorate from Temple University School of Law.

Amanda Hiller | New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Amanda Hiller began serving as Acting Tax Commissioner on April 23, 2021. She continues in her role as General Counsel, a position she has held since December 2012.

As Acting Commissioner, she directs the activities of more than 3,800 employees whose mission is to efficiently collect tax revenues in support of state services and programs while acting with integrity and fairness in the administration of tax laws. Toward that end, the department promulgates tax regulations; publishes forms, instructions, and guidance; engages in taxpayer outreach and education; processes tax returns; resolves filing errors and taxpayer protests; conducts audits; engages in civil and criminal enforcement activities; litigates tax disputes; and manages the state treasury.

As General Counsel, she is responsible for legal policy and matters of law for the department. She oversees the Office of Counsel, which provides legal services for the department. These services include litigation; internal and external Tax Law advice; the preparation and review of legislation; and other administrative matters.

Over a 35-year career in public service, Amanda has held senior positions in the legislative, judicial and executive branches, as well as in the nonprofit sector.

She earned her law degree from Albany Law School and a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Oswego.

Michael Bryan, CPA, Deputy Director | New Jersey Division of Taxation

A multi talented tax professional with nearly 30 years of public accounting, industry and government experience. I can provide a unique perspective on your multistate and federal tax challenges.

Ginny Buckner Kissling, Global President and Chief Operating Officer | Ryan, Dallas, TX

Ginny is a nationally recognized, award-winning tax advisory leader and is frequently recognized as a role model in women’s leadership. She is a sought-after speaker and industry thought leader and has authored several published articles. Most recently, she was named 2023 Plano Chamber of Commerce Business Executive of the Year and among the 2024 Plano’s Women of Inspiration.

Ginny currently serves as Chair of the North Texas Food Bank and is on the board of directors of Dallas Capital Bank. She is a long standing member of the New York University’s Continuing Legal Education’s State and Local Tax Advisory Board and, in 2018, she received the prestigious NYU School of Professional Studies Paul H. Frankel Award for Outstanding Achievement in State and Local Taxation.

Ginny joined Ryan in 1992 as the Firm’s first intern and seventh team member. In 2002, she was promoted as Ryan’s first woman Principal. She is the first to hold her current position of President Americas and Chief Operating Officer, along with her previous roles of Global President and President of U.S. Operations. She was also the first woman to be appointed to Ryan’s Board of Managers in 2012. Her exemplary career has led to recognition at both local and international levels.

Michael Garcia, Principal | Ryan

Mr. Garcia currently serves as Principal at Ryan’s Dallas – Three Galleria Tower office, where he specializes in providing transaction tax services and audit management to clients across various industries, including retail, restaurant, fitness, software, and emerging sectors such as renewable energy, urban farming, cryptocurrency mining, and blockchain. A graduate of Ryan’s Leadership Development Program, he completed over 80 hours of multidisciplinary leadership training over a two-year period.

Mr. Garcia previously held several roles at Ryan, including Director of Transaction Tax, Manager, and Team Leader in the Dallas office. He frequently lectures on tax topics as part of Ryan’s Professional Development Program and maintains professional affiliations with the Dallas/Fort Worth State Tax Association and the Institute for Professionals in Taxation.

Mr. Garcia holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Texas State University and is a Certified Member of the Institute (CMI) with the Institute for Professionals in Taxation.

Jeremy Abrams | Foley & Lardner LLP

Jeremy Abrams is an experienced state and local tax attorney, and resident in the firm’s New York and Washington, DC offices. Prior to joining Foley & Lardner, Jeremy practiced SALT law at two international law firms and at a Big 4 accounting firm, led the state tax controversy and policy function for the world’s largest athletic apparel company, and clerked for a federal judge on the United States Tax Court.

Jeremy advises clients on all aspects of multistate taxation, including controversy, planning, transactional, and legislative matters. He is well versed in the wide variety of taxes and fees imposed across the country, as well as unclaimed property.

Jeremy was recently appointed as an inaugural member of the DC Office of Tax and Revenue’s Tax Advisory Board and he is a former Chair of the DC Bar SALT committee. Jeremy also serves on Bloomberg’s State Tax Advisory Board and is a frequent speaker at regional and national tax conferences.

Jennifer Karpchuk | Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Jennifer W. Karpchuk is Chair of Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s state and local tax practice. She represents companies and individuals in all aspects of state and local tax litigation, controversy, compliance and planning.

She has extensive experience handling state and local tax matters involving corporate income taxes, franchise taxes, gross receipts taxes, personal income taxes, sales and use taxes, business privilege taxes, and real estate taxes.

Stephanie Anne Lipinski Galland, Esq., Partner | Miles & Stockbridge

Lipinski Galland advises businesses of all sizes and in all industries, from publicly traded to privately held, on issues such as tax and business planning and tax incentive negotiations and maintenance.

She helps clients develop, implement and defend tax positions in state audits, as well as assists with mergers and acquisitions (including due diligence issues), administrative appeals, negotiated settlements and multistate voluntary disclosures. She also drafts and negotiates tax provisions in licensing agreements between brands and affiliated companies for both trademark and trade dress with unrelated parties for use of various trademarks.

She works with government contractors, developing responses to federal and state requests-for-proposals, subsequent modifications and appeals of terms and conditions. Lipinski Galland counsels contractors on compliance issues under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA) to ensure that the underlying contracts meet all necessary requirements.

Prior to entering private practice, Lipinski Galland worked as director of taxation for Gap Inc. and at the Virginia Department of Taxation. She serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

David A. Hughes | Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

David Hughes focuses his practice on state and local tax controversies and state tax planning. He helps clients limit their state and local tax exposure through sensible planning and, when necessary, vigorous litigation strategies.

David advises Fortune 500 companies, privately held companies, middle-market businesses, and individuals on strategies to minimize their state and local tax exposure, maintain compliance, and reduce the risk of audit problems. This includes income tax, sales/use tax, franchise tax, gross receipts tax, unclaimed property, state unemployment insurance, credits and incentives, and excise tax matters involving nexus, apportionment, business income, unitary business groups, credits, losses, and exemptions.

Jaye A. Calhoun | Kean Miller LLP

Jaye Calhoun is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2017 and practices in the tax group. Jaye provides clients with full-service tax representation covering federal, state, and local tax challenges and business opportunities. She has decades of experience and assists her clients with tax compliance and planning, guidance on the use of tax and business incentives, and represents clients in tax audits and controversies. She regularly represents clients in audits and administrative and judicial appeals before the IRS, the State of Louisiana Department of Revenue, and numerous local taxing authorities. Jaye is board certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization in both Taxation and in Estate Planning.

Jaye has been listed for over a decade as one of the Best Lawyers in America (2007-2025), and in Louisiana Super Lawyers (2007-2024), which selected her as a Top Woman Attorney in 2011-2012, 2017, 2019-2021, and 2024. She is AV Preeminent-rated by Martindale Hubbell. Jaye is listed among the top tax lawyers in the State of Louisiana by Chambers USA 2022-2024. She has been recognized by New Orleans CityBusiness as a 2005 Woman of the Year and selected as a 2014 recipient of the Leadership in Law award. Jaye was recognized by New Orleans Magazine as a Top Lawyer in 2012, 2016 and 2020-2023. She was also a recipient of the Bloomberg Tax Author of the Year award in 2023. She was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel (ACTC) in 2017 and she was accepted into the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation (ABF) in 2019. Jaye has been appointed to serve on the American Bar Association’s The Tax Lawyer Editorial Board for 2022-2023.

Jaye is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Tulane University Law School, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and Northeastern University D’Amore-McKim School of Business in Boston (online program). She is also a guest lecturer at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C.

Matt Hunsaker | Baker & Hostetler LLP

Matt Hunsaker leads BakerHostetler’s national State and Local Tax practice team. He provides the full range of state and local tax services to clients across the U.S. Clients – particularly those with multi-state operations – look to him to develop comprehensive nationwide strategies for minimizing state and local taxes. They also look to him for his significant experience litigating complex, high-dollar state tax issues.

Matt has deep experience with all types of state and local taxes and understands the nuances of how different states approach these taxes. This broad experience allows him to counsel clients on sophisticated issues including nexus, apportionment, unitary combination and valuation. He is particularly experienced in state taxation of international commerce and state-level transfer pricing disputes.

Matt regularly advises technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) clients regarding complicated issues that arise in applying outdated laws to these cutting-edge businesses. He is also one of the preeminent state tax advisers to energy companies, including alternative energy.

Matt is a prolific speaker and writer on state and local tax issues. He hosts The State Tax Show, a weekly podcast on the latest state and local tax issues, and publishes Silicon SALT, a State Tax Notes column on cutting-edge state tax issues affecting the technology sector.

Phil Horwitz, Esq., SALT Director | Moss Adams

Phil has been working in state and local tax since 1994. He assists clients with all aspects of state and local tax compliance, focusing on tax controversy matters. With past experience working for a state agency, Phil can provide his clients with valuable insight in audit defense and protests.

Phil spent a combined 20 years working for the Colorado Department of Revenue, where he designed and implemented one of the nation’s first state tax voluntary disclosure programs. His career at the Colorado Department of Revenue also included managing the field audit policy function and serving as director of the Office of Tax Policy Analysis, which involved centralizing the department’s policy functions.

Phil’s past experience also includes working in the state and local tax practice of a Big Four firm and serving as Colorado’s representative on the Multistate Tax Commission.

Michelle DeLappe, Esq., Partner | Fox Rothschild

Michelle helps businesses reduce their state and local tax exposure through effective planning, defending against assessments and pursuing refunds.

Admitted in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, she handles state and local tax matters in a variety of contexts, including strategic planning, transactions, audits, administrative appeals and litigation. Her experience includes litigating some of the largest property tax disputes in Washington state history. She also helps businesses navigate issues involving nexus, apportionment, sales and use tax, B&O tax, real estate transfer taxes and other excise taxes and fees.

Michelle also represents clients in rate cases and other proceedings before the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC). Her experience with administrative law, financial analysis and regulated industries in her state and local tax practice enables her to successfully advocate for clients in UTC proceedings.

Saba Shatara, Esq., Partner | Reed Smith

Saba is a partner in the State Tax Group in San Francisco. His practice focuses on representing multistate corporations in state and local tax controversy matters before California state tax agencies.

Saba represents clients in a wide range of industries in connection with state tax return positions, audits, administrative appeals, and litigation.

Mark A. Loyd, Esq., CPA, Partner | Dentons

Mark A. Loyd, co-leader of Dentons’ national Tax practice group, has decades of experience successfully resolving his clients’ state, local and federal tax issues. Elected as a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel, a distinction reserved for America’s very best tax attorneys, Mark is also Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Rated, the highest rating available, and has been selected as a Super Lawyer since 2015.

Leveraging his extensive career in industry and CPA background, Mark has averted, managed and resolved sales, property, income and excise tax and licensing issues through audit management, administrative protest or settlement, and when necessary, through tax litigation in administrative tribunals, state courts and appellate courts, including the US Supreme Court.

He’s licensed to practice in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, federal district and appellate courts as well as the US Court of International Trade.

DAY 1: MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2025

HOW WILL THE STATES FOLLOW THE OBBBA? | 8:35am – 9:35am

Now that the federal government has spoken on changes to the IRC, how will the states react? This panel focuses on the income tax conformity challenges that states and taxpayers alike are facing, and what to expect in the coming year as state legislatures balance revenue and tax policy concerns.
Session Moderator: Lindsay LaCava, Esq., Partner, Baker McKenzie, New York, NY
Michael J. Hilkin, Esq., Partner, McDermott Will & Schulte, New York, NY
Jorge Rodriguez, Esq., Managing Principal, Rodriguez Law Firm, New York, NY
Ian Boccaccio, Principal and Practice Leader, Ryan, New York, NY

SALES TAX ON DIGITAL SERVICES | 9:35am – 10:30am

The panelists address how recent developments in Maryland, Washington and other states have transformed the sales tax base, and how the Streamlined Sales Tax Project is developing guidance with the goal of uniformity in mind.
Session Moderator: Carolynn S. Kranz, Esq., Managing Member, Industry Sales Tax Solutions, Doylestown, PA
Lindsay McAfee Cukier, Esq., Principal, Deloitte Tax, San Francisco, CA
DiAndria Green, Esq., Partner, Bennett Thrasher, Atlanta, GA
Grace Kyne, Esq., Principal, EY, Boston, MA

Break | 10:30am – 10:45am

NYU SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES PAUL H. FRANKEL MEMORIAL ADDRESS CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS ON STATE TAXATION | 10:45am – 11:45am

Our commentators provide a spirited review of the most significant constitutional cases in state taxation over the past year as well as a preview of important cases to watch in the coming year.
Jeffrey A. Friedman, Esq., Partner, Eversheds Sutherland (US), Washington, DC
Richard D. Pomp, Esq., Professor of Law, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT

NYU SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES PAUL H. FRANKEL OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN STATE AND LOCAL TAXATION AWARD PRESENTATION | 11:45am – 12:10pm

INTRODUCTION
Alysse McLoughlin, Esq., Partner, Jones Walker, New York, NY

NYU SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES PAUL H. FRANKEL OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN STATE AND LOCAL TAXATION AWARD RECIPIENT
Diann L. Smith, Esq., Counsel, McDermott Will & Schulte, Washington, DC

Lunch | 12:10pm – 1:00pm

THE TOP TEN (NON-CONSTITUTIONAL) CASES | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Now that you know what’s going on from a constitutional perspective, let’s look at the most significant state tax decisions that turned on really important non-constitutional issues.
Session Moderator: Lynn A. Gandhi, Esq., Partner, Foley & Lardner, Detroit, MI
Maria Todorova, Esq., Partner, Eversheds Sutherland (US), New York, NY
Mark F. Sommer, Esq., Member and Practice Group Leader, Frost Brown Todd, Louisville, KY
Nicole L. Johnson, Esq., Partner, Blank Rome, New York, NY

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE STATE TAXATION OF PASS-THROUGH ENTITIES AND THEIR OWNERS | 2:00pm – 3:00pm

As partnerships, LLCs, and complex entity structures continue to grow in popularity, the tax challenges for these taxpayers are compounded. This panel provides an update how states are approaching the taxation of large gains from transactions, other income tax issues arising from the ownership of pass-through entities, and the recent developments from the Multistate Tax Commission on this topic.
Session Moderator: Bruce P. Ely, Esq., Partner, Bradley, Birmingham, AL
David Merrien, Esq., Tax Specialist, Multistate Tax Commission, Washington, DC
Dale Y. Kim, CPA, Partner, PwC, New York, NY
Kelvin M. Lawrence, Esq., Partner, Dinsmore, Columbus, OH

Break | 3:00pm – 3:15pm

ETHICS FROM FILING TO FIGHTING | 3:15pm – 4:15pm

This panel discusses tricky ethical issues that can arise from the filing process all the way through litigation – including disclosures on returns, information requests at audit, and the discovery process at trial.
Session Moderator: Argi O’Leary, Esq., Principal, Ryan, New York, NY
Elil Arasu, Esq., Principal, BDO, Washington, DC
Justin Hill, Esq., CPA, Partner, KPMG, Dallas, TX
Veronica Caputo, CPA, Principal, Grant Thornton, Atlanta, GA

COST V. MTC: AN UPDATE ON CURRENT PROJECTS AND A FRIENDLY DEBATE | 4:15pm – 5:10pm

Longstanding representatives of the states and the business community focus on what’s important to their stakeholders, and where common ground might be attainable.
Session Moderator: Joe Garrett, Esq., Managing Director, Multistate Tax Group, Deloitte, Birmingham, AL
Patrick J. Reynolds, Esq., CPA, President & Executive Director, Council On State Taxation, Washington, DC
Gregory S. Matson, Esq., Executive Director, Multistate Tax Commission, Washington, DC

DAY 2: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025

THE INTERSECTION OF IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL ISSUES | 8:30am – 9:30am

In recent years, states have evolved with respect to its corporate income tax treatment of “80/20” companies, worldwide reporting, and the inclusion formerly known as GILTI. The panelists address these thorny corporate issues, as well as the sales tax treatment of an ever-growing number of tariffs.
Session Moderator: Nikki E. Dobay, Esq., Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, Seattle, WA
Craig B. Fields, Esq., Partner, Blank Rome, New York, NY
Jennifer S. White, Esq., Tax Principal, KPMG, New York, NY
Christopher T. Lutz, Esq., Partner, Jones Walker, Washington, DC

THE REAL INTEL ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | 9:30am – 10:25am

This session examines the growing use of artificial intelligence in state tax analysis, the state taxation of businesses selling artificial intelligence solutions to their customers, and the wide span of tax issues affecting businesses incorporating AI into their products and processes.
Session Moderator: Eric M. Anderson, Esq., Managing Director, Andersen Tax, San Francisco, CA
Brian Kirkell, CPA, Esq., Principal, RSM US, Washington, DC
Aliza Sherman, Esq., Of Counsel, Stevens & Lee, Elmwood Park, NJ
Scott shi, Esq., Principal, EY, Boston, MA

Break | 10:25am – 10:40am

THE SOURCE OF ALL OUR STATE TAX ISSUES | 10:40am – 11:40am

The presenters compare and contrast methods of sourcing revenues in both the income and sales tax contexts, particularly with respect to services and novel forms of tangible personal property.
Session Moderator: David J. Shipley, Esq., Shareholder, Stevens & Lee, Princeton, NJ
Ilya A. Lipin, Esq., Principal, BDO, Philadelphia, PA
Marc Simonetti, Esq., Partner, State Tax Law, New York, NY
Kimberly A. Krueger, Esq., CPA, Partner, State & Local Tax, PwC, New York, NY

THE NE COMMISSIONERS’ ROUNDTABLE | 11:40am – 12:35pm

High-ranking officials from the Northeast join to address critical challenges that they face in an environment where revenue collection efforts are vital, resources remain relatively thin, providing important technical guidance is key, and treating taxpayers fairly is paramount.
Session Moderator: Richard W. Genetelli, CPA, Managing Director, Genetelli Consulting Group, New York, NY
John Biello, MPA, Deputy Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, Hartford, CT
Patrick M. Browne, Esq., CPA, Secretary of Revenue, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Harrisburg, PA
Amanda Hiller, Esq., Acting Tax Commissioner and General Counsel, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Albany, NY
Michael Bryan, CPA, Deputy Director, New Jersey Division of Taxation, Trenton, NJ

Lunch | 12:35pm – 1:35pm

TAXTOK – A JURISDICTIONAL TOUR | 1:35pm – 4:30pm

Led by a team of distinguished tax influencers, TaxTok is designed to provide attendees everything they need to know about state and local tax developments through an interactive lightning-round jurisdictional tour. By the end of this session, attendees will be able to entertain and impress family, friends, and colleagues with their state and local tax knowledge during the holiday season and beyond!

INTRODUCTION
Ginny Buckner Kissling, Global President and Chief Operating Officer, Ryan, Dallas, TX
J. William McArthur, Jr., Esq., former VP Tax Planning, TE Connectivity, Berwyn, PA
Executive Producer: Michael Garcia, Principal, Ryan, Dallas, TX

New York
Jeremy Abrams, Esq., Of Counsel, Foley & Lardner, New York, NY

New Jersey / Pennsylvania
Jennifer Karpchuk, Esq., Partner, Holland & Knight, Philadelphia, PA

The DMV
Stephanie Anne Lipinski Galland, Esq., Partner, Miles & Stockbridge, Washington, DC

Illinois / Wisconsin
David A. Hughes, Esq., Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Chicago, IL

The Deep South
Jaye Calhoun, Esq., Partner, Kean Miller, New Orleans, LA

Texas
Matt Hunsaker, Esq., Partner, BakerHostetler, Dallas, TX

Colorado
Phil Horwitz, Esq., SALT Director, Moss Adams, Denver, CO

Washington
Michelle DeLappe, Esq., Partner, Fox Rothschild, Seattle, WA

California
Saba Shatara, Esq., Partner, Reed Smith, San Francisco, CA

The Localities
Mark A. Loyd, Esq., CPA, Partner, Dentons, Louisville, KY

Property Taxes