2018 WSATA (Western States) Conference PresentationsClick the title of a presentation below to download. Monday, September 248:30 am – 12:00 pm General Sessions National Overview of SALT The Executive Directors of the Council on State Taxation, the Federation of Tax Administrators and the Multistate Tax Commission, along with national practitioners, will discuss hot topics and issues facing the SALT world. Moderator: Karey Barton, Texas Comptroller’s Office Gale Garriott, FTA Executive Director Commissioner’s Panel WSATA agency heads will discuss a variety of topics and issues. Moderator: Jim Eads, Ryan LLC 1:30 - 3:00 Break-out Sections 1. Can We Talk? State Tax Collection Best Practices Tax collection is a serious topic. Talking about it doesn’t have to be. Join the Enforcement Division of the Texas Comptroller’s office in an open and frank discussion about enforcement and collection initiatives. We will start with an overview of our collections processes, from initial call center activities to the local field offices. We will highlight key performance measures, including our wireless computing solution, and share our best practices related to enforcement and collections. We will share our challenges, successes, and failures; be ready to do the same! Moderator: Kristin Adkins, Texas Comptroller’s Office John Frazier, Texas Comptroller’s Office 2. Improving Management and Employee Engagement How do you get a pulse from your staff in today’s climate? What are the challenges of motivating employees in the current workforce? What other contemporary obstacles face personnel currently in the management role? What are the reasons behind present management attrition rates? Hear from top tax administrators about unique initiatives and the steps they are taking to improve management and employee engagement. Moderator: John W. Reynolds, Jr., Texas Comptroller’s Office Eric Smith, Oregon DOR 3. Stories From the Front Line: An Allied Fight Against Stolen Identity Refund Fraud In 2017 the IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry joined forces to form the Identity Theft and Tax Refund Fraud ISAC (Information Sharing Analysis Center) as a way to share information and analytics necessary to detect, prevent and deter activities related to stolen identity refund fraud. Join our discussion to learn more about these collaborative efforts as our speakers share anecdotes and their experiences as members of this new public/private partnership. Moderator: Daniel Wood, Texas Comptroller’s Office Sharonne Bonardi, Maryland Comptroller 3:30 - 5:00 Breakout Sessions 1. Tax Legislation and Controversies: Nobody Knew it Could Be So Complicated Hear the experiences of tax professionals in three states that recently switched to market-based sourcing, and learn about the theories of rulemaking that can be applied to resolve tax controversies. Moderator and Presenter: Ray Langenberg, Texas Comptroller’s Office Michael Fatale, Massachusetts DOR 2. National and International Best Practices in Tax Audits Join staff from Texas and Washington State as they discuss how they have streamlined workflows by performing audits using various techniques while on shoestring state budgets. In addition, learn how other countries are automating their audit and assessment procedures. Moderator: Rosie Julius, Texas Comptroller’s Office Tony LaBove, EY 3. Taxpayer Communications and Voluntary Compliance Why do people comply with tax laws? How do we get more people to comply? Take a deeper dive into effective (and ineffective) ways to improve voluntary compliance through taxpayer communications and services. Learn about practical approaches and best practices for developing responsive websites, mobile apps, webinars, podcasts, and other communications. Moderator: Korry Castillo, Texas Comptroller’s Office Janet Shimabukuro, Washington DOR Tuesday, September 258:30 am to 12:00 pm General SessionsInvitation to WSATA 2019 Economic Tends in the Western States Tax Administration Before, During and After a Natural Disaster Emergency management during a natural disaster is more than just law enforcement and danger mitigation. Departments of Revenue can play a critical role in assisting a state’s emergency response and supporting taxpayers during disaster and recovery. Learn about the importance of planning and practicing emergency responses. Hear the perspectives of both government and industry professionals on lessons learned from the response in Texas to Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Moderator: Korry Castillo, Texas Comptroller’s Office “PLANNING FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE” “GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY PANEL” 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Breakout Sessions 1. Sponsor Series: FAST Enterprises: Collecting And Remitting Sales And Use Tax At The Point Of Sale The technology exists to change when and how sales tax is remitted to taxing agencies. It is now feasible to remit sales tax collected at the point of sale for transactions consummated using electronic payment methods. This presentation will provide an overview of accelerated remittance of sales tax at the point of sale, including pros and cons, challenges, impact on businesses collecting sales tax and the contribution it would make towards reducing the tax gap. It will also draw parallels with the transformation of returns processing to electronic filing – a long-term effort that required consensus about the objective, uniform standards amongst the states, and working with external stakeholders. Presenter: Joe Milak, FAST Enterprises 2. State Tax Issues Impacted by Federal Tax Reform and IRS Partnership Rule Congress and the IRS have recently given the states much to wrestle with on the income tax front between major tax reform legislation and major rule changes affecting partnership audits. Hear from legal experts who have been studying these issues as they provide insights and guidance. Moderator: Nancy Prosser, Texas Comptroller’s Office Federal Tax Reform – Karl Frieden, COST 3. Zappin’ the Bad Guys: Best Practices to Stop Sales Suppression Fraud DOR experts at the forefront of this fight will discuss initiatives, best practices, and forensic investigative tools to combat zappers, sales suppression fraud and similar bad acts. Moderator: Captain Justin Scott, Texas Comptroller’s Office Billy Fulton, Texas Comptroller’s Office 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm 1. Sponsor Series II – RSI: “Transition Planning For Large Software Project Operations” Is your agency planning or implementing a large software project in the near future? If so, careful consideration of the operational elements of the project, as well as the support model, can make a huge impact. It takes attentive planning to put the RIGHT team together, and no lack of effort to enable that team to manage the application properly once it goes live. The project is rarely over when the final release goes into production! During this session, we will discuss key considerations, options available to your agency, challenges the project may encounter and strategies to guide you and your agency successfully through it all. Presenter: David Casey, Revenue Solutions, Inc. 2. The “Next Big Thing”? Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrencies Experts will discuss recent advances and future developments regarding the taxation and regulation of cryptocurrencies, the underlying blockchain technology and State Legislation. Moderators and Presenters: Irakli Mirzashvili, Texas Comptroller’s Office, and Nick Souza, Mondrik & Associates Jason M. Tyra, CPA 3. Marijuana Tax: From Black Market to Legalization Several WSATA states were among the first to tax marijuana, and their experiences continue to lead the way for other states that legalize the use of recreational marijuana. Panelists will discuss their state’s journey to legalized marijuana, covering topics such as how their state collects the marijuana tax and enforces its marijuana tax laws and the pros and cons of taxing recreational marijuana. Moderator: Joseph Scanio, Texas Comptroller’s Office Brandon Spanos, Alaska DOR Wednesday, September 268:30 am to 12:00 pm General Session Implementing Wayfair: Where Are We Now? It has been three months since the Wayfair decision was issued (but it feels like three years). What are the states, taxpayers, and practitioners doing and thinking? We’ll take a deeper dive into implementation issues related to this historic sales tax decision. Moderator: Nancy Prosser, Texas Comptroller’s Office Phil Horwitz, Moss Adams Don’t Step on My Face: Bolstering Your Interpersonal Effectiveness What does it take to be more interpersonally effective with others? Why are some people great leaders? Discover specific techniques you can use to build more positive relationships during this interactive and entertaining session by one of UT’s favorite business professors. Learn how to bolster trust, better understand others, generate affinity through rewards, use narrative to enhance your professional relationships, and become more optimistic. Presenter: John Daly, TCB Professor of Management, The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business
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