Departments and Columns

State Tax Updates 2018

As the world of federal tax was shaken up by the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, U.S. tax departments across the country continue to adjust. One of the main pieces of the new tax bill is the lowered corporate tax rate, which had not been… Read more »

Practical Insights for Combatting New York’s Expansion of Sales Tax Law
The Experts: Zach Gladney and Matthew Hedstrom

Much has been written about the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance’s positions on the taxation of software, software as a service (SaaS), and other software-based services. The critiques have concerned, in part, the department’s guidance on the sales and use tax consequences of cloud computing and other… Read more »

How CFOs Can Mitigate the Risk of Ransomware

Over the past year, a surging cybersecurity threat has infiltrated the computers of individuals and organizations around the world. Known as ransomware, this type of cyberattack holds sensitive data hostage and then forces victims to pay up to get it back or to stop it from being released or destroyed.… Read more »

After Tax Reform, Don’t Always Think Outside the Box
Reevaluate whether existing foreign investment holdings continue to be tax-efficient and consider reorganizing them

The tax reform act enacted in December 2017 (commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or TCJA) significantly altered the landscape of U.S. taxation of foreign investments. Historically, U.S. individuals preferred to own foreign investments directly or through entities classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax… Read more »

68th Midyear Conference

A Post-Midyear Conference Report

I was honored to preside over TEI’s 68th Midyear Conference in Washington, D.C., and to welcome 600-plus in-house tax professionals to examine the complexities of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, along with other technical, policy, and management challenges that confront us. At what is arguably the most consequential moment… Read more »

Michael Bernard

When Michael Bernard was a sophomore at Creighton University, he took a business law class. It was the start of something big—a notable career in tax, including almost three decades at Microsoft Corporation. He is now the chief tax officer at Vertex Inc. “The cases in the book covered a… Read more »

Emerging Leader: Tasheaya Warren Ellison

Tasheaya Warren Ellison entered law school to become a white-collar criminal defense attorney. But then fate intervened. Ellison registered for a tax course solely to prepare for the Oregon State Bar. The next thing she knew, she was chasing after a degree in taxation. “I had an incredible tax professor… Read more »

Emerging Leader: Brian Mustard

Brian Mustard was working in the audit group at KPMG in Montreal and knew that, in the end, he would not spend his career in audit or accounting. His plan: to go to law school after obtaining his designation and completing his articles. But fate intervened. A position in the… Read more »

Teri Hull

Teri Hull’s interest in tax issues was sparked by dry cleaning. Yes, dry cleaning. Her father owned a dry cleaning business when she was young, and she often tagged along on Saturday mornings. But it wasn’t the back of the store, with all those hangers and clothes, that intrigued Hull;… Read more »