Departments and Columns

Rites of Spring, Washington-Style

Springtime in Washington means cherry blossoms, federal budget proposals, debt ceiling debates, and a host of other seasonal events. In the TEI world, we count our Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury liaison meetings and our Midyear Conference as falling into this “seasonal” bucket. These events, to gather and exchange… Read more »

Emerging Leader: Aylin Losavio

Aylin Losavio, director of taxes and shared services at RTI International, started her career in banking as a commercial loan underwriter, but quickly gravitated toward the tax thicket, which involved…wait for it…receipts in a shoebox. After completing a management rotation through the Banking Centers, she was presented with an opportunity… Read more »

Keith Piper

Keith Piper’s longtime appreciation for tax began directly after his graduation from Pennsylvania State University. “More than thirty years ago, during my first job out of college, I was a staff accountant with a cable television company in Northern Virginia and assigned responsibilities for property taxes and income tax provision,… Read more »

Throwbacks (and I Don’t Mean Old Tax Lawyers) Are Awful

It’s no revelation that I think state corporate income taxes are ineffective and inefficient ways to raise revenue. For a wide variety of reasons, taxes on corporate profits don’t work all that well. Many defend corporate levies in the belief that corporations use services and should pay. But this benefits… Read more »

An End-of-Examination Checklist
The Expert: S. Starling Marshall

Nearing the end of an Internal Revenue Service exam cycle can feel like time to wrap up the process quickly and move on to the next task and then the next cycle. However, considering a few things to do now can result in a faster, more successful resolution of issues… Read more »

67th Midyear Conference Photo Highlights

TEI in Action

One of the privileges of serving as TEI’s international president is having the opportunity to visit chapter leaders and members in different parts of the world—in short, to watch TEI in action. So, just before the holidays, I was delighted to lead a delegation of members and staff to our… Read more »

European Union State Aid Investigations

Since June 2013, the European Commission (Commission) has been investigating the tax ruling practices of European Union member states, and in December 2014 it extended this information inquiry to all member states. During these investigations, the Commission analyzed whether tax rulings granted selective advantages to specific companies. Article 107(1) of… Read more »

State Tax Matters for Foreign Corporations

The Experts: Maria Todorova and Eric J. Coffill Even though state taxation has moved away from the worldwide unitary method, with Alaska being the only state currently requiring use of the worldwide unitary method and only then regarding oil and gas corporations, there are still many situations where non-U.S. companies… Read more »

Emerging Leader: Michell Rodriguez

For many people, Costco is their favorite store. For Michell Rodriguez, it’s her favorite (and current) employer, and she appreciates working there as much as if not more than customers enjoy shopping there. Here’s how Rodriguez, director of corporate tax, describes working at Costco: “I work for and with really… Read more »