Author: Jeffrey Friedman, Todd Betor, and Stephanie Do

The Votes Are In: State Responses to Federal Tax Reform
TCJA’s impact on states poses practical concerns and challenges

by Jeffrey Friedman, Todd Betor, and Stephanie Do
December 3, 2018
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H.R. 1,1 colloquially known by its former name, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), made sweeping changes to the Internal Revenue Code and has far-reaching implications for state tax systems that broadly conform to the IRC. This article highlights state legislative and administrative responses to the TCJA as well…

Don’t Mess With the IRS

by Tax Executive Staff
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Later in this issue of Tax Executive, you will read an article by an Alston & Bird tax professional on the subject of tax evasion, a serious crime. According to the IRS Criminal Investigation Division’s 2017 Annual Report, in 2017 alone 1,811 of the 3,019 investigations it initiated were for… Read more »

Julia Lagun

by Tax Executive Staff
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Some say that practicing tax law is like playing chess. If that’s true, then Julia Lagun, a competitive chess player since age four, has had quite a lot of practice. Lagun, senior vice president and senior tax director at KeyCorp, has always been good with numbers and puzzles and has… Read more »

Award Annual Scholarships
Philadelphia and Harrisburg Chapters

by Tax Executive Staff
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A highlight of the Philadelphia and Harrisburg Chapters’ year is awarding scholarships to outstanding students from local universities. The two chapters pool their resources to maximize scholarship awards. In the 2017–2018 year, they awarded six $2,000 scholarships. A scholarship candidate must be a junior or senior accounting or business major…

In Memoriam: Paul Schaffhausen

by Judith Zelisko
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David McCullough, the eminent biographer and historian, said, “Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.” If that observation is correct, Paul Schaffhausen was a true success—in so many ways, on so many levels. Paul Schaffhausen, a TEI member of forty-two years, and retired assistant vice… Read more »

TEI Launches New Institute Brand

by Tax Executive Staff
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It’s an exciting time for TEI and its members. As the Institute looks toward the future and continues to evaluate how it can best serve members, embarking on strategic initiatives that propel the Institute forward and position TEI as the go-to organization for expert information and advisement is essential. It… Read more »

Emerging Leader: Dina Armstrong

by Tax Executive Staff
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Is there a connection among math, puzzles, and tax? For Dina Armstrong, there just might be. “I have always enjoyed math and puzzles, and the fact that I could work with the two together has been a motivating goal for me,” she explains. And when, in her junior year in… Read more »

The Holiday Season

by James Silvestri
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To most, the holiday season usually means vacations, physical time away from the office (although being fully disconnected is a dream of the past), gatherings among family and friends, Feast of the Seven Fishes, and heated political arguments. Oh, sorry—that’s just my family. For us in the tax world, the… Read more »

Managing Uncertainty: A Survival Guide to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
TCJA is complex, convoluted, with a dearth of administrative guidance

by Lawrence M. Hill
September 14, 2018
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With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), tax executives face the most uncertainty in interpreting and applying the tax law they have ever encountered. As is the apparent norm these days, with game-changing congressional legislation, the TCJA was cobbled together quickly, and its clarity…