Multistate Tax Conference

Kenneth D. Henderson, CPA, Esq.
Deputy Chief Counsel
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Revenue

Ken Henderson, an attorney and CPA, was appointed Acting Chief Counsel on June 1, 1997.

Ken has also served as Deputy Chief Counsel and Deputy Secretary for Taxation, where he played a key role in developing and implementing Pennsylvaniva  tax policy. In the latter position, he was responsible for all Department of Revenue tax processing and depositing funcitons. He is the Department’s representative on the Board of Finance and Revenue, the final administrative level of appeal for Pennsylvania tax disputes. Additionally, he served as the Acting Secretary of Revenue in 1987.

 

 

Eileen R. Dempsey, CPA
State and Local Tax Engagement Director
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Ms. Dempsey has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1987. Her formal accounting experience began as an Auditor and Revenue Agent for the Internal Revenue Service. After gaining eight years of experience with the IRS, she left to go into public accounting. Ms. Dempsey worked for a small firm in Bala Cynwyd, PA for two years. In 1985, she began her own tax practice, which consisted of individuals and small businesses in a variety of industries. In September, 1996, Ms. Dempsey merged her practice with Mathieson Aitken Jemison, LLP who merged with LarsonAllen LLP in January, 2001. On January 2, 2012, the firm merged with Clifton Gunderston to become CliftonLarsonAllen. Ms. Dempsey currently manages the SALT Practice for the firm in the Philadelphia Area Office. 

Raymond M. Chopper, CPA
State Tax Consultant

Ray is a retired state and local tax partner from the Harrisburg office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Ray has eleven years experience with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and twenty-four years with the State and Local group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, dealing with Pennsylvania and multistate income sales and use tax. Ray continues to provide state and local consulting services on a limited basis as well as being a frequent speaker for the PICPA and other groups.

Vito A. Cosmo Jr., CPA, CGMA
Managing Director, State and Local Taxes
Grant Thornton LLP

Vito Cosmo is a Managing Director in the State and Local Tax Practice and a seasoned professional with over 30 years of accounting and tax experience. Vito has experience in all aspects of multistate tax consulting, including planning, research, compliance and protest proceedings for large and medium sized companies. In particular, Vito has extensive planning and protest experience with Pennsylvania Capital Stock/Franchise Tax, Pennsylvania Corporate Net Income Tax, Philadelphia Business Privilege and Net Profits Taxes, as well as Delaware and New Jersey business and corporate taxes. Vito has spent the majority of his career in public accounting but also served as Director of State and Local Taxes for a major Public Utility Holding Company and its subsidiaries for seven years.

 

TIMOTHY D. BILLOW, CPA, M.S. is a member of Highmark Health’s tax management group where his primary focus is federal, state, local, and international tax planning and consulting functions.  He was formerly in the tax management group at Ernst & Young LLP in Harrisburg and at KPMG LLP in Philadelphia where he specialized in state and local tax consulting and was a member of the Philadelphia SALT practice. Prior to that, Tim was a tax professional with Tyco Electronics (formerly AMP Incorporated). Tim has over 25 years of state and local tax experience.  He is a 1988 graduate of Susquehanna University, receiving his Bachelor Degree with honors in Accounting.  Tim also received a M.S. Taxation degree from Villanova University in 1994.  Tim is a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants where he actively serves on the Multistate Conference Planning Committee (co-chairman), State Tax Committee, Health Care Reform Task Force (chairman) and Insurance Conference Committee. Tim is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Tax Executives Institute.

 

 

Stephen J. Blazick, Esq., CPA, LL.M.

Steve is a Partner with Reed Smith LLP, an international law firm with over 1,500 attorneys. Steve is a member of the State Tax Group, and is resident in the firm’s Philadelphia office. Steve’s practice focuses on complex multistate tax appeals, litigation and advice, and minimizing state tax burdens.  He has experience in the following areas: franchise, corporate income, sales and use, and gross receipts taxes.  He also has represented numerous clients in unclaimed
property matters, and matters involving Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale tax issues.

Steve is a frequent speaker on state tax issues, and has spoken at conferences sponsored by the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, Philadelphia Bar Association, Delaware Chamber of Commerce, Maryland Chamber of Commerce, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Chicago Tax Executive Institute.

Steve has had articles published in the Washington Business Journal, the IPT Tax Report, State Tax Notes, and Rigzone (Oil & Gas News), and has been quoted in the Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Legal Intelligencer.

Steve successfully represented the taxpayer in Schering-Plough HealthCare Products Sales
Corporation v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 805 A.2d 1284 (Pa.Commw. 2002) aff’d, 861
A.2d 259 (Pa. 2004), a case of first impression and of national significance concerning Public
Law 86-272.

Steve graduated summa cum laude from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A).  Steve received his Juris Doctor degree (J.D.) from Temple University School of Law.  Steve received a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) with a focus in taxation from Villanova University School of Law.

Steve is a member of the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar Associations, Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, and the Marcellus Shale Coalition.

Matthew D. Melinson, CPA, MT
Partner and National SALT Practice Indirect Tax Services Leader
Grant Thornton LLP

Based in Philadelphia, PA, Matthew is responsible for all aspects of multistate tax consulting, planning, and compliance within Grant Thornton.Matthewcurrently leads thestate and local tax(SALT)practice for the Atlantic Coast Market Territory, which includes the Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania areas. He also serves as a key account leader, as overall firm or tax leader on some of the firm’s major clients.  Additionally, Matthew is the liaison for state and local tax, collaborating with the audit and advisory service lines as well as other tax business lines.  From August 2015through July 2017, Matt servedas Grant Thornton’s national leader of State and Local Tax (SALT) indirect taxes. From March 2011 through July 2014, Matthew was the SALT practice leader of Grant Thornton’sNortheast Region, which included the Pennsylvania,New York, New Jersey, and New England areas.

Prior to Grant Thornton’s acquisition of LECG SMART’s State and Local Tax practicein March of 2011, Matthew led LECG SMART’s nationalSALTpractice, which included professionals based in the Atlanta, Chicago, New York,and Philadelphia areas.  Prior to joining LECG SMART in 2006, Matthew spent approximately 10 years with PwC.

Cheri Hutchinson Freeh, CPA
Principal
Hutchinson Gillahan and Freeh PC

Cheri is a principal with Hutchinson, Gillahan and Freeh, P.C., a public accounting firm in Quakertown, PA. She received an AAS in Accounting from Northampton Community College and a BS in Business Administration with an accounting specialization from Thomas A. Edison State College. Cheri is a member of the American (AICPA) and Pennsylvania (PICPA) Institutes of Certified Public Accountants. Cheri serves on council for both the AICPA and PICPA and is the immediate past President of the PICPA. She is a member and past chairperson of the PICPA Committee on State Taxation and of the PICPA Local Tax Task Force. She also serves as a member of the Pennsylvania State Department of Community and Economic Development’s Act 32 advisory committee and the advisory committee on the local earned income tax register for the Governor’s Center for Local Government. She is a member of the board of trustees of First Savings Bank, vice-chair of the board of trustees of St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Quakertown Hospital, a former board member and treasurer of the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce, a board member and treasurer of the Upper Bucks Chamber Foundation, a board member and former treasurer of the Quakertown Alive Main Street Organization, a member of the Bucks County Community College Accounting Advisory Board and a member of the Bucks County Estate Planning Council. She has over 30 years of experience in the field of public accounting and offers a wide variety of expertise in accounting issues for privately held businesses, non-profit organizations, local governments, estates, trusts and individuals. Cheri has served as a speaker on various topics for the Pennsylvania Institute of CPA’s, the Chamber of Commerce, Lehigh University Small Business Development Center, The Pennsylvania Earned Income Tax Officers and Collectors Association, The Pennsylvania Society of Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania State Governor’s Center for Local Government and the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives. Cheri has served as an expert witness in small business and non-profit fraud cases. She has also served as an adjunct instructor for DeSales University and is one of the few individuals invited by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to provide private training sessions to both the Republican and Democratic caucuses.

David M. Glad, CPA., JD
Director, State and Local Tax Practice

David is a director in the State & Local Tax (SALT) Services Group of Grant Thornton’s Philadelphia office.

Experience
David, a CPA and attorney, has been practicing in federal, state and local tax for over 14 years. David is a national resource in unclaimed property, having handled complex unclaimed property issues in many states with a focus on Delaware and New York. He has experience with audits, voluntary disclosures, multistate compliance, structural planning and accounting procedures. In addition to unclaimed property, David practices in all manner of state and local tax with a focus on income and franchise tax consulting. He provides transactional consulting and manages complex controversies before federal, state and local authorities. He has experience with many industries, including manufacturing, retail, financial services and financial institutions.

Professional qualifications and memberships
David is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and the Philadelphia Bar Association (Tax Law Section and State & Local Tax Subcommittee). He is a member of the Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization, the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
 
Education
Duquesne University, B.A. in Accounting
Cornell University Law School, J.D.

Speaking Engagements
• Unclaimed Property Issues and Opportunities, Tax Executives Institute, Mar. 28, 2014
• Basic Fundamentals of Nexus for Philadelphia / Local Business Taxes, PA Society of Tax and Accounting Professionals, Feb. 6, 2014
• Unclaimed Property Reporting in Delaware, Lorman Education Services, Feb. 1, 2013.
• Sales Tax Overview, PICPA 2011 Emerging CPAs Conference, Nov. 3, 2011.
• Amnesties and Voluntary Disclosure Agreements: To Do or Not to Do, Tax Executives Institute, Nov. 17, 2010.
• Recent Developments in Green Tax Credits and Incentives, PICPA Conference for CPAs, Harrisburg, PA, May 2009.

Publications
• Delaware Expands Unclaimed Property Voluntary Disclosure Program, Grant Thornton LLP State and Local Tax Alert (Feb. 15, 2013).
• New Jersey Amends Treatment of Stored Value Cards, Grant Thornton LLP State and Local Tax Alert (Aug. 23, 2012).
• Contributor, 2011 Grant Thornton Whitepaper, Gift cards: Opportunities and issues for retailers.
• Pennsylvania income / franchise tax administrative appeals: avoiding the traps, Financial Executives International, Philadelphia Chapter, September 2010 Newsletter, Sept. 9, 2010, at 6.

Wallace A. Eddleman
Deputy Director, Revenue Administration Division
Comptroller of Maryland

Mr. Eddleman was appointed Deputy Director of the Revenue Administration Division in January 2011. In this capacity he is responsible advising and directing the management of the various sections within the Revenue Administration Division. Prior to his current position, Mr. Eddleman served as an Assistant Director in the Revenue Administration Division and as the manager of the Hearings and Appeals Section of the Compliance Division. He joined the Maryland Comptroller’s Office as a hearing officer in October 1998. Before employment with the Comptroller’s Office, Mr. Eddleman worked in both public accounting and private industry.

Lee J. Evans
Chief, Audit Activity
State of New Jersey Division of Tax

Lee Evans, Chief Auditor, Office Audit, is a career employee with the Division of Taxation. He started with the Division in 1977 after graduating from Rider College with a major in Accounting. He has had a variety of assignments during his career, including Office Audit Branch, Audit Selection and Quality Control, Office of Criminal Investigation, Director’s Staff, Coordinated the New York-New Jersey Cooperative Sales Tax Agreement, supervised the Corporation Tax Billing and Refund Section, and the Office Audit Field Team and was previously Chief to the Audit Service Brank. Currently he is the Chief of the Office Audit Branch

 

Michael R. Smith

Delaware Division of Revenue
Deputy Director

Michael R. Smith is with the Office of Audit at the Delaware Division of Revenue where he currently serves as Deputy Director. In this capacity Michael is responsible for three audit bureaus consisting of 60 fulltime and contractual audit and support staff that ensure tax compliance for all business and individual tax filers in the State of Delaware.

Michael spent several years in the private sector in the both the finance and legal profession in the United States as well as Canada before joining the Delaware Division of Revenue in 2007. 

Michael received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Waterloo and his Juris Doctorate with a concentration in tax from Widener University School of Law. Michael is a member of the Maryland State Bar and is licensed to practice before the United States Tax Court.  

 

Jamie C. Yesnowitz
J.D., L.L.M.
 
 
Principal, State and Local Tax –
National Tax Office Leader
Jamie Yesnowitz is a Principal in Grant Thornton’s State and Local Tax (SALT) practice serving as the Firm’s SALT – National Tax Office Leader based in Washington, DC.  In this role, he serves as a national technical resource for Grant Thornton’s SALT practice, devoting significant time to client matters.  He follows current developments and hot topics in the SALT world, including state corporate income and sales tax legislation and policy, state tax conformity to federal tax provisions, state corporate income tax apportionment rules, trends and developments, and the increased focus by states on the imposition of mandatory unitary combined reporting regimes and corporate taxes based on gross receipts. In addition, he provides support in Grant Thornton’s knowledge management and various industry initiatives.

Experience
Jamie has sixteen years of broad-based SALT consulting experience at the national and practice office levels in large public accounting firms in Washington, DC and New York.  Prior to entering the field of public accounting, Jamie practiced law as a corporate and securities attorney in New York.

Professional qualifications and memberships
Jamie is licensed as an attorney in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts and New York.  In addition, Jamie is a member of the American Bar Association, U.S. Supreme Court Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), in which he served as Chair of the AICPA SALT Technical Resource Panel.  He is currently serving as Co-Chair of the District of Columbia Bar Association SALT Committee.  He is a member of the New York University School of Continuing Professional Studies Institute on SALT Advisory Board and is one of the Firm’s liaisons to the Council on State Taxation.

Presentations and publications
Jamie frequently participates in on-site and webcast presentations directed to national audiences, covering a wide variety of SALT topics.  In addition, he has written numerous articles and has been frequently quoted in national tax and business publications.

Education
LL.M. in Taxation, University of Miami School of Law
J.D., University of Miami School of Law
A.B., Dartmouth College