Tuesday, October 4, 2016

NYS Tax Department Receives High Praise Following its Inaugural Tax Summit


The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced the success of its inaugural Tax Summit. The one-day event, held at the Tax Department’s Brooklyn office on September 29, featured collaborative engagement with industry stakeholders through panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions on a variety of tax topics—from available online services to corporate tax reform.

“This direct engagement with those who use our services the most is paramount to our continual effort to promote voluntary compliance and provide the best customer service,” said Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Nonie Manion. “The summit reached attendance capacity in a matter of days, so it was clear that industry stakeholders were excited to continue our cooperative efforts to shape the Tax Department’s administration in the future.”

The Tax Summit included multiple breakout sessions where attendees met directly with Tax Department experts and their peers to discuss tax issues as well as departmental processes, guidelines, and procedures.

“The inaugural Tax Summit was a great success. It provided excellent and comprehensive content as well as an opportunity to network with both Tax Department personnel and a wide array of professional colleagues,” said Phyllis Jo Kubey, Director at Large for the New York State Society of Enrolled Agents. “There was a spirit of collaboration and generosity that was extraordinary; a genuine two-way conversation that left me enthused and energized. Adding to the event’s value was the diversity of attendees from solo practitioners to large firms, including enrolled agents, CPAs, attorneys, and tax preparers.”

One area of particular interest was corporate tax reform. Passed in 2015, the new law contains the most comprehensive reform of New York State’s corporate tax system since the 1940s. Governor Cuomo’s leadership helped modernize and streamline the corporate tax structure.

The reform plan also includes tax cuts that bring the corporate tax rate to the lowest level since the late 1960s. Feedback sought and received from industry, taxpayer, and government representatives was crucial to the successful passage of the reform measures. Tax Summit attendees commended the Tax Department for continuing this trend to engage with customers.

”This truly was an informative program and should be done on a regular basis,” said Jeff Serether, a New York City attorney. “We all know that corporate tax reform was a huge undertaking and the New York State Tax Department continues to do an excellent job in informing us of any upcoming changes, and working directly with us to ensure our understanding of the new laws.”

In addition to fruitful discussions, the Tax Department provided one-on-one support. Experts were available to engage with tax professionals about personal income tax, corporate tax, sales tax and other tax issues affecting their clients.

The Tax Department plans to build on the success of this inaugural Tax Summit by hosting an annual forum for industry professionals.

“The positive response by tax professionals exceeded our expectations,” said Acting Commissioner Manion.

“We’ll review the valuable feedback from participants as we develop next year’s agenda so we can collaborate with even more stakeholders.”

Source: New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

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