B-16/03
September 9, 2003
2003 FTA REVENUE ESTIMATION AND TAX RESEARCH CONFERENCE
September 21 - 24, 2003 — New Orleans, Louisiana
Preliminary Program updated
September 9
To
State Tax Administrators:
SUMMARY
The 2003 FTA Revenue Estimation and Tax Research Conference
will be held at the Hampton
Inn & Suites/Convention Center, in New Orleans,
Louisiana, September 21-24. This announcement contains
registration materials as well as hotel information.
A preliminary program
is now available.
Hotel reservations must be made before August
21, 2003, to receive the $94 conference rate.
The conference registration deadline is September
5, 2003. |
The FTA Research Section Chair, Michael Allen, of Maine Revenue
Services, joins with Conference Host, Cynthia Bridges, Secretary
of the Louisiana Department of Revenue, in extending a cordial
invitation to you to attend the 58th Annual FTA Revenue Estimation
and Tax Research Conference. The conference will be held at
the Hampton
Inn & Suites/Convention Center, in New Orleans, Louisiana,
September 21-24, 2003. The conference will open Sunday, September
21, with registration and a reception and conclude Wednesday,
September 24, at 12:00 Noon.
Other
meetings include the Research Roundtable, scheduled for Saturday,
September 20, at 1:00 p.m. and continuing on Sunday morning.
Contact the Roundtable Chair, Joe
LaFace if you are interested in making a presentation.
Conference
Schedule
The conference agenda will be a mix of general and concurrent
breakout sessions with topics of interest to revenue estimators
and state tax policy analysts. Monday morning will begin with
the usual economic outlook by the major forecasting firms
and selected policy topics of interest to everyone. In the
afternoon, conference attendees will have a choice of two
sessions: one will feature detailed forecasts for specific
sectors of the economy, while the other will have presentations
of interest to tax policy researchers.
The
entire day Tuesday will be dedicated to concurrent breakout
sessions with a wide variety of specific topics including:
state tax reform, new issues in corporate taxation, personal
income taxes, revenue forecast modeling, analyzing cigarette
tax increases, data bases/NAICS, estimating tax expenditures,
and a forecasters forum.
Also on Tuesday, time will be allocated for a series of Working
Sessions. These working sessions are intended to provide a
forum for state economists working on a particular topic to
openly discuss problems/issues they have encountered with
economists in other states. Please indicate on the reverse
side of the registration form your first and second choices
from the list of working sessions shown below and on the back
of the form. Any session without a sufficient number of participants
will not be held. However, we can forward your name to others
who indicate an interest in the same topic.
Working Sessions
-
Dynamic Revenue Estimating Models
-
Data Base Techniques: merging/matching different databases,
blurring techniques, etc.
-
Tax Expenditure Reporting/Estimation Techniques
-
Revenue Forecasting: a forum to discuss issues developing
annual/biannual budget forecasts
-
Legislative Issues: a forum to discuss issues analyzing
general legislative proposals
-
Utility Deregulation Issues
-
Issues in Local Taxation
-
Issues in Property Taxation
-
NAICS
-
Other (please specify)
On Wednesday morning, conference participants will hear a
variety of presentations of general interest to state economists
and policy analysts. A preliminary
program is now available.
Local Arrangements
The social program, arranged by the Louisiana Department of
Revenue, will include an opening reception on Sunday evening,
lunch on Monday and a banquet on Tuesday evening.
Guest registration fees cover Sunday's reception and Tuesday's
banquet. There will be no separate guest program this year.
Host state staff has local sites listed below:
http://www.discoverneworleans.com/
http://www.neworleanscvb.com
http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/
http://www.louisianatravel.com/
http://www.riverwalkmarketplace.com/
http://www.jacksonbrewery.com
Hotel
Reservations
The conference will be held at the Hampton
Inn & Suites/Convention Center, which is located at
1201 Convention Center Boulevard in the Arts & Warehouse
District, across from the Convention center and a short walk
from the French Quarter. Several restaurants and shops are
located within easy walking distance. The conference rate
is $94 (single/double occupancy) and $144 (Suites). A continental
breakfast buffet is complimentary for hotel guests.
Please
make your reservations directly with the hotel at 504-566-9990
or 1-866-311-1200. Notify the reservations clerk that you
will be attending the Federation of Tax Administrators Revenue
Estimating Conference, code “FTA” to receive the
special rate. Please note that the cutoff date for hotel
reservations is August 21 2003. After this date,
reservations will be based on availability only.
Conference
Registration
The advance conference registration form
is enclosed or register online at <http://www.rev.state.la.us/mis/fta/fta_reg_form.asp>.
This should be mailed with your check, made payable to Tax
Research Section/FTA, to:
Tax Research – FTA Conference
Diana Horne
Louisiana Department of Revenue
P O Box 44098
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4098
FAX: (225) 219-2708
There will also be a registration form available online.
Please remember to submit a copy of the online registration
form when you send in your fees.
| Registration
fees are: |
|
Government
Representative: |
$290 |
Industry
Representative: |
$375 |
Guest: |
$100 |
The deadline for conference registration is September
5, 2003. A $40 late charge will be assessed for on-site registrants
who did not previously notify Louisiana Department of Revenue
that they planned to attend.
If
you have any questions concerning registration, or have special
dietary/accommodation needs, please contact Diana Horne at
dhorne@rev.state.la.us or Ellen Rhorer at erhorer@rev.state.la.us
or by calling (225) 219-2710 at the Louisiana Department of
Revenue.
Ground Transportation
The conference hotel does not provide transportation to and
from the airport. If you are flying into New Orleans, an airport
shuttle service is available for $20 round trip or $10 one-way.
This shuttle service runs every 10-15 minutes. Call (504)
522-3500 for reservations. A taxicab from the airport to most
areas of New Orleans costs $24 (two people); for parties of
more than two, the fare is $10 per person.
The
FTA Research Section looks forward to your participation
in the 2003 Revenue Estimation and Tax Research Conference
in New Orleans. If you have any questions or suggestions
for the program, please contact Ron Alt of FTA at (202)
624-8445, e-mail ,
or Section Chair Michael Allen at (207) 287-8564, e-mail <
michael.j.allen@state.me.us
>
Sincerely,
Harley T. Duncan
Executive Director
Attachments: as stated |
