2004 FTA Revenue Estimating Conference

2004 FTA REVENUE ESTIMATION AND TAX RESEARCH CONFERENCESeptember 19 - 22, 2004 — Burlington, Vermont

SUMMARY

The 2004 FTA Revenue Estimation and Tax Research Conference will be held at the Wyndham Hotel, in Burlington, Vermont, September 19-22. This announcement contains registration materials as well as hotel information. A preliminary program will be on the FTA Web site by mid-July,
<http://www.taxadmin.org>

Hotel reservations must be madebefore August 19, 2004, to receive the $139 conference rate. The conference registration deadline is September 6, 2004.

The FTA Research Section Chair, Dick Gebhart, of Minnesota Department of Revenue, joins with Conference Host, Tom Pelham, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Taxes, in extending a cordial invitation to attend the 59th Annual FTA Revenue Estimation and Tax Research Conference. The conference will be held September 19-22, 2004, at the Wyndham Burlington, in Burlington, Vermont. The conference will open Sunday, September 19, with registration and a reception and conclude Wednesday, September 22, at 12:00 Noon.

Other meetings include the Research Roundtable, scheduled for Saturday, September 18, at 1:00 p.m. and continuing on Sunday morning.

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 featuring: detailed forecasts for specific sectors of the economy; and 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: tax amnesties, corporate apportionment issues, tax incentive accountability, tax incidence modeling, revenue from gambling, and others.

On Wednesday morning, conference participants will hear a variety of presentations of general interest to state economists and policy analysts. A preliminary program will be available by mid-July.

Local Arrangements
The social program, arranged by the Vermont Department of Taxes, will include an opening reception on Sunday evening, lunch on Monday and an evening cruise on Lake Champlain with dinner on Tuesday evening.

For places to visit and things to do while in the Burlington are, you may wish to check out the following websites:

Hotel Reservations
The conference will be held at the Wyndham Hotel Burlington, which is located on 60 Battery Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401. The hotel is close to everything this delightful region has to offer and is situated on the shore of the lake in the heart of downtown. Burlington -- a top-rated place to live -- is a vibrant center for arts, history, shopping and entertainment.

The conference rate is $139 (single/double occupancy). Please make your reservations directly with the hotel by calling 802-658-6500 or 1-877-999-3223. Notify the reservations clerk that you will be attending the Federation of Tax Administrators Revenue Estimating Conference, to receive the special rate. Please note that the cutoff date for hotel reservations is August 19, 2004. After this date, reservations will be based on availability only.

Conference Registration
The conference registration form is enclosed and can also be downloaded at http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/meet/agend_re_04.html. You may fax (802-828-2701) or mail the registration form and check to the address below. The check should be made payable to Tax Research Section/FTA.

The deadline for conference registration is September 6, 2004. A $40 late charge will be assessed for on-site registrants who have not previously notified the host state of their intent to attend.

If you have any questions concerning registration, please contact Tara Lewis at tlewis@tax.state.vt.us or (802) 828-2505 at the Vermont Department of Taxes.

Ground Transportation
The conference hotel provides transportation to and from the airport; just look for the hotel phone in the airport and place your call to them.

The FTA Research Section looks forward to your participation in the 2004 Revenue Estimation and Tax Research Conference in Burlington. If you have any questions or suggestions for the program, please contact Ron Alt of FTA, or Section Chair Dick Gebhart at <dick.gebhart@state.mn.us >