Human Resource
Planning - Progression and Regression Planning
Retaining or replacing employees and otherwise dealing
with the "Brain Drain Aging" is a natural process that cannot be halted, but
every day experienced employees with a wealth of knowledge leave our organizations.
Unless we anticipate these departures and plan for the transfer of knowledge,
much of it will be lost as employees retire or leave for other reasons. The
Colorado Department of Revenue has begun an effort to identify the competencies
needed in our managerial positions, and plan for the replacement of key managers.
Neil Peters, Director of Human Resources at the Colorado Department of Revenue,
shares what one state agency has done to plan for predicted and unplanned turnover
of people who run the place today, but may not be here tomorrow.
Security
- Terrorism and Bio-terrorism
Communications - The function of the Office of Preparedness and Security as a hub for the review, analysis, and disbursement of information, including intelligence.
Critical Infrastructure Assessment - Assessing the vulnerability of Colorado's Critical Infrastructure and planning for the protection of the that Infrastructure.
Preparedness Activities - The Office Preparedness and Security role in planning, exercising, and training and their relationship to both terrorism and counterterrorism.
Crisis vs. Consequence Management - The need for an integrated crisis and consequence management approach in terrorist related incidents.
Business Continuity - An overview of the Office of Preparedness and Security role in facility security, occupant protection, and continuity of government/business.
Terrorism Task Force -
Establishing a state and regional capability for cooperative communication and
coordination in matters relating to counterterrorism.
Fraud Detection - Frivolous Return Filers
Find out how the IRS Frivolous Return Filer Program deals
with frivolous filers. Also, learn how the states can benefit from and help
the IRS in combating frivolous arguments used in both the federal and state
tax systems.
Local Tax
Issues
The taxability of contemporaneously purchased delivery
services is frequently contested in sales or use tax audits. Addressed will
be Colorado's rules regarding the taxability of such charges prior to the Colorado
Supreme Court's holding in A.D. Store Co. v. Executive Director, their
likely invalidation by the case's holding, and the case's effect on local taxation.
There will be discussion on the various rules in Colorado pertaining to the
taxability of computer software and services. Finally, a conclusion with a discussion
regarding nexus issues in the state.
Budget
Responses to Revenue Shortfalls
A panel of top state tax administrators will be discussing
the States response to the revenue shortfalls and the impact on tax policy.
Topics that will be covered in this session will include, revenue agencies budget
cuts, amnesty programs, changes in the focus of work priorities, audit coverage,
and federal IRC conformity in light of the new federal law changes. The panel
will discuss how all these issues will impact the taxpayers in the coming years.
Technology
Update
The use of technology by the Colorado Department of Revenue
Taxation Division to provide improved customer service, increased efficiency,
and more accurate processing of returns. This presentation will include a discussion
of new technologies such as the Local Government Sales Tax Information System,
frequently asked questions of the self-service system, Netfile state
income tax filing system through the Internet, and Telefile- state income tax
filing system by telephone. Also covered will be Software Selection Best Practices
for Commercial Off The Shelf system, RFI / RFP Best Practices when selecting
a Revenue Management System or large scale "COTS" systems.
State
of the Economy
The state of the economy of the western states will be covered.
Some advice and direction to the tax officials as they try to assess what recommendations
they need to make to their state legislatures regarding taxes and perhaps what
effect changing tax rates may have or what taxes should they look at and what
impacts it might have.
Electronic Deregulation "Montana Style"
As the title delineates, this presentation is centered on the deregulation of the electric industry in Montana. Hear from the Montana State Senate Majority Leader and two electricity providers in Montana regarding the impact of electric deregulation. They will provide insight on electric deregulation from a political, operational, business and consumer perspective. You will have an opportunity to ask questions of the individuals that have survived the turmoil of a market condition impacted by government, corporate and consumer demands.
Streamlined
Sales Tax
Charles Collins, Co-chair of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project
(SSTP), and Stephen Kranz, Tax Counsel at the Council On State Taxation will
give the respective government and business perspectives on the SSTP and the
Implementing States. The discussion will cover the current status of the effort,
the prospect of its success, and the details of proposals currently under consideration.
Many administrative simplifications have already been approved for use in participating
states; uniform definitions are now being tackled; what's on the horizon? The
participants will cover the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of the simplification
effort. You should know what the SSTP means to your state and your business
community. Is it really a win-win for business and government?
Customer Service Issues and Updates
At the Colorado Department of Revenue, the Call Center has undergone many changes
over the last 18 months - ranging from personnel management improvements to
working with other parts of the agency to reduce the taxpayer's need to call
or send e-mail. That, coupled with developing self-help options for the phone
and the Web, have improved our overall
service. This session will cover progress in those areas and other customer
service initiatives. Also covered, will be processes that will assist agencies
in knowing how your customer service is received and what the customer expects.
Disaster Recovery Issues
Continuity of service by the Internal Revenue Service to
the taxpayers and the professional community who serve them was not a major
issue in the past. After 9/11, this concern has come to light and taxpayers,
practitioners and other government agencies want to ensure that the Service
has contingency plans for responding to natural and other disasters. The IRS
Facilities Management Staff will discuss past experiences with disaster recovery
and how the Service is prepared to provide continuity of service to the American
public.
Tax Compliance Issues and Programs
The technology explosion
of the last several years revolutionized Collection Programs at the California
Franchise Tax Board. New systems and new technology provided the tools for transformation,
and gave us the opportunity to engineer a new customer-centered taxpayer relationship
into our systems. We are able to tailor our communications with taxpayers based
on their individual needs, and give them options for resolving their delinquent
accounts. The result is more efficient collections with less intrusion into
taxpayers' lives. This outcome is achieved largely through "data mining"
- using existing data more effectively to manage collection accounts and to
customize our contacts with
taxpayers. The Nonfiler Program's new Integrated Nonfiler Compliance (INC) system
is also making very effective use of data mining to identify new nonfilers and
to sharply reduce the number of unnecessary contacts. The INC system is the
foundation for a data warehouse that will eventually be available to Collections,
Audit and Filing Programs to meet their business needs.
Come see how the IRS is dealing with the increasing compliance problem; the uses of trust arrangements for tax evasion and tax avoidance. Learn how abusive trusts are set up, how they are promoted and how they operate and hear about the Service's efforts and tools used in identifying, examining, and collecting from abusive trust schemes. Come learn why if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Stakeholder Relationship Management
Share in a panel discussion made up of IRS Governmental Liaisons and their State counterparts as they share how they work together to help a common stakeholder…the taxpayer. This panel will explore how the IRS and the states can work together, how they overcome obstacles and how they manage joint ventures that have benefited both agencies and the taxpayers.
Federal - Local Government Agency Relations
Learn how a new IRS business unit, Federal, State and Local Governments, provides customized communication products and services and how they can assist government agencies within your state comply with federal employment tax law and information reporting requirements.
Federal
Income Tax Refund Offset Program
There are now 25 of the 42 individual income tax states (including
the District of Columbia) that participate in the federal program that offsets
federal individual income tax returns against delinquent debts -- in this case,
delinquent state income taxes. Congress agreed in 1998 to allow states to participate
in the federal program. (States generally have allowed the federal government
to participate in their program for decades.) States collected more than $100
million last year through the program. Representatives from Financial Management
Service, which runs all federal offsets, and the Federation of Tax Administrators,
which is seeking an expansion and some administrative improvements to the federal
legislation, will discuss how the refund offset program works, highlight its
benefits and answer your specific questions.
Phillip Horwitz and Ernie Dronenburg will review recent decisions that have come down in the last year. Mr. Dronenburg will discuss recent cases out of California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho. Mr. Horwitz will discuss cases recently handed down in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Hawaii, and Alaska. Their update will cover major tax cases decided in the last year, with particular focus on intangible holding companies and on-line affiliates.
This breakout session, which has become an annual tradition and an audience favorite, is designed to provide a lively and interactive forum between Revenue Commissioners/Directors and the attendees. While no final decisions have been made regarding the composition of the panel or the topics to be discussed we can assure you that this is one session that you will want to attend. Past discussion topics have included “Migration to Electronic Filing and Customer Service delivery systems”, and “Revenue trends and their impact on Budgets”.
WSATR Panel on Tax Policy and Economic Development
E. Scott Ewing, an attorney and ex-FTB lead counsel for credits and incentives programs now working as a practice leader with Deloitte & Touche in Los Angeles and Allan Smith, a CPA and practice leader for Deloitte & Touche's credits and incentives practice, will explore Western States credits and incentives programs, focusing on what works and what doesn't, from both the state economic development and practitioner perspectives. Programs such as California's MIC & EZ programs, Washington's B&O R&D credit, and Arizona Enterprise Zones will be discussed. A lively discussion of policy, law and pending legislation is sure to make this a very informative and interesting panel presentation.
Learn about the IRS data exchange program, how it operates and how states can use the various data extracts for their own compliance initiatives and revenue forecasting. This includes an overview of the different extracts, how to enroll, and some tips on troubleshooting common problems.