Agenda

January 16, 2025

8:25 – 8:30 a.m. – Welcome and Opening Remarks
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. – State Specific Concurrent Sessions (choose one)

Channel 1: Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Update
Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder, Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Rebecca Forter, Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Mireille Eastman, Massachusetts Department of Revenue

Channel 2: Maine Legislative Update and Economic Outlook
Elizabeth Frazier, JD, Pierce Atwood LLP
Luke Tilley, PhD, Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors

Channel 3: New Hampshire Legislative Update
Teresa Rhodes Rosenberger, Bernstein Shur
Kevin Kennedy, CPA, CFE, ABV, Maloney & Kennedy, PLLC

Channel 4: Vermont Legislative Update
Jamie Feehan, Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer PC
Sharon Asay, Vermont Department of Taxes

9:40 – 10:20 a.m. – Concurrent Sessions (choose one)

Channel 1: Appellate Tax Board Update
Mark DeFrancisco, Esq, Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board
In this session you’ll get an update on state tax decisions from the Appellate Tax Board (ATB) and appellate courts. We’ll also cover best practices for appearing before the ATB and procedures for participating in remote hearings.

Channel 2: Tech Update for Tax Professionals
Tommy Stephens, Jr., CPA, CGMA, CITP, K2 Enterprises
In this session, we’ll cover key hardware advancements and requirements, the latest software updates and new features in Microsoft Office, current cybersecurity threats with practical solutions and emerging technologies shaping the future of accounting. You’ll gain insights into identifying impactful hardware developments for accounting and tax practices, exploring new features in Microsoft Office and other essential applications and applying effective cybersecurity practices and tools.

10:30–11:20 a.m. – Navigating Domicile Changes and Audits in New England
Rich Jones, Sullivan & Worcester LLP
Dan Ryan, Sullivan & Worcester LLP
The impact of state taxes like the millionaire’s tax and estate taxes is prompting many New England taxpayers to consider changing their domicile. As relocation interest rises, state revenue departments are intensifying domicile audits. In this session, we’ll explore effective strategies for planning a domicile change and share insights into navigating domicile audits.

11:30 – 12:20 p.m. – Concurrent Sessions (choose one)

Channel 1: Massachusetts Rolling Stock Use Tax: A Constitutional Challenge?
Rich Jones, Sullivan & Worcester LLP
Joe Donovan, Fauver Legal
Caroline Kupiec, Sullivan & Worcester LLP
In this session, we’ll explore Massachusetts’ unique approach to taxing vehicles engaged in interstate commerce. Unlike other states with rolling stock exemptions, Massachusetts imposes a use tax on the full purchase price of tractors and trailers entering the state more than six times a year, regardless of in-state use. We’ll examine whether this tax violates the constitutional “external consistency” requirement, offer insights on audits and appeal and provide practical guidance for navigating this controversial initiative.

Channel 2: The SALT CAP: 2025 and Beyond
Adam DoVale, KLR
In this session, we’ll explore the current treatment of the $10K cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and Pass Through Entity Tax (PTET) workarounds across New England states. We’ll also examine the implications of the current SALT cap and PTET regimes, the potential impact of the repeal or expiration of the SALT cap at the federal level and the effects of increasing the cap beyond $10K. Additionally, the session will address how federal actions may influence state PTET regimes.

12:20 p.m. – Day 1 Closing Remarks

January 17, 2025

8:25 – 8:30 a.m. – Day 2 Welcome and Opening Remarks
8:30 – 9:20 a.m. – Legislative Update
Todd Sloves, AICPA
Join us for a legislative update session, led by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), to discuss recent federal tax developments and potential changes from the latest election outcomes. This session will cover key updates affecting tax policy and compliance, preparing you for what’s next in the tax landscape.

9:30 – 10:20 a.m. – Concurrent Sessions (choose one)

Channel 1: Navigating Competitiveness and Outmigration: Trends and Insights from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation
Doug Howgate, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation
In this session, we’ll explore key issues shaping the business landscape in Massachusetts, including challenges related to competitiveness, outmigration and the latest trends observed by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF). You’ll gain valuable insights into how these factors influence the state’s economic future and the potential policy directions that may emerge in response. The session will conclude with a Q&A, offering an opportunity for interactive discussion on this pressing topic.

Channel 2: Artificial Intelligence in Your Tax Practice
Tommy Stephens, Jr., CPA, CGMA, CITP, K2 Enterprises
Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere—and for good reason! Today’s AI tools can help busy professionals work smarter, more efficiently, more effectively and more accurately. Yet many professionals don’t know how to incorporate AI into their tax practices. In this session, you’ll discover the importance of AI in your tax practice, including why AI is important, the benefits of using this amazing technology and how it can help you jump-start tax practice productivity.

10:30–11:20 a.m. – Tax Updates: Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont
Leanne Scott, JD, Baker Newman Noyes (BNN)
Jonathan Block, JD, LLM, Pierce Atwood LLP
Olga Goldberg, JD, LLM, Pierce Atwood LLP
Jack Bjorn, JD, Pierce Atwood LLP
In this session, you’ll get an overview of recent tax developments in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont impacting both business and individual taxpayers. We’ll also review recent public written statements from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR), Maine Revenue Services, New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration and Vermont Department of Taxes, as well as significant cases impacting taxpayers in these states.

11:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m. – National Trends in State and Local Tax Policy
Joe Crosby, MultiState Associates, Inc.
Karl Frieden, Council on State Taxation
In this session, we’ll discuss the current state of revenues and examine the expansionary nature of federal spending, including how the Federal Reserve is actively reducing short-term interest rates to engineer a soft landing for the economy. While the fiscal and economic environment is generally positive, we’ll also address the unsettled policy and political landscape and the potential impact of the parties turning to states under their control to push for policies no longer possible at the federal level.

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