TeleStrategies' Communications Taxation 2010
May 18-19, 2010 -- Chicago, IL
Pre-Conference Tutorial -- May 17, 2010
TeleStrategies' 11th Annual Communications Taxation conference brings together the nation's top tax professionals to address the challenging and amazingly complex domain of telecommunications taxation.
The program provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of telecom tax, including:
- Key legal proceedings, judgments and case studies that set precedent and basis
- Transaction, income, property tax compliance and audit defense
- Emerging services including TV, content, wireless content, app-stores
- Federal/local fees and surcharges
- Sourcing, nexus, jurisdiction regulations across federal, state and local authorities
- All provider types, including wireline, wireless, content aggregators, ISPs, cable
- All pricing/payment models - prepaid, post-pay, bundles
- Emerging regulation issues
- Key local legislation including bellwethers California, Washington State, Colorado and Louisiana
- Billing integration, interfaces, quality assurance, internal controls
- And more!
Whether you are new to telecom taxes, or an industry veteran, you will learn how to lower your tax bill, streamline tax operations, proactively prepare for audits, better defend your company's audit position, leverage case studies/precedent to lower your tax liabilities, and, most importantly, network with your peers to share your experiences.
I hope to see you in Chicago this May 17-19 for this fantastic event.
Sincerely,
Dr. Matthew Lucas, Program Chair
Need CPE credits? Attendees are eligible to earn up to 17 CPE credits.
Telecom Tax 2010 Conference Agenda
9:00 - 4:30 -- Preconference tutorial: Understanding Communications Taxation (details)
7:00 -- Registration Opens, Breakfast
8:30 - 8:45
Conference Opening Remarks
Dr. Matthew Lucas, Vice President, TeleStrategies
8:45 - 10:00
Executive Kickoff Panel
Join a distinguished panel of communications service providers as they explore the challenges they and their companies face in navigating through today’s often confusing and complicated tax maze. The speakers will explore recent and potential future legislative developments at the federal and state level and the impact for the industry. Topics include: convergence of technologies and the inability of lawmakers to keep up, transaction tax issues facing companies today, emerging products and services that don’t fit into current taxing methodologies. We will explore top priorities for the cable, broadband and telecom industries for their tax departments and policy groups and efforts underway to achieve their goals.
Brian Goldstein, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Annabelle Canning, Vice President, State Tax Policy, Verizon
Mark Schichtel, Vice President of Tax, Time Warner Cable
10:00 - 10:30AM
Morning Break and Exhibits
10:30 - 12:00
Session A
Make Sense of the New Stuff - Understanding the Tax Implications of Emerging Services
This session will cover the range of emerging telecom services which are likely to have significant tax and compliance implications for operators. Topics to be addressed include application revenue (including content from mobile appstores, cable/satellite set top devices, gaming consoles and other specialty devices such as the tablet market), subsidized transport/reciprocal compensation for prioritized traffic (e.g., video transport and hosted services), smartgrid/M2M, commerce/online transactions within social networks, and other sources of revenue from emerging partnerships.
Chris Couch, CTO, Transverse
Dr. Matthew Lucas, Vice President, TeleStrategies
Jim Nason, Tax Managing Partner, Telecommunications, Deloitte Tax
Session B
E-911 Compliance Strategies for the Prepaid Wireless Industry (10:30 - 11:15)
This session will look at the at court cases, different ARPU (alternate revenue calculation methodologies), and tax preparer challenge for E911 prepaid wireless fee collection, exemption and compliance. The speakers will cover the legal background on 911 wireless, including the TracFone case and Florida rulings; address practical considerations such as determining number of active subscribers and sourcing issues; and look at implementing alternate forms of compliance, including ARPU, the Tennessee method and other state studies.
David Rubenstein, Managing Editor, Telecommunications & Utilities Tax, CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business
Moshe Weingarten, Manager of Operations and Production, CorpSystem SalesTax
CCH, a WoltersKluwer Business
Mark Lammert, President, Compliance Solutions
Prepaid Point-of-Sale Sourcing (11:15 - 12:00)
The 911 tax expansions have created an administrative nightmare for most operators that offer prepaid service. This session will provide updates to the legislative proposals aimed at resolving the difficulties associated with imposing fixed monthly taxes on prepaid services. The speakers will talk through their proposals and success with the NCSL; statutory adoption in Maine, Louisiana and Texas; planned action in 2010 and strategies for dealing with prepaid sourcing.
John Cmelak, Vice President, State Tax Policy, Verizon Communications
Scott Mackey, Economist & Partner, Kimbell Sherman Ellis
12:00 - 1:00
Lunch Break
1:00 - 2:30
Session A
Send lawyers, guns and money - a review of this year's significant state and local tax controversies and what taxpayers are doing to fight back.
This session will detail the past year's significant audit and tax controversies impacting the telecommunications industry and look at the resulting issues and opportunities taxpayers must consider in the coming months.
Kristine Dankenbrink, Senior Vice President, Tax, Comcast
Mark Schichtel, SVP Tax, Time Warner Cable
Eric Tresh, Partner, Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan
Session b
Offering Colocation? (1:00 - 1:45)
Colocation encompasses many diverse items that can have a wide range of tax implications. This session will discuss the different components of co location - what they are and things to consider when taxing them.
Sandra Thomas, CPA, Tax Research Director, BillSoft
Other invited carrier representatives
Transaction tax issues and updates for digital goods, cloud computing, hosting, content and hybrid telecommunications services (1:45 - 2:30)
There are a multitude of transaction tax ramifications related to emerging telecom products and services. This session will look at how providers, who may not be "traditional" telecommunications companies, need to be ready to comply with the applicable billing, collection and tax remittance issues. The speaker will consider a range of services, including cloud computing, telematics, GPS location and tracking services, information services, VoIP, music, games, wallpaper as well as other emerging offerings.
Grady Cunningham, Partner, State and Local Tax, KPMG
Andy Ottinger, Vice President - Tax, Qwest Communications
2:30 - 3:00 PM
Afternoon Break
3:00 - 3:45
Session A
Transaction Tax Audit Defense
This session focuses on managing audits and negotiating liabilities to minimize audit assessment payments to the various state and local taxing authorities. The speakers will look at the alternatives to traditional audits and provide real-world examples of negotiated settlements to consider as you navigate through your current and future audit activities.
Jamie Brenner, SALT Director,PricewaterhouseCoopers
Brad O'Donnell, Transaction Tax Director, Audit, Verizon
Mark Swan, Transaction Tax Counsel, Time Warner Cable
Session B
Taxation of Services in the Migration to a Service Economy
As state and local jurisdictions deal with record deficits and a shrinking tax base, they are imposing a deluge of taxes on the communications industry. Just about every service type and service provider is affected – and the problem is only getting worse. This session will bring you up to date with the key struggles of bellwether jurisdictions to enact and implement these taxes (past and present), along with an analysis of relevant cases that you need to know.
Jim Kranjc, Principal, Ryan & Company
3:45 - 4:00
Afternoon Break
4:00 - 5:00
Session A
Bundling – The Customer Demands It, How to Tax It
Bundling remains topical and at the forefront on a carrier’s “headache list.” With new emerging services and offerings created every day, taxing a mixed, bundled service is becoming even more complex. What’s worse is that limited guidance and short time-to-market deadlines make being proactive difficult, if not impossible. The speakers will discuss how to segregate even the most complex product and service bundles, apply discounts and deal with this continuing issue -- enabling operators to tackle this daunting, top-of-mind problem.
Jim Nason, Tax Managing Partner, Telecommunications, Deloitte Tax
Rick Heller, Executive Director , Transaction Tax Research, Planning, & Policy, AT&T
Doug Hurst, Director- Transaction Tax, Qwest Communications
Session B
Transaction Tax implications of Cross-border Transactions
Thinking about doing business in Canada? Already there? This session will explore the transaction tax implications of cross-border telecommunications services including the Canadian transaction taxes that may apply and the potential for double taxation by both the United States and Canada.
Jeff Cohen, Director, Tax Content & Workflow Solutions, Thomson Reuters
Joshua W. Jobe, CPA, Senior Consultant, Sales & Use Tax, Thomson Reuters
James P. Minneman, Staff Consultant, Sales & Use Tax, Thomson Reuters
5:00 - 6:00
Cocktail Reception
8:00 - 8:45
Continental Breakfast and Exhibits
8:45 - 9:45
Session A
Fighting the Good Fight - Communication Industry Efforts to Ensure Sound Tax Policy in a Deficit Environment
This session will provide an overview of some of the key tax policy debates being conducted across the country and how pending and proposed legislation will likely impact your company's financial performance.
Tom Donnelly, Vice President - State and Local Tax, Comcast
Steve Kranz, Partner, Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan
Session b
NETWORKING ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS # 1
Discuss tax issues with your peers in an intimate and informal roundtable format. Session moderators provide subject matter expertise to facilitate discussion, perspectives and most importantly -- answers!
Table 1 - Greening in the Telecommunications World
Telcos are being required to add alternative energy options and enhance the energy efficiency of their networks. Tax will play a critical role as credits, incentives, penalties and the potential trading of benefits comes to the forefront. This panel will discuss the ins-and-outs of the regulatory and legislative issues, and what you need to know from a tax perspective as this is becoming a huge topic across the sector.
Rob Calafell, C&I Leader, Deloitte Tax
Table 2 - Sweeping Changes Across Enterprise’s Use of Geographic/Geospatial Data: Enterprise GIS projects will include the Tax Departments
This breakout will look at the issues of sharing geographic and geospatial data between engineering/operations and taxation; growth of special tax districts (almost 1900 over 4000 municipalities); increasing data granularity and parcel-level data; and how to drive out related IT, billing and integration costs.
Daniel Lawson, Director - Tax Applications, First American Spatial Solutions
Debbie Diot, Director Sales, First American Spatial Solutions
9:45 - 10:15
Morning Coffee Break and Exhibits
10:15 - 11:15
Session A
Audit Defense Strategy
Carriers spend an inordinate amount of time and money defending prior positions in the face of auditors armed with 20-20 hindsight. Meanwhile, the same jurisdictions are facing budget crises never before seen, thereby making audit recovery their first priority. This session presents views from seasoned veterans regarding current audit issues and industry trends, as well as pragmatic perspectives on audit defense best practices and success strategies.
Kathy Saxton, Senior Member, Multistate Tax Service, Deloitte Tax
Liz Bopp, Tax Director, AT&T
Audra Mitchell, State Tax Counsel, Sprint
Cindy Gonzales, Assistant General Counsel, State & Local Tax Verizon
Session B
NETWORKING ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS #2
Table 1 - Voluntary Disclosure, Amnesty or Alternative Settlement: Determining the Best Approach
This breakout will discuss the pros, cons and interplay of current voluntary disclosure and amnesty programs; consider the key factors in determining which route to take for disclosing past liabilities; highlight some potential benefits and traps for the unwary; and discuss some creative alternatives which may be available for taxpayers who do not qualify for traditional voluntary disclosure programs or who wish to voluntarily disclose liabilities in jurisdictions which do not have formal voluntary disclosure programs. .
Stephanie Bergeron, Tax Director, One Communications
Don Maynor, Esq., California Utility Users Tax and Franchise Law
Amanda Gebicki, Grant McCarthy Group
Table 2 - Wholesale Tax Issues: Balancing Competing Interests
Roundtable participants will share strategies for dealing with the often competing goals of keeping their resale customers happy while avoiding risk for your own company. Resellers are also encouraged to share their experiences in successfully establishing exempt status with their wholesalers.
Toby Bargar, Esq., Senior Tax Consultant, BillSoft
11:15 - 11:30
Coffee Break and Exhibits
11:30 - 12:30
Session A
The Priceless Value of Precise Property Location Data in Determining Tax Jurisdictions
Assigning incorrect tax information to properties for the billing, collection and remittance of transaction taxes and for the assessment of tangible personal property can cost companies a tremendous amount of time and money to fix. Having current, precise information on the exact locations of tax districts is essential for organizations that rely on this information to bill customers and/or establish special tax areas to support community improvement projects. This session will discuss tax jurisdiction determination, the challenges in keeping these assignments up-to-date and to what level data needs to go to avoid penalties from the inaccurate assignment of tax information.
John Siegman, Vice President, First American Spatial Solutions
Session B
NETWORKING ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS #3
Table 1 - Income Tax Considerations
Mergers, liquidations and restructuring have tremendous impact on state, income, franchise, sales/use and other taxes. This breakout will address tax planning issues, including the potential hidden costs and pitfalls.
Kevin Merkell, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Table 2 - Sales, Use and Transaction Tax Audit and Refund Issues
This breakout will provide practical advice for taxpayers to help expedite audits and refund claims in this era of increased scrutiny by taxing authorities. Topics to be covered include planning for audits and reverse audits, uncovering potential refund opportunities, substantiating and documenting exemptions within audits or refund claims, discussion of various abatement strategies, providing detailed backup information in electronic form and dealing with recalcitrant vendors in states where vendors are required to file refund claims.
Peter Stirling, Senior Manager, KPMG
Marie Harris, Senior Manager - Tax, T-Mobile
Table 3 - Accurate Product Mapping - Step One in Taxing Your Products Correctly
As much as 20% of telecom products are mapped incorrectly, with tax codes unknowingly assigned incorrectly. This breakout will look at how mapping -- even with the best database grid of taxability decisions -- can lead to disaster, and how to avoid common pitfalls.
Shon Holyfield, CEO, TTR (and former Tax Director at Cox Communication)