New York and Tri-State Taxation Conference Webcast

Zhoudi Tang, CPA, MST, is a Manager at WithumSmith&Brown, PC in the State and Local Tax Group. He has experience assisting individuals, businesses to comply with Federal, State and Local regulations. He advises clients with respect residency, nexus and apportionment issues with a focus on income and franchise taxes. Mr. Tang’s industry expertise includes closely held and family businesses. Mr. Tang received his Masters from Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College. He is a CPA in New York and a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (“NYSSCPA”). He is an active member and the current vice-chair of the NYSSCPA’s New York, Multistate and Local Tax Committee. He was a contributor to New Jersey CPA Magazine.

Steven J. Eller, CPA, JD, a Partner at PKF O'Connor Davies, LLP co-heads the firm’s State and Local Tax Group. Mr. Eller has over 30 years of professional experience assisting individuals, businesses, as well as estates and trusts plan for and comply with Federal, State and Local regulations. He advises clients with respect residency, nexus and apportionment issues, sales and use taxes and payroll taxes, , with a focus on strategic planning and compliance. Mr. Eller’s industry expertise includes real estate, manufacturing and closely held and family businesses. Mr. Eller has also been influential in both New York State and New York City tax reform. Mr. Eller received his J.D. from Widener University School of Law (formerly Delaware Law School of Widener University), and his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Delaware. He is a CPA in New York and New Jersey and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (“NYSSCPA”), and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Eller is a licensed attorney in New Jersey and admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court. He is an active member and former chair of the NYSSCPA’s New York, Multistate and Local Tax Committee and the current Co-chair of its legislative subcommittee. Mr. Eller has chaired and lectured at the Foundation for Accounting Education’s highly acclaimed New York State and Multistate Taxation Conference. He has lectured for CCH, is a contributor to The Trusted Professional and has been quoted in the NY Post, Accounting Today and the Daily Tax Report.

Roger S. Blane, Esq., is a member of the law firm of Hutton & Solomon, LLP, focusing his practice in the area of state and local taxation. He has successfully advised taxpayers in the area of state and local tax planning as well as represented taxpayers through the audit, administrative and judicial process. Mr. Blane has appeared before various government agencies. He frequently lectures for various organizations in the area of state and local taxation and has been a guest lecturer to the audit staff of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in Albany. Mr. Blane is a member of the New York Bar and Connecticut Bar, and is a member of the Multi-state and Local Taxation Committee of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Chaim Kofinas has over 40 years experience in accounting and taxation specializing in state and local taxation issues. He has spent the last 35 years advising clients on income tax and sales tax matters as well as representing clients before the IRS and State on exams and on appeals. Chaim has also advised clients in the construction field as well as Not-For-Profit clients. Chaim is a frequent lecturer for this and other conference in the past and has written articles on a variety of tax issues. At Goldstein Lieberman & CO LLC Chaim is a Tax Director who advises high net worth clients as well a working small business clients regarding U. S. and state and local taxation. Chaim also works with the tax group to set tax policy for the firm. Prior to joining Goldstein Lieberman & CO LLC Chaim was a senior tax manager at WithumSmith+Brown PC, and later at Beacon CPA PC, where he advised multistate businesses and individual clients on federal and state and local tax matters including representation before the IRS and other taxing agencies. Chaim has also worked with foreign individual sand businesses making inbound investments into the US . Chaim is currently the immediate Past Chair of the New York State Society CPA New York, Multistate & Local Taxation Committee as well as being active with the New York State Society CPA International Committee. During his tenure as Chair Chaim initiated a dialogue with the NYS Commissioners office and lead a delegation to meet the Commissioner in Albany

Melanie is an associate in Blank Rome LLP’s State and Local Tax group. Melanie’s practice covers a wide range of state and local tax matters and involves representing clients at the audit, administrative, and judicial levels. Her practice touches nearly every tax type, including corporate income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, and gross receipts taxes. Melanie is the co-editor of her practice group’s monthly state and local tax publication, The BR State + Local Tax Spotlight, and she has authored articles for the Journal of State Taxation, Tax Notes States and Tax Stringer. Melanie previously served as a senior manager of state and local taxation and alternative investment funds at a tax firm headquartered in San Francisco. In this role, she advised both individuals and companies on issues involving sales and use tax, personal income tax, corporate income tax, and pass-through entity tax. Melanie also served as an intern to the Honorable Stephen A. Bucaria at the Nassau County Supreme Court and an intern at the Suffolk County Attorney’s Office. During law school, Melanie served as an article & notes editor for the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review.

Mr. Klein, Chairman of the Firm, concentrates on New York State and New York City tax matters. He also has over 35 years of experience with federal, multistate, state, and local taxation. He is chair of the State and Local Taxation Section of the ACE Accounting Society. Mark is editor of New York Tax Highlights; contributing editor of CCH’s Guidebook to New York Taxes and co-author of CCH’s New York Residency and Allocation Audit Handbook, CCH’s New York Sales and Use Tax Answer Book, and NYSBA’s Contesting New York Tax Assessments. He has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and CNBC, and has appeared on CNN for a live interview on changing your residency. He was named 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” in the new edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is admitted in New York (1983), Florida (1983), New Jersey (2019) and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Klein can be reached at mklein@hodgsonruss.com or @MarkKleinNY.

Barry H. Horowitz, CPA, MST, is a Partner at WithumSmith+Brown, PC, and is in charge of their State and Local Tax practice. He advises clients in residency and nexus issues, entity-level taxes, sales and use taxes, and other business and personal tax matters. A former editor of The CPA Journal, he is an appointed member of the Commissioner’s Advisory Council for both the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the New York City Department of Finance.

Felicia S. Hoeniger concentrates her practice on state taxes, representing clients in matters involving personal and corporate income taxes, withholding, sales and use taxes and excise taxes, and issues of double or multiple taxation by two or more states. Her experience includes preliminary tax planning, audit defense, and post-audit administrative and judicial appeals, including representing clients before state audit divisions, in agency administrative appeals and before Connecticut courts. She also advises clients on state tax credits and the Freedom of Information Act as it relates to State treatment of confidential tax return information. Her previous experience includes serving as Counsel to Robinson+Cole LLP and the Director of the Legal Division at the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. Ms. Hoeniger has addressed numerous regional and national state and local tax groups, such as the Tax Section of the American Bar Association, the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, the New York State Society of CPAs, Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the Connecticut Society of CPAs and the Northeastern State Tax Officials Association. She has published several articles on state tax issues and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal on state domicile issues. Ms. Hoeniger is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tax Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, was Chair of the Corporation Business Tax Subcommittee of the Connecticut Bar Association and was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Multistate Taxation. She received her BA from Bates College and her J.D. magna cum laude from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Alan J. Preis, CPA, MBA, conducts his own practice, limited to state and federal tax matters, in Florham Park, N.J. Previously, he was a Tax Partner—concentrating on New Jersey and multistate tax matters—in the Parsippany, N.J., office of Deloitte & Touche. He has chaired the New Jersey Society of CPAs State Taxation and Multistate Taxation Committees, as well as the NYSSCPA’s New York, Multistate and Local Taxation Committee. He is a member of the AICPA Tax Division and has served on its State and Local Taxation Committee, as well as on the Taxation Committee of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. In 2005, he was appointed by the Governor to the New Jersey Sales and Use Tax Review Commission. He received a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from the Wharton School Graduate Division of the University of Pennsylvania.

Glenn Newman, JD, President, NYC Tax Commission, was a Partner in a tax law firm where he handled tax planning and controversy matters involving state and local taxes including personal income tax, corporate tax, sales tax, and real property transfer taxes prior to his appointment and confirmation by the City Council as president of the Tax Commission.

With 40 years of public accounting experience, Phil London is a valued partner emeritus. Phil brings unique expertise to The Tax Services Group regarding federal, state and local, business, and personal taxes. His deep knowledge of the law informs his work in estate and income tax planning for high net worth individuals, including the use of various types of trusts to maximize overall family wealth. A valued and trusted business advisor, Phil consults with clients on the structuring of prenuptial and divorce agreements, tax planning for real estate transactions, tax-free exchanges, and business transactions dealing with sales, acquisitions and reorganizations. A respected industry leader, Phil speaks on various topics including economic development incentives, mergers and acquisitions, and state, local and multistate income and sales tax matters. As former Chair of the NYSSCPA New York, Multistate, and Local Tax Committee, he has extensive contacts with tax professionals and administrators throughout the U.S. Phil currently serves on the NYSSCPA Legislative Task Force and is also the Vice Chair of the Tax Division Oversight Committee. He’s also a valued source for media including The Wall Street Journal, Crain’s New York Business, Inc. Magazine and various professional publications.

Chrystal Hale is a supervisor in the Pass-Through Entity Tax Audit Unit at the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, where she has been employed for 13 years. She has extensive experience working with individual, pass-through, and trust & estate income taxes. Chrystal received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Mathematics, has a Master’s degree in Accounting and Taxation from University of Hartford, and is a Certified Fraud Examiner. Chrystal also teaches mathematics and accounting courses at Goodwin College in East Hartford, CT and American International College in Springfield, MA.

Jim is a Principal in RSM’s State and Local Tax, Mergers and Acquisitions (“M&A”) practice based in San Francisco. Jim specializes in state and local taxes relating to M&A structuring and tax due diligence. Jim has over ten years of experience providing federal and state tax advisory and transaction services to the largest Fortune 500 and private equity clients. He has managed over 500 M&A transactions and reorganizations in various industries, including technology, financial services, and retail/consumer products Professional Affiliates and Credentials *San Francisco Bar Association, Tax Section *New York State Bar Association *New York City Bar Association – State and Local Tax Committee Secretary (2014-2017) Education: *LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law *J.D. from Albany Law School *B.A. from the University at Albany

Kathleen Haller is a Supervising Auditor in the Individual Tax Audit Branch for the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Kathleen has worked for the Division of Taxation for over 35 years with experience as an Auditor in gross income tax. Kathleen holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from Rider College and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New Jersey

Paul is a tax policy analyst in the Office of Tax Policy Analysis (OTPA) at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Paul joined OTPA in 2005 where he is currently a member of the income franchise team. His areas of expertise include business incentive credits and flow-through entity issues. Career background: Prior to joining the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in 2005, Paul worked as an economist measuring multi-factor productivity at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C. Education: He has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering (cum laude) from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.

Linda Farrington is a Senior Attorney in the Office of Counsel’s income franchise unit at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. She works on litigation, legislation and guidance with a focus on flow-through taxation. Linda earned her law degree cum laude from the Fordham University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University.

Marisa Friedrich, a director at Kaufman Rossin, concentrates on resolving Federal and New York State tax controversies involving personal income tax, tax collections, audits, responsible person assessments, penalty abatements, voluntary disclosure, and FIRPTA matters. Marisa has extensive experience with residency and change of domicile matters, handling active audits as well as providing guidance to plan for these situations. Marisa speaks often on IRS and NYS tax issues for various professional groups and podcasts on topics including IRS and New York State Tax Collections, New York State Residency, and much more. Marisa has also published various articles for qualified publications regarding IRS and New York State tax law. Marisa was also named among “Outstanding Women in Law” by the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. Marisa received her J.D. from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. She is admitted to the New York State Bar and admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court. Marisa can be reached at mfriedrich@kaufmanrossin.com or (305) 701-4864.

From controversy to consulting, Marc Simonetti advises clients on matters across the United States in all areas of state and local taxation, including income, franchise, excise, sales and use tax. Marc zealously represents clients in controversy matters from audit through litigation—defending clients’ positions and working to achieve practical solutions to controversy matters. He represents clients in matters ranging from administrative appeal to appellate litigation and advises clients on audit matters before state tax authorities, including administrative appeals. Further, Marc represents clients in all aspects of litigation—from discovery, depositions, motion practice, trial and appeal. Recognizing the inherent risks in litigation, Marc is skilled in attaining the best resolution for the client. Understanding that state and local tax issues affect long-term business decisions and day-to-day operations, Marc advises Fortune 100 clients to maximize opportunities and minimize tax liabilities. Marc understands operations and avoid costly missteps. In the changing business environment where many clients face new and difficult tax issues regarding the application of old tax laws to new technology, Marc advises clients on the tax consequences of participating in the digital economy. In addition, he counsels clients on transactional matters, including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and restructuring—for maximum tax efficiency. REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE • Successfully litigated a precedent-setting New York State tax apportionment sourcing case for an online travel company.
• Successfully litigated an Illinois Tax False Claims Act case regarding attributional nexus for a cosmetic retail company.
• Advises technology firm on state tax planning and restructuring. PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
• Recognized by Chambers USA: Guide to Leading Business Lawyers in the area of tax.
• Advisory Board Member, The National Multistate Tax Symposium – Honors & Awards Recognized by Chambers USA: Guide to Leading Business Lawyers in the area of tax (2012–2021)
• Affiliations/Associations
• Advisory Board Member, The National Multistate Tax Symposium
• Member, Editorial Board, The Tax Lawyer State and Local Tax Edition, American Bar Association
• Member, State and Local Tax Committee, Tax Section, American Bar Association Former Member, Tax Section, New York State Bar Association (2006)

Janine Burgess is the Assistant Director of Individual Tax Audit for the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Janine oversees the activities of the Individual Tax Audit Branch and the Inheritance and Estate Tax Branch. Janine has worked for the Division for over 20 years with experience as an Auditor in gross income tax and estate tax. Janine holds a Master’s of Business Administration (M.B.A.) and a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from Monmouth University and also has completed the Certified Public Manager (C.P.M.) Program though Rutgers University.