SALTovation: Making Sense of State and Local Tax SALTovation

In this episode of the SALTovation podcast, we continue our conversation with Sandra Wiley, President of Boomer Consulting - an organization dedicated to guiding CPA firms towards success by leveraging leadership, talent, growth processes, and technology. From the hard truths about work-life balance to the strategic dilemmas CPA firms face, Sandra discusses the importance of embracing change, spreading decision-making power, and having the correct mindset. Listen this week as we talk about the growing significance of the accounting profession and the incredible potential it holds for future generations of professionals.
 
Topics discussed in this episode:
The accounting profession is undergoing a transformative shift, prioritizing work-life balance and cultural adaptation in the recruitment and retention of talent.Effective leadership and navigating change are pivotal in the modern accounting landscape, particularly demonstrated during the transition to remote work practices.Creating uniform processes in CPA firms can significantly enhance efficiency, but success hinges on the commitment and adaptability of all team members, not just technology.The next generation of accountants is motivated by different values, such as community service and societal impact, requiring a shift in how the profession is presented to potential recruits.Unveiling the true functional dynamics within a firm leads to valuable process improvements.


Quotables
“Firms today have to tune into what the next generation is defining as important to them. We have to meet them where they're at. We cannot impose our life and how we lived our life on them.” -Sandra Wiley [06:09]

“The accounting profession is on the brink of being one of the most important professions in our entire world. It is right in front of us to start developing and changing that business model so that we can get there faster with our clients, to be their advisors, their consultants, and their partners in their businesses.” -Sandra Wiley [26:22]


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In this episode of the SALTovation podcast, we speak with Sandra Wiley, President of Boomer Consulting - an organization dedicated to guiding CPA firms towards success by leveraging leadership, talent, growth processes, and technology. Sandra shares her unique perspective and critical strategies that drive CPA firms. Building a connected community through meaningful relationships can enable firms to create a culture that fosters collaboration and allows individuals to thrive. Listen this week as we discuss the progressive edge of CPA firms today, focusing on community, leadership, and diversity.

Topics discussed in this episode:
CPA firm consultation: focusing on community, holistic leadership, and innovationCommunity building is crucial, particularly with remote work, fostering relationships and collaboration Holistic leadership: considering the whole person, integrating personal and professional lives for a balanced approach to management.How CPA firms are evolving in an increasingly competitive spaceProactive adaptation to automation and resource diversification is key to future-proofing CPA firms 




Quotables
“When I think of holistic leadership today, it's looking at the whole person. When we look holistically at who people are, the human side of them, they are personal and professional. Diversity and inclusion and feeling like you belong somewhere, that is a part of well-being.” -Sandra Wiley [13:15]

“Young people are coming into firms today with a long list of all the questions they have for ‘what are you going to do for me?’ There are a lot of people who hate that, but that's what they're doing. They're going to come through the door and ask ‘What kind of training are you going to give me?’, ‘What do I do if my kids are sick? Can I work from home three days a week? If we don't have good answers, they will walk down the street and find another company that will give them what they want.” -Sandra Wiley [25:00]



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This episode originally aired on: https://www.boomer.com/post/e174-billing-time-vs-delivering-value-shifting-mindsets-in-the-cpa-industry
On this episode of the Boomer Briefing Podcast, Allen Gregory, Partner, Federal Tax at TaxOps, talks about billing time versus delivering value to clients. Allen and host Marc Staut, Shareholder and Chief Innovation and Technology Officer at Boomer Consulting, dive into how removing hourly rates can add value to client relationships and improve an accounting firm’s client retention.
Allen shares how TaxOps has used value-based pricing since its inception. This experience has taught us how fixed-fee pricing creates collaborative client relationships and a culture of trust and accountability within the firm. Two key components, clear communication and experienced staff, are also key to ditching charge hours and making fixed-fee engagements work for clients, staff and partners.
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This week we continue our discussion with Paul Miller, Vice President & Deputy Director of the ACMA, and David Swetnam-Burland, Partner at Brann & Isaacson. As remote sellers navigate the new state tax laws and consumer privacy regulations, the need for federal legislation to provide clarity and consistency for businesses operating across multiple states has increased. Listen as we discuss the impact of local home rule cities, such as in Colorado, on compliance efforts and how the ACMA advocates for federal solutions to protect their members and promote industry growth. 
Topics discussed in this episode:
The MTC's updated interpretation attempts to align tax laws with the digital era, impacting businesses that operate online.The definition and application of 86-272 is a central point of contention, with states leveraging different interpretations to expand their tax bases.Legal challenges, especially in California and New York, are proving pivotal in establishing how nexus laws apply and are enforced.Local compliance, notably in Colorado's home rule cities, adds complexity to the remote sellers' tax obligations and merits close legal attention.
Quotables
“From the ACMA's perspective, our approach, as I mentioned earlier, is always to try to get a federal bill passed into law, because organizations like ours, we're very small comparison to, say, the milk industry or something. We're serving a pretty specific constituent, and they are located throughout the states and they're being chased by different states, and we don't have the means to chase after those states to defend them.” -Paul Miller [17:51]“It is one thing for the Supreme Court to say we created a rule in 1992, now we're in 2018. We don't like our rule as much as we did then, or the composition of our court has changed sufficiently so that we no longer have five votes in favor of that rule.” -David Swetnum-Burland [03:50]
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In this episode of the SALTovation podcast, Meredith interviews Paul Miller, Vice President & Deputy Director of the ACMA, and David Swetnam-Burland, Partner at Brann & Isaacson. Both discuss the changes in tax regulations that have taken place after the Wayfair decision, the ACMA's mission, and the legal challenges that businesses face today. They also talk about the efforts being made to address the complications that arose after the Wayfair ruling, which led to a significant shift in sales and use tax obligations for remote sellers.
Listen to the SALTovation podcast here: https://saltovation.captivate.fm/listen.
Topics discussed in this episode:
The ACMA has extended its advocacy from catalog mailers to encompass a broader range of remote marketers, responding to the industry’s digital transformation.Wayfair ruling's aftermath has led ACMA to push for federal legislation that simplifies sales tax collection, addressing the complexities of state-by-state compliance.The legal challenge against California's interpretation of Public Law 86-272California's Technical Advice Memorandum and Publication, which may affect future state tax policy.The intricacies of sales and income tax laws post-Wayfair pose significant burdens on businesses, especially smaller entities, and ongoing advocacy and legal efforts are crucial in addressing these challenges.

Quotables
“The ACMA's original mandate was to keep postage rates in checked for catalogs, and we've done so quite effectively throughout to the present day. We evolved over the years, and in the early two thousand and ten s, I guess we call it, we picked up on the growing efforts to overturn the 1992 standard in quill versus North Dakota, which upheld that catalog, and other direct marketing companies were not required to collect sales or use taxes from customers residing in states in which those companies have no physical presence.” -Paul Miller [01:54]“As much as the states might like to change the policy in this area, we don't believe, and the ACMA doesn't believe, that a public guidance document or a state tax regulation from a state level is a way to do that. This is a federal statute under the supremacy clause. It provides a clear rule for and I think one thing the states tend not to appreciate is the ACMA and our client base are businesses of all sizes.” -David Swetnam-Burland [08:35]

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In this episode of the SALTovation podcast, we continue our conversation with Mike Bernard, VP of Tax Content and Chief Tax Officer at Vertex, a global provider of indirect tax software solutions. We examine the threefold increase in fee impositions within three years, underpinning the expectation of continued expansion in this domain. We also explore the burgeoning landscape of state and local taxation, where green fees, neighborhood assessments, and intricate policies intertwine with local economies and legislative nuances. Mike also shares insights on the future of sales and use taxes, the impact of commercial real estate devaluation, and the potential taxation of services. 

Topics discussed in this episode:
There's been a significant increase in environment-related fees, which is reflective of a broader trend towards eco-conscious taxation.Fees are emerging as a preferred alternative to sales tax increases due to the ease of implementation and their transaction-based nature.Diverse new fees create operational and compliance challenges for businesses, requiring sophisticated tax software and calculated strategies.The sales and use tax is positioned to become more prominent in funding state budgets, especially considering economic downturn resistance and recovery.Professional services taxation complexity may continue to be addressed indirectly through audit practices, while explicit taxation of services remains a point of debate.

Quotables
“Fees can be passed with relative ease. They're easy to audit because it's on normally a per-transaction basis. And so I think if you think about how local communities or local districts want to continue to raise revenue without raising the sales tax rate, these are going to be a significant portion of that. And I will tell you this, a lot of our customers are very aware of this and they want to make sure that at least we stay apprised of making sure that in our monthly data update, we get those fee positions updated with that as well, so that they're charging proper fees as well.” -Mike Bernard [01:43]

“The devaluation of commercial real estate in the urban cores puts pressure on budgets. So you're seeing this massive kind of revaluation because people are either hybrid work or they're not having to go in five days a week. And so now these commercial buildings are being revalued. And so property tax revenues are starting to be greatly impacted.” -Mike Bernard [13:37]



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