NATIONAL AND STATE EXPERTS TO ADDRESS MICHIGAN TAX REFORM AND NEW ADMINISTRATION AT MICHIGAN TAX CON

TROY, Mich., October 18, 2011 – The Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA), in alliance with the State of Michigan Department of Treasury and State Bar of Michigan Taxation Section, will host the fifth annual Michigan Tax Conference Wednesday, November 9 through Thursday, November 10 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. The conference is the second largest tax conference in the country, and Michigan’s premier event for the latest on critical tax issues affecting businesses and individual taxpayers across Michigan.

The Michigan Tax Conference will feature national and local experts in the accounting and legal professions plus business leaders discussing, during general and breakout sessions, tax reform and Michigan’s new administration and state taxation.

Pre-Conference Workshop

New this year, the MACPA will host an optional pre-conference workshop on Tuesday, November 8. Designed for new CPAs, young associates and individuals who have limited exposure to state and local tax issues, a foundational overview of state and local taxes will be provided.


Day One Highlights

On the first day of the conference, Glenn White, deputy treasurer, State of Michigan Department of Treasury, will provide an introduction of the Treasury’s new administration and changing policies. Next, a panel discussion, led by WDIV-TV Anchor Guy Gordon, will feature representatives from some of the state’s largest economic sectors. They will explore how Michigan’s tax climate will affect businesses throughout the state. Following the panel, technicalities involved with transitioning to the Corporate Income Tax will be discussed by Wayne D. Roberts, JPA, JD, tax attorney, Dykema Gossett, PLLC in Grand Rapids; Patrick R. Van Tiflin, JD, partner, Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn in Lansing; and Lance Wilkinson, administrator, Tax Policy Division of the State of Michigan Department of Treasury, also in Lansing. Lingering Michigan Business Tax issues also will be addressed during the session. Finally, the multistate tax issues associated with online transactions and digital products will be summarized by June Summers Haas, JD, partner, Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn in Lansing and Fredrick J. Nicely, JD, tax counsel, Council on State Taxation in Washington, DC.

Breakout session topics include Michigan’s New Corporate Income Tax, conducting business in Canada and sales tax automation.

Day Two Highlights

The second day of the event will begin with an update on Michigan’s new tax policy. Second, significant developments in state taxation will be presented by America’s dynamic tax duo, Paul H. Frankel, JD, partner at Morrison & Foerster, LLP in New York and Richard D. Pomp, Alva P. Loiselle Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law in Hartford, CT. Next, tax commissioners from several surrounding states will provide an exclusive regional update on discovery issues, tax policy, regulatory issues and more. Joe Huddleston LLM, executive director, Multistate Tax Commission in Washington, DC, will moderate. The last general session will examine the changed rules, professional challenges and ethical dilemmas that are reshaping the accounting profession. Daniel B. De Jong, JD, LLM and Timothy J. McCormally, JD, both of the Tax Executive Institute in Washington D.C., will speak. Finally, the Thomas M.Hoatlin Award will be presented to recognize a MACPA State & Local Tax Task Force member who has helped promote relationships between the MACPA and Treasury.

Breakout session topics for the day include tax issues in surrounding states, an update on property tax and hosted software, also known as cloud computing.

“Since 2007, the Michigan Tax Conference has provided Michigan’s CPAS with the latest information on tax laws and trends,” said Peggy Dzierzawski, President and CEO of the MACPA. “This event continues to have tremendous importance in our industry.”

Members and non-members are able to register for either or both days. The first day will run from 8 a.m. – 5:15 p.m., followed by a networking hour. The second day also begins at 8 a.m., ending at 4:45 p.m. Registration on both days begins at 7:30 a.m. For registration information please visit www.michcpa.org; the event’s course code is MTC.

The Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants is a diversified, professional, member-driven organization serving nearly 18,000 CPAs and affiliated professionals throughout Michigan. Visit MACPA’s web site at www.michcpa.org.

# # #