Multistate Tax Conference (E1711600)

Frank Agostino is the president of Agostino & Associates, P.C., a law firm in Hackensack, New Jersey specializing in civil and white collar criminal litigation, tax controversies and tax planning.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Agostino was an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service's District Counsel in Springfield, Illinois and Newark, New Jersey. He also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, where he prosecuted primarily criminal tax cases.

As an adjunct professor, Mr. Agostino taught tax controversy at Rutgers School of Law and served as the co-director of the Rutgers Federal Tax Law Clinic.

Mr. Agostino is a frequent speaker and author on tax controversy and litigation matters. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure. Mr. Agostino is actively involved with the American Bar Association and the New York County Lawyers' Association.

Mr. Agostino is also the President of the Taxpayers Assistance Corp., which provides tax and legal advice to low income taxpayers in the NY/NJ area.

Andrew DeMaio is a member of the law firm of Neff Aguilar, LLC, Red Bank, New Jersey. He received his undergraduate education at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He graduated from Cornell Law School, Ithaca, New York. He has attained the degree of Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation from New York University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey and in New York.

Mr. DeMaio is a member of the American Bar Association and its sections on Taxation and Real Property, Trust and Estate Law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and formerly served as the Chair of its Technology in the Practice Committee. He is listed in “The Best Lawyers in America.” Mr. DeMaio is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the Monmouth Bar Association. He is a past Chair of the Board of Consultors of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. In 2003 and again in 2016 he received the Association’s Distinguished Legislative Service Award, most recently for his work on the study and enactment of the New Jersey Uniform Trust Code. In January, 2017, Mr. DeMaio received the Dorothy G. Black Distinguished Service Award from the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section of the Association.

Mr. DeMaio concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning and administration, litigation of estate and trust matters, federal and state taxation, and charitable giving. Mr. DeMaio frequently lectures on estate and tax planning topics, on trust and estate litigation, and on lawyers’ use of technology. He is an author and editor for Leimberg Information Services, Inc., an online current events publication for lawyers and other estate planning professionals.

John Ficara has been functioning as the Director of the New Jersey Division of Taxation since January 4, 2016. The Director oversees a staff of more than 1,400 who are responsible for the administration, enforcement and collection of 42 individual and business tax types in the State of New Jersey. John was previously Director of Tax and Tax Counsel for Columbus McKinnon Corporation, a Buffalo based global manufacturer of material handling equipment. He also was Corporate Tax Counsel for BASF, a German based global chemical manufacturing company, with US operations based in Florham Park, New Jersey. He has over four decades of experience as a tax professional, including seven years with Ernst & Young, and he has been an Adjunct Professor of Tax in the Fairleigh Dickinson University Graduate Tax program. A licensed Certified Public Accountant and Attorney, John earned his Law Degree from the Fordham University School of Law, and his Master’s in Tax law Degree from the NYU Graduate Law School.

Honored as “Tax Lawyer of the Year” in 2011 by State Tax Notes, Jeff Friedman provides sophisticated state and local tax planning, strategic advice and advocacy to numerous Fortune 100 and industry- leading companies. His comprehensive practice includes state and local tax planning, compliance, legislation and policy, and litigation and controversy matters involving income, franchise, sales and use and property taxes. Jeff’s clients span a variety of industries, including e-commerce, energy, technology and telecommunications.

A recognized thought leader on state and local tax issues, Jeffrey Friedman works on high-profile and precedent-setting litigation and controversy matters across the country. These matters impact critical questions on nexus, apportionment, the Multistate Tax Compact and the equal protection, due process and commerce clauses of the United States Constitution. Mr. Friedman is also a well-respected advocate on issues of tax policy, including the taxation of digital economy transactions.

Prior to joining Sutherland, he was a partner in KPMG’s Washington national tax practice; served as an attorney-adviser in the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy, where he assisted with the development of the U.S. government's position on domestic and international electronic commerce tax issues; and served as vice president and counsel of the Committee (now Council) On State Taxation (COST).

James Fruscione is a career public servant with thirty years of experience in State government operations. As the Director of NJDORES, he is responsible for New Jersey's centralized tax return and payment processing facilities, as well as the State’s business registry and non-tax debt collection programs. He now serves as the Department of the Treasury’s Technology Officer as well.

Mr. Fruscione continues his efforts to employ digital technologies to deliver efficient and value-added services to the State’s business and taxpayer communities. In his role as Technology Officer, he seeks to use Treasury’s information technology platform to support Enterprise-level service innovation, enhanced performance and cost savings.

Mr. Fruscione earned a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from Rider University. He is a Certified Public Manager and Certified Information Professional. He has also earned certificates in citizen-driven performance management and electronic commerce.

Nonie Manion, appointed Executive Deputy Commissioner in 2013, has served as Acting Commissioner since September 2016. During her more than 30-year career with the Tax Department, she has led several major divisions, including the Audit Division and the former Taxpayer Services and Revenue Division.

Ms. Manion’s longstanding focus during her tenure has been to improve voluntary tax compliance with clear guidance, collaboration, and convenient online services customized to meet the diverse needs of taxpayers and tax professionals. To achieve this goal and the department’s mission to efficiently and fairly collect revenue for vital state and local services, Ms. Manion helped drive the launch of an array of advanced technology solutions.

As a result, the Tax Department is at the forefront in its use of business analytics and automated workflow to process returns and payments, detect filing errors, collect tax debt, and uncover and prevent refund fraud—saving the state and its taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Ms. Manion has also overseen the department’s work to implement historic corporate tax reform and groundbreaking legislation prompted by the dramatic shift to online sales of goods and services.

Ms. Manion’s innovative approach to tax administration has received national and statewide recognition with leadership awards from the Federation of Tax Administrators and the State Academy for Public Administration. In September 2016, she received the prestigious Hugh L. Carey Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship, presented to inspirational leaders who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to public service.

Ms. Manion, a Siena College graduate, serves on the Board of Directors for the national Federation of Tax Administrators and participates in the North Eastern States Tax Officials Association.

Glenn is a shareholder at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP in New York City where he handles tax planning and controversy matters involving state and local taxes including personal income tax, corporate tax, sales tax and real property transfer taxes as well as real estate tax and incentive programs.

Glenn’s practice includes handling audits and litigation involving income tax including residency matters, sales and use tax, hotel taxes and real estate transfer taxes in New York and other states.

Prior to re-entering private practice, Glenn was the president of the New York City Tax Commission and the NYC Tax Appeals Tribunal, the agencies that hear and determine disputes of New York City property and business income and excise taxes.

Before his nomination and confirmation to the Tax Commission, Glenn was in private practice. Previously, he was Deputy Commissioner for Audit & Enforcement at the New York City Department of Finance where he was responsible for developing policy and for the audit process. Before moving to the Finance Department, Glenn was chief of the Tax and Bankruptcy Division in the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York where he drafted legislation and regulations and litigated matters involving both New York City and State taxes in administrative proceedings and in the courts. He also handled scores of cases involving City taxes in federal courts including the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts.

Glenn was chair of the State and Local Tax Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (1999-2001). He wrote a regular column on New York tax appeals for the New York Law Journal (1996-2002) and is a co-author of the New York Sales Tax Portfolio published by the Bureau of National Affairs. He is active in the State & Local Tax Committee of the American Bar Association as well as the New York State and New York City Bar Associations state and local tax committees; he is also on the Board of the Real Estate Tax Review Bar Association in New York City.

He was honored as a recipient of the “Tax Judge of the Year” in 2007 awarded by the National Conference of State Tax Judges of which he was later the Chair.

Glenn received his J.D degree from Fordham Law School and undergraduate degree from SUNY Albany.

David J. Shipley is a Partner at McCarter & English, LLP. His practice includes representing clients in state tax controversies before administrative boards and courts throughout the country, providing multistate tax advice regarding business operations, assisting clients in developing and implementing multistate tax planning and advising clients on the state tax aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions. He provides advice to clients regarding state corporate income, franchise, sales and use, personal income and realty transfer taxes. He also provides advice to clients regarding unclaimed property and unemployment compensation issues.

Mr. Shipley is a frequent speaker on multistate tax topics for many organizations including the Georgetown Advanced State and Local Tax Institute, the New York University Institute on State and Local Taxation, the Institute of Professionals in Taxation, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America – State Tax Committee, the Broadband Tax Institute, local chapters of the Tax Executives Institute, the Wall Street Tax Association - State and Local Tax Committee, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants. Additionally, he has published state tax articles in State Tax Notes, the American Bar Association's The State and Local Tax Lawyer, and CCH's State Tax Review. David also is the general editor of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sections of a forthcoming state tax research product from Lexis/Nexis.