Multistate Tax Conference (E2111450)

Open is a Bergen County resident and focuses her practice on State and Local Taxation. Her extensive experience includes representation of taxpayers in administrative and court appeals in New Jersey, New York and Illinois on a variety of complex issues, including apportionment of business income, combined reporting, constitutional nexus, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, nonresident and resident personal income taxation, sales and use taxation, and the imposition of various industry specific taxes, including telecommunications, utilities, and amusement taxes.

Open has represented both public and private companies engaged in a wide range of activities, including manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, banking, transportation, construction, sports, television and radio production, publishing, and insurance. She has also represented individuals challenging residency determinations and assessments arising from adjustments to income and credits.

Open is a frequent author of articles on tax topics in State Tax Notes, Bloomberg Tax and Law360, and has spoken on state and local tax issues before such groups as the Tax Executives Institute, the American Bar Association, the Council on State Taxation, and the Georgetown University Law Center Advanced State and Local Tax Institute.

Prior to joining Hodgson Russ Open was counsel with a multistate tax practice located in New York City.

Jim is a shareholder at Kulzer & DiPadova, P.A. He is admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court, is a member of the Bar of the State of New Jersey, and is a member of the Camden County Bar Association, the New Jersey Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Jim is a member of the tax sections of the NJBA and the ABA. In addition, he is a former president of the NJCPA, and has served as chairperson of the State Taxation Interest Group. He is a past president of the Southwest Jersey Chapter Board of Directors. Jim is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and serves on AICPA Council, its governing body. He is also a member of the New Jersey Tax and Fiscal Policy Commission and chaired the New Jersey Corporation Business Tax Review Commission.

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.

Barry has over 30 years of professional accounting experience and works in Withum's New York office. He is the team leader of Withum’s Tax Services State and Local Tax Group and advises clients in residency and nexus issues, entity level taxes, sales and use taxes and other business and personal tax matters. He also counsels clients in strategic planning, transaction reviews, risk assessment, tax law compliance and corporate restructuring. As an active member of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) and the NJCPA, he lectures on tax issues to chapters and to organizations including Baruch College and CW Post College. He is a current member of the NYSSCPA’s Multistate & Local Taxation Committee and served as chairman in prior years. He is also a member of the NJCPA’s State Taxation Interest Group. He was formerly an appointed member of the Commissioner’s Advisory Council for both the NYS Department of Taxation & Finance and the NYC Department of Finance. He is a contributor for The Trusted Professional as well as several other industry and professional publications. He was also a former editor of The CPA Journal.

Jason is a principal at Withum in the state and local tax practice in New York. He has over 10 years of experience, within state and local tax at large international accounting firms. As a specialist, he provides compliance, provision and consulting services for a wide array of clients within a mixed industry base, which includes manufacturing, bioscience, real estate and technology. His practice areas include multi-state income tax planning, business compliance, nexus considerations, income tax accounting, group filings, state apportionment, personal residency and audit defense. Jason is the leader of the NJCPA State Taxation Interest Group. He is also a member of the American Institute of CPAs and is licensed as an Enrolled Agent by the Internal Revenue Service.

Eugene Ruvere is a partner in Citrin Cooperman’s White Plains office. Eugene’s central area of expertise is state and local tax. He has provided state income tax review services to both publicly and privately held companies to ascertain savings opportunities and exposures, as well as addressing client issues, from common to obscure, in regards to varied aspects of state and local tax, including income and franchise, sales and use, employment, and property taxes.

He has previously held several important positions within the accounting industry, including serving as tax manager for both KPMG and Polo Ralph Lauren. Before joining the firm, Eugene held the role of senior controller, sales and property tax, at GE Capital.

Debra is a partner in the firm's State & Local Tax Practice. She is widely recognized for her experience in state and local taxation. Debra works with a variety of clients to address the state and local tax impact of their multistate activities from both a planning and an audit and controversy viewpoint and on complex transactions, with a focus on New York State tax matters. Debra counsels clients with respect to corporate income and franchise taxes, bank taxes, utility taxes, unincorporated business taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes, excise taxes on real property transfers, rent and occupancy taxes, and withholding taxes. She also has extensive experience working with high-net-worth clients on residence and other personal income tax matters and successfully representing clients in all phases of tax disputes, including audits and litigation at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as criminal tax investigations.

Debra served as the chair of the State and Local Tax Committee of the New York City Bar Association. She is also a nationally recognized author on state tax topics. She co-authored the BNA Portfolio “New York Sales and Use Taxes” and a bi-monthly article on New York State and New York City taxation in the New York Law Journal and writes a monthly column in the Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives on state and local tax matters before the U.S. Supreme Court. Debra is a frequent speaker on state and local tax issues and has appeared before such groups as Tax Executives Institute, the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Debra has more than 16 years of experience representing clients in state tax audits and New York State and New York City tax litigation, obtaining federal and state rulings and advisory opinions, providing tax opinion letters, and assisting with voluntary disclosures and collection matters.

Bill concentrates his practice on federal and international tax law matters, including guiding Canadian and other non-U.S. clients on U.S. tax matters. He has comprehensive experience advising clients on business expansion into the United States, structuring considerations in purchasing U.S. real estate, choice of entity decisions, the tax implications of relinquishing U.S. citizenship or residency status, the application of the CFC and PFIC U.S. anti-deferral regimes, and the new tax reform rules, including the Code section 199A deduction for pass-through entities and the interest deductibility limitations.

Bill also has broad experience working on tax controversy matters, including advising clients on voluntary disclosure options, IRS audits, and U.S. Tax Court matters. He also works with a variety of tax-exempt organizations and private foundations on obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status. Bill is also a member of the firm’s Oil & Gas Practice, where he provides advice and guidance on the tax implications for private placements.