How To Write A Budget For The Tax Law Section Of The State Bar Of Azarizona

Transcription

1 Present Executive Council Members Carlene Lowry, Chair Kelly Mooney, Chair Elect Kacie Dillon, Budget Officer Randal T. Evans, Secretary James Busby, Immediate Past Chair / CPA & Enrolled Agents / Arizona Tax Court Liaison Giselle Alexander, Member at Large / Convention Chair Derek Kaczmarek, Member at Large / Educational Programs Chair Nancy Nichols, State Bar Section Administrator MINUTES OF THE STATE BAR OF ARIZONA TAX LAW SECTION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, April 15, 2014 Committee Chairs/Liaisons, Others Shad Brown, Section Member Nadia Cunningham, Pro Bono/Charity Geoffrey Gunnerson, Newsletter Eliot Kaplan, CLE Committee Chair Paul Liberatore, Law Student Member Anne Meyer, Activities (telephonically) Gregory Robinson, AFIT Liaison Erik Smith, Website Not Present Executive Council Members Hadar Avraham, Vice Chair Doreen Susi, Member at Large / IRS Liaison Committee Chairs/Liaisons, Others Vivian Chang, Arizona Department of Revenue Liaison Adam Chodorow, ASU Liaison Susan Diacoff, Phoenix School of Law Mike Galloway, State Board of Tax Appeals / State Board of Equalization Michael Harrel, Mentorship Brandon Keim, U.S. Tax Court Liaison Michael Payne, Mentorship John Swain, UofA Liaison 1. Call to Order; Introductions. Call to order by Carlene Lowry, Chair, at 12:03 p.m. 2. Approval of February 28, 2014 Minutes. The minutes of the February 28, 2014, meeting were approved by unanimous vote, upon motion made by Kelly Mooney and seconded by Kacie Dillon. The Tax Law Section Executive Council did not meet in March. 3. Budget Officer s Report. Due to the unavailability of budget information at the time of the February meeting, and because the Executive Council did not meet in March, Kacie Dillon provided a budget report for the months of December 2013, and January and February For the month of December, the Section had income in the amount of $1,220,

2 Tuesday, April 15, 2014 Page 2 of 5 expenses totaling $983.51, and a bar staff allocation credit of $ (brining the Expense column to $468.26), resulting in a surplus of $ for the month of December. The Year End revenues for 2013 totaled $19,210, and Year-End expenses totaled $20,793.54, resulting in a 2013 Year End loss of $1, The updated carryover at the end of December 2013 was $15, For the month of January, the Section had income in the amount of $10,980 and expenses totaling $2,918.98, resulting in a surplus of $8, for the month of January. The Updated Carryover at the end of January was $23, For the month of February, the Section had income in the amount of $2,105.00, and expenses of $856.88, with a surplus of $856.88, bringing the Updated Carryover to $24, The Year-to-Date Total Income through February is $13,085, the Year-to-Date Total Expenses is $4,167.10, resulting in a Year-to- Date Surplus of $8, Kacie also reported that the Tax Law Section s Bar Staff Allocation decreased for 2014, from $896 per month (2013 allocation) to $685 per month (2014 allocation). Kacie explained that the allocation had been recomputed based on membership levels and other factors. Kacie also reported that the new budget forecast for 2014 was consistent with the Tax Law Section s plans for Committees and Liaison Reports. a. Activities. Anne Meyer reported that a happy hour will be held at the Armitage Wine Lounge & Café, 2905 East Skyline Drive, Suite 168, in Tucson, following the Tax Law Section meeting at the state bar convention. b. AFIT. Gregory Robinson reported that the July AFIT meeting will be held at the Black Canyon Convention Center. AFIT will be preparing an agenda for the July meeting next month. Ongoing issues being addressed by AFIT include Powers of Attorney (Form 285) and related issues with representatives. c. Arizona Department of Revenue. Vivian Chang was not in attendance to present a report. d. Arizona State Board of Tax Appeals. Mike Galloway was not in attendance to present a report.

3 Tuesday, April 15, 2014 Page 3 of 5 e. Arizona State Board of Equalization. Mike Galloway was not in attendance to present a report. f. Arizona Tax Court. James Busby reported that the new tax court judge, Christopher Whitten, will take over at the tax court in June. Judge Whitten is presently with the family court. g. CLE Committee. Eliot Kaplan and Carlene Lowry reported that the January CLE program held in conjunction with the ABA Tax Section meeting in Phoenix was profitable, and that the feedback received was very positive. h. Convention. Giselle Alexander reported that one of the speakers had submitted materials, and that the other three had reported that they were still working on their materials. i. CPA/EA Liaison. James Busby indicated that there were no new developments to report from the CPAs or the Enrolled Agents. j. Educational Lunch Programs. Derek Kaczmarek reported that at the April lunch CLE, Brian Gilroy, an Appeals Officer with IRS Office of Appeals, will speak on the topic Reinforcing Appeals Philosophy: Appeals Judicial Approach And Culture (AJAC). k. IRS Liaison. Doreen Susi was not in attendance to present a report. l. Mentor. Neither Michael Payne nor Michael Harris were in attendance to present a report. Kelly Mooney reported that her mentee was interested in an internship. Two mentee applications are in the pipeline. m. Newsletter. Geoffrey Gunnerson reported that a request for articles had been sent out, but with no response to date. James Busby and Randy Evans reported that they might have articles that would be appropriate for publication. n. Pro Bono Charity. Nadia Cunningham reported that not many attorneys were signing up for the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, which provides assistance to otherwise unrepresented taxpayers, due to the significant time commitment. o. U.S. Tax Court Liaison. Brandon Keim was not in attendance to present a report. Derek Kaczmarek reported that the Fall Tax Court Calendars are scheduled for the weeks of September 22 and 29. The June 9 Tax Court Calendar will be with a senior judge.

4 Tuesday, April 15, 2014 Page 4 of 5 p. Website. Erik Smith reported that the new website architecture that the State Bar anticipates rolling out in the Fall will allow for online communities an overall community for the entire Bar and separate communities for each Section. The new structure will allow for polling, will have a document center, and generally will be more interactive. Each Section will assign a community administrator, someone within the section who will be responsible for monitoring activity on that Section s page. The Massachusetts Bar uses the same system. Erik will begin working with State Bar personnel to test the system. q. ASU Liaison. Adam Chodorow was not in attendance to present a report r. UofA Liaison. John Swain was not in attendance to present a report s. Arizona Summit Law School (formerly Phoenix School of Law). Susan Diacoff was not in attendance to present a report 5. Old Business. a. Scholarships. After discussion and deliberation, and upon motions duly made and seconded, the Executive Council voted unanimously to award scholarships to the following law school students: University of Arizona: Zachary Friedman Arizona State University: Trisha Farrow Arizona Summit Law School: Anissa Dreas b. Awards. Each year the Tax Law Section recognizes a federal government employee, and a state and local government employee, for outstanding public service, and also presents the Henry Tom Outstanding Tax Attorney Award, established several years ago in memory of Henry Tom, a tax attorney and section member who passed away unexpectedly. After discussion and deliberation, and upon motions duly made and seconded, the Executive Council voted unanimously to make the following awards to the following recipients: IRS Employee: James Bill Woods State and Local Government Employee: David Beau Boisvert, Chief Appraiser, Maricopa County Assessor s Office Henry Tom Award: Gregory Robinson

5 Tuesday, April 15, 2014 Page 5 of 5 6. New Business. No new business items were presented for consideration 7. Next Meeting. The next meeting will be on May 20, 2014, at 12:00pm. 8. Meeting Adjourned. Motion to adjourn duly made and seconded, and approved by unanimous consent. Meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m , v. 1