28th Annual Tuesday & Wednesday, January 29‐30, 2019 Hya� Regency Columbus, Columbus, Ohio Workshop JJ Managing Appeals and Best Practices for Settlement and Pursuing Litigation Wednesday, January 30, 2019 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Biographical Information Eleanor Palmer, Associate Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Corporate Tax, Office of General Counsel Nationwide Insurance, One Nationwide Plaza, Mailstop 1-32-102, Columbus, Ohio 43215 614-677-6330 palmere5@nationwide.com Eleanor Palmer is a tax attorney in the Office of General Counsel at Nationwide Insurance. She is responsible for identifying and managing Nationwide’s tax exposure and providing counsel on tax matters related to business initiatives. Eleanor has assisted with mergers and acquisitions, tax controversies, investment structuring, employee health & welfare and fringe benefits, agent and executive compensation and various projects presenting unintended tax consequences. In coordination with the Government Relations Team, Eleanor keeps abreast of federal, state and local tax legislation affecting the enterprise, its insurance agents and policyholders and advises the business units on the appropriate course of action. Prior to joining Nationwide, Eleanor was a Manager in Ernst & Young’s State and Local Tax Group. Eleanor is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where she received a Juris Doctor and a Master of Business Administration. She received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Oakwood University, and now serves on its National Alumni Association Board of Directors. Eleanor is admitted to the Ohio Bar and is most active with the Columbus Bar Association’s Business Tax Committee and the John Mercer Langston Bar Association. She has been a speaker on tax matters at the Ohio Tax Conference, the Columbus Bar Association, and the Association of Corporate Counsel. Eleanor is currently the chairperson of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s Taxation and Public Expenditures Committee. Christine T. Mesirow, Section Chief, Taxation, Ohio Attorney General 30 E. Broad St.; 25 th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215 614-995-3753 Fax: 866-459-6679 Christine.mesirow@ohioattorneygeneral.gov Christine has practiced in the area of state and local taxation for more than 25 years, in both the private and public sectors. She began her career in state & local tax as an assistant attorney general in the Taxation Section. Christine then moved to Dallas, where she gained experience in multistate tax issues affecting technology service providers as the state tax counsel for Electronic Data Systems Corp., representing the company in state tax controversies throughout the country. She later was a state & local tax consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and was of counsel with Bricker & Eckler LLP. Prior to her current appointment as chief of the tax section, she served as the Chief Legal Counsel for the Ohio Department of Taxation. Christine’s broad range of experience in both tax controversy and tax administration issues provides her with an understanding of many issues confronted by those who must navigate the sometimes complex legal, policy and business issues challenging government and industry in the administration of and compliance with state tax law. Christine is a graduate of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
Biographical Information Debora (Dardinger)McGraw JD, LLM,CPA, Member, Zaino Hall & Farrin LLC 41 South High Street, Suite 3600, Columbus, OH 43215 614-349-4813 Fax: 614-754-6368 dmcgraw@zhftaxlaw.com Deb is a member of the firm's Federal and Multistate Tax Practice Group. Deb has significant experience representing clients in various state and local tax controversies, including settlement negotiations. She also assists clients with a variety of federal income tax issues. Deb has significant experience in conducting refund reviews and in assisting clients with tax planning including implementation by working with various client operational groups. Deb has worked with clients in various industry groups and has developed particular experience in the financial services and utility industries. Prior to joining the firm, Deb was a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she worked for 16 years. Prior to leaving PwC, Deb led the Columbus large company tax practice and served as the lead contact for many Columbus based companies. She assisted clients with a variety of federal and state tax considerations including tax planning, corporate restructurings, federal and state controversy, corporate compliance, financial statement audits, etc. In particular, Deb excels at conducting federal and multi-state refund reviews for clients looking to improve cash flow or review their current tax positions. Deb led PwC's Ohio tax efforts nationally including negotiation of multiple Fortune 100 and 400 company audit settlements. She frequently used her refund review experience as offsets in Ohio and other state audits or to argue alternative positions. Deb handled the legislative analysis for the firm and acted as a national resource for other offices. She drafted updates that were circulated internally and to clients. Deb spoke regularly on client webcasts introducing new Ohio legislation, as well as, on federal and multistate tax considerations for internal PwC trainings. Deb served as the chair of PwC's local Women's Networking Circle for two years and the board for two additional years. The group was aimed at mentoring women in public accounting and providing them networking and support opportunities. She was voted coach of the year for the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana cluster of PwC in 2009, the first year the award was offered. Deb is a frequent speaker and served as an adjunct professor at Capital University Law School.
2019 Ohio Tax Conference: Workshop JJ Managing Appeals and Best Practices for Settlement and Pursuing Litigation January 30, 2019 Eleanor Palmer, Nationwide Christine Mesirow, Ohio Attorney General’s Office Debora Dardinger (McGraw), ZHF
Agenda • Introductions • Ohio Appeals Process • Managing Cases and Settlement Negotiations in Ohio and Nationwide • Common Pitfalls 2
Introductions • Eleanor Palmer – Associate Vice President/Associate General Counsel, Nationwide Mutual Insurance since August, 2006. – Manager, Ernst and Young LLP (August, 1998 to August, 2006). • Christine Mesirow – Chief of Tax Section, Ohio Attorney General’s Office since February, 2011. – Chief Legal Counsel, Ohio Department of Taxation (February, 2008 to January, 2011). – Director, Industry/Public Accounting – Tax Counsel, EDS – Assistant Attorney General, Ohio AG’s Office • Debora (Dardinger) McGraw – Member, Zaino, Hall, and Farrin LLC since January, 2013. – Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (January, 2007 to January, 2013) 3
ODT Audit Process – Audit Division • Notice of Audit • Audit of Records – Significant Change: Penalties imposed at audit division. Taxpayer must request abatement in writing and provide supporting reasons BEFORE the final proposal letter is issued. This policy is not set forth in any written guidance. • Preliminary Proposal (“Letter of Confirmation” – SUT; “Preliminary” CAT, PTE) – 30 Day Response – Audit Division provides a summary of Recommended Assessment and supporting workpapers. – Taxpayer has the ability to respond to the proposed audit results. – Not a statutory deadline, an extension often available. – Taxpayer can request to make a payment on all or a portion of the audit. 4
ODT Audit Process – Audit Division • Final Proposal (“Audit Results Notification” – SUT; “Final” – CAT, PTE) – Formal notification of Audit Division’s position. – Informs the taxpayer that a Notice of Assessment will be sent separately. • Notice of Assessment – 60 Day Response – Taxpayer must file a Petition for Reassessment within 60 days from the date the Notice of Assessment was received. Petition for Reassessment Form available online at https://www.tax.ohio.gov/Forms.aspx. – By filing, the taxpayer is entitled to a review of the assessment by the Appeals Division of the Ohio Department of Taxation (“ODT”). – A taxpayer can pay the Notice of Assessment and request refund within 4 years of the date of payment. 5
ODT Audit Process – Refund Process • Desk Review of Refund – Sometimes the refund will be sent to an audit team to complete a full audit or because the same taxpayer has an ongoing audit being audited. • Preliminary Proposal (If Refund Adjusted): Taxpayer has the ability to respond. • Final Proposal – Formal notification of Audit Division’s position. • Appeal of Refund Denial – 60 Day Response – Taxpayer must request a hearing and/or provide additional information within 60 days from the date the Final Proposal was received. No specific form required. – By filing, the taxpayer is entitled to a review of the refund denial by the Appeals Division of ODT. 6
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