Establishment of Alabama Tax Appeals Commission.

February 15, 2012

On February 15, 2012, Tax Executives Institute submitted the following letter in support of legislation in Alabama (HB 105) that would establish a pre-payment, independent tribunal to hear appeals of tax assessments and other matters administered by the Alabama Department of Revenue, as well as certain taxes levied by or on behalf of counties and municipalities. This letter was prepared under the aegis of TEI's State and Local Tax Committee, whose chair is Linda H. Dickens of Texas Instruments Incorporated. Contributing substantially to the development of TEI's comments was Bradford E. Blue of Sasol North America, Inc. Daniel B. De Jong, TEI Tax Counsel, serves as legal staff liaison to the State and Local Tax Committee and coordinated the preparation of TEI's letter.

As president of Tax Executives Institute, I write to express the Institute s strong support for HB 105, which would establish an Alabama Tax Appeals Commission to hear appeals of tax assessments and other matters administered by the Department of Revenue and certain taxes levied by or on behalf of counties and municipalities. TEI applauds the efforts to establish an independent tax tribunal in Alabama, which we agree will help build confidence and respect between taxpayer and tax collector, and contribute to overall sound tax administration.

Tax Executives Institute was founded in 1944 to serve the professional needs of in-house tax professionals. Today, the organization has 55 chapters in North America, Europe, and Asia. Our 7,000 members represent more than 3,000 of the largest companies in the world, many of which either are resident or do business in Alabama. As the preeminent association of business tax professionals worldwide, TEI has a significant interest in encouraging the uniform and equitable enforcement of the tax laws and reducing the cost and burden of administration and compliance to the benefit of taxpayers and government alike. The Institute is committed to maintaining a system that works--one that builds upon the principle of voluntary compliance and is consistent with sound tax policy. Along with federal, state, and local governments, TEI and its members have much at stake in crafting a tax system that is administrable and efficient.

In recent years, significant attention has been devoted to the need to establish uniform and balanced state tax administration procedures to make compliance efficient and reduce uncertainty for taxpayers...