Dividend tax exclusion, provision of tax services, LMSB initiatives top items discussed at TEI's midyear conference: former IRS Commissioner Rossotti honored.

• Position: IRS Large and Mid-Size Business Division, Tax Executives Institute, Charles Rossotti

The 53rd Midyear Conference was a grand success. Although the onset of war with Iraq triggered nearly 100 cancellations, attendance at the spring meeting still exceeded 500, with everyone benefitting from the unparalleled opportunity to attend outstanding educational sessions and network with their peers. At the conclusion of the conference, TEI President J.A. (Drew) Glennie expressed the Institute's appreciation to TEI's committee chairs who planned the technical sessions; to the outside speakers and members who served as speakers, panelists, and moderators; and to the tax executives who travelled to Washington for the conference.

A highlight of the conference was the participation--for the first time in 41 years--of the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and the decision of C-SPAN to telecast Secretary John Snow's keynote address several times marked another first for the Institute. In 1962 the participating Secretary of the Treasury was Douglas Dillon.) Other 2003 keynoters were Assistant Treasury Secretary Pam Olson, acting IRS Commissioner Bob Wenzel, LMSB Commissioner Larry Langdon (in his final TEI appearance before retiring in May), and Daniel Goelzer of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

The conference's technical sessions were both timely and tremendous. Whether the subject was Sarbanes-Oxley, tax shelters, R&D, Canadian tax developments, or business activity taxation at the state level, participants were treated to practical and insightful presentations. A CD-ROM containing the handout materials will be available later this spring. (It will be available for sale to non-conference registrants.) Photographic highlights of the conference will be reprinted in the May-June issue of The Tax Executive, and posted to the website by mid-April.

Keynote Addresses Raise TEI's Profile

Treasury Secretary John Snow opened the Midyear Conference with a spirited defense and unflagging commitment to enact the centerpiece of the Bush Administration's budget proposals--the dividend tax exclusion. Noting that the United States is second only to Japan in its taxation of capital, Secretary Snow remarked that the tax law tilts in favor of the use of debt. Taxpayers can deduct interest, he stated, but dividends are taxed. "We are seeking to eliminate that tilt in the Code," he said.

Mr. Snow emphasized the corporate governance benefits that could flow from enactment of the dividend exclusion proposal. Referring to the scandals that have eroded investor confidence in the financial reporting system, the Treasury Secretary...