Farewells ... and welcome.

• Author: McCormally, Timothy J.

For people of a certain age, there's a Beatles song for everything. For those who know that Sir Paul celebrated a milestone birthday in mid-June, it's "When I'm Sixty-Four" (which doesn't seem nearly as old any more). For tax people generally, it's "Tax Man," and for those of us who are coping with corporate e-filing or Schedule M-3, it would be "A Long and Winding Road." Think of Sarbanes-Oxley and section 404 in particular, and the strains of "We Can Work It Out" and "All Things Must Pass" enter your head. (The latter song, at least, if you include the Beatles' solo efforts in the mix). And if you shake your head at the suggestion that corporate tax returns should be disclosed, you might find special meaning in "Do You Want to Know a Secret" or "Everybody's Got Something to Hide But Me and My Monkey."

What got me thinking about the Beatles, however, was not a Fab Four song title, but rather one of John Lennon's philosophical musings: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." This is because my last column--which addressed several recent staff changes--contained the following sentence that Fate took as a dare:

TEI's legal staff is ... a source of both energy and stability. Eli Dicker, Chief Tax Counsel, crossed the 1 year mark shortly before the Midyear Conference, and he has brought renewed focus (as well as a dynamism that is infectious) to the Institute's advocacy efforts. With oversight and helpful input from TEI's committees, Eli works with Mary Lou Fahey (General Counsel, 18 years), Jeff Rasmussen (Tax Counsel, 15 years), and Greg Matson (Tax Counsel, 5 years) to develop and represent the Institute's views on the tax issues of the day ... throughout the world. In my book, TEI's legal staff is second to none. I stand by that last sentence, but the word stability in the first belies the truth. TEI's legal staff changed in early May when Greg Matson resigned his position as Tax Counsel to become the Deputy Director of the Multistate Tax Commission. Greg will be working with Joe Huddleston (one of the keynote speakers at the Midyear) and the MTC leadership in implementing the MTC's initiatives and will manage the organization's operations on a day-to-day basis.

Greg competed with numerous other qualified tax professionals to get the job, which represents a marvelous opportunity for him to return to the public sector after his five-year stint with TEI. (He previously worked for the IRS and District of Columbia...