Taxation Section: Recent Updates
COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE TO DISCUSS MD TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM
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On Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at 8:30 a.m., representatives of the Comptroller's Office will discuss the Maryland Tax Amnesty Program at a special meeting of the Maryland State Bar Association State Tax Study Group. The meeting will be held at Ober| Kaler at 120 E. Baltimore Street, 9th Floor in Baltimore (21202).
Speakers include:
Linda Tanton, Deputy Comptroller
Sharonne Bonardi, Director-Compliance Division
Brian Oliner, Assistant Attorney General
You may also participate in the meeting via video conferencing at Stein, Sperling, Bennett, De Jong, Driscoll & GreenFeig, P.C., 25 West Middle Lane in Rockville 20850.
Space is limited, so if you will attend the Baltimore meeting, please RSVP to Gary Hyman. For the Rockville videoconference, please RSVP to Jim Dawson.
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TAX SECTION WINS A MSBA PRESIDENTIAL BEST SECTION PROJECT AWARD!
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We are thrilled to announce that the Taxation Section has won the MSBA Presidential Best Section Project Award for the public for the MSBA U.S. Tax Court Pro Bono Program! Thank you to everyone who helped create the program, organized the program for the fall and spring U.S. Tax Court calendar calls, recruited volunteers, spread the word, volunteered at the calendar calls and supported the program since its inception.
This success of this program is due to the collective time and efforts of many individuals, including but certainly not limited to, our own Associate Area Counsel Arlene A. Blume, IRS Office of Chief Counsel - Baltimore, and the attorneys in her office, Keith Blair and Jack Snyder of the University of Baltimore Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, Pamela Chaney of the University of Maryland Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, and Catherine Engell, ABA Section of Taxation Pro Bono Counsel.
A special thanks goes out to the Taxation Section Pro Bono Committee (Chair - Todd J. Bornstein, Selzer Gurvitch Rabin & Obecny Chtd. (Bethesda, MD)), Robb A. Longman (Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA (Greenbelt, MD)), who took on significant responsibilities with respect to the program, and our numerous volunteers who traveled to the calendar calls and donated their valuable time to assist pro se petitioners.
For more information regarding the program, please visit the Section website - "Recent Updates" and the ABA Section of Taxation Pro Bono page.
The award will be presented on Saturday, June 13 at the annual meeting in Ocean City (the program starts at 8:30 a.m.).
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EMPLOYERS NEEDED FOR UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF LAW FALL ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEW PROGRAM
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Aug. 10 - Oct. 30, 2009 - Registration is Now Open
UB's 2009 Fall On-Campus Interview Program will be held from Monday, August 10, Friday, October 30, 2009. Employers work with UB's Law Career Development Office to schedule a date that is convenient for both the school and the employer, and typically visit between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm and interview students in twenty-minute intervals. Employer registration forms can be submitted via fax (410.837.4696) or email (sskiles@ubalt.edu). You can also register online via Symplicity at https://law-ubalt-csm.symplicity.com/employers/. Should you need a Symplicity account, please contact Shirley Skiles at 410.837.4404. Please submit employer registration forms 3 weeks prior to the requested on-campus interview date. No interviews will be conducted on the following days: September 7, September 18, September 28, October 2 and October 9.
UB's Law Career Development Office encourages employers to notify the school of any part-time, summer, entry-level or lateral job openings. You can post positions online, via Symplicity, at http://law.ubalt.edu/template.cfm?page=811. Should you need a Symplicity account, please contact Shirley Skiles at 410.837.4404. Or you can complete the Request for Resumes Only section on the registration form and return it via fax (410.837.4696) or email (sskiles@ubalt.edu), and UB will gladly post the positions on Symplicity.
Click here for a registration form
Employers Can Obtain Unpaid Interns from University of Baltimore School of Law
Astrid Schmidt, Director, Law Career Development Office at the University of Baltimore School of Law, reports that there are two special UB Law programs that can provide attorneys with unpaid interns. If you have questions regarding either program or if you would like to participate, please contact Astrid Schmidt at aschmidt@ubalt.edu or 410.837.4405.
1L Program: Experience in Legal Organizations (EXPLOR) Program
The Experience in Legal Organizations (EXPLOR) Program is designed to give first-year law students legal experience during the summer. Students in the EXPLOR program are placed as volunteers for sixteen hours per week in a variety of private and public practice settings. After completing a form delineating their geographical and practice area preferences, students are matched with a private, public interest or government law office or a judge based on those preferences. A student accepting an EXPLOR placement will work part-time for ten to twelve weeks over the course of the summer.
2L, 3L and 4L Program: Attorney Practice Internship and Judicial Internship Programs (for credit)
Second-, third-, and fourth-year students may take advantage of UB Law Schools attorney practice and judicial internship programs. Student participants work, under the direct supervision of attorneys or judges, in a variety of private, public interest and government law offices. These internships are comprised of a field component and a classroom component, culminating in a written work product.
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2009 TAX EXCELLENCE AWARD
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The MSBA Taxation Section is very pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2009 TAX EXCELLENCE AWARD is:
Robert L. Zouck
Clerk, Maryland Tax Court
Bob Zouck is the Clerk of the Maryland Tax Court and a colleague, friend and mentor to countless members of the Taxation Section. As Clerk of the Court, Bob offers a calm sense of professionalism and fairness to taxpayers and their representatives. He is accessible and extremely helpful to both inexperienced and highly seasoned attorneys. As a former Chair of the Taxation Section, Bob encouraged participation in Section activities and the inclusion of new members in Section committees. If you attended the University of Baltimore School of Law, you may have been his student in Maryland Taxes, a course he has taught for many years. The Section has greatly benefited from Bob's continued involvement, strong commitment to the improvement of the profession, and unwavering support.
We hope you will join us on May 14, 2009, for the awards presentation at the Taxation Section's Annual Irving Shulbank Memorial Dinner and Program at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore.
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2009 J. RONALD SHIFF MEMORIAL PRO BONO AWARD
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The MSBA Taxation Section is very pleased to announce that the recipients of the 2009 J. RONALD SHIFF MEMORIAL PRO BONO AWARD are:
Mary Beth Beattie, Esquire
Chair, Taxation Section (1999-2000)
109 North Adams Street
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Robin W. Denick, Esquire
Chair, Taxation Section (2001-2002)
Office of Chief Counsel
Internal Revenue Service
31 Hopkins Plaza
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
More than 10 years ago, Mary Beth and Robin worked together with Ron Shiff and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service to create the tax return preparation clinic for which so many of our members volunteer each year. The clinic has grown with each year and during the 2008 filing season, volunteers prepared 652 federal and Maryland tax returns, resulting in federal tax refunds totaling $1,100,000. The average Earned Income Tax Credit for clients of the tax return clinic was $1,700.
Both Mary Beth and Robin have contributed an enormous amount of time and energy over the years to this project and countless other pro bono endeavors, demonstrating a clear and constant commitment to providing legal services to low-income taxpayers.
We hope you will join us on May 14, 2009, for the awards presentation at the Taxation Section's Annual Irving Shulbank Memorial Dinner and Program at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore.
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UNITED STATES TAX COURT PRO BONO PROGRAM
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The Tax Section has formed Maryland's first U.S. Tax Court Pro Bono Program, which encourages members of the Maryland State Bar Association to offer pro bono consultation services to unrepresented taxpayers at U.S. Tax Court calendar calls, during settlement negotiations and in final trial preparation. The majority of taxpayers that file petitions in the U.S. Tax Court appear without representation and are dealing with an unfamiliar maze of rules and procedures. Through the efforts of the Pro Bono Committee,including Chair Todd J. Bornstein and Committee members Robb A. Longman, W. Randolph Shump and Saul B. Abrams, the Section commenced this program in the fall of 2008, appearing at the November and December calendar calls in Baltimore. The Section will continue its efforts this spring and looks forward to expanding its volunteer base.
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SUMMARY OF THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009
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Summary of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
David S. De Jong of Stein, Sperling, Bennett, De Jong, Driscoll & Greenfeig, PC has graciously prepared a summary of the tax changes for individuals and businesses in P.L. 111-5, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Click here for the Summary
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TAX SECTION MEMBERS CAN NOW ACCESS THE MARYLAND TAX PRACTITIONER'S HANDBOOK ONLINE!
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Tax Section members already received a print copy of the 2008 Maryland Tax Practitioner's Handbook, a joint effort among Section Council and students from the University of Baltimore School of Law. The Handbook provides contact information for the Office of the Comptroller, State Department of Assessments & Taxation, Maryland legislature, Maryland and U.S. Tax Courts, and the IRS (for MD/DC practitioners). Now Tax Section members can view this publication online. As an added feature in the online edition, readers can link on many of the names and access email addresses. To access the Handbook,
Please Login to view
To become a member of the Tax Section, click here (please Right-Click, Save As)
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COMPTROLLER ISSUES EMERGENCY COMBINED REPORTING REGULATIONS
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On August 26, 2008, the Comptroller posted emergency regulations for combined corporate information reporting requirements and, due to the short time period before the first reporting deadline, submitted the regulations to the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review (the "AELR Committee"). The regulations can be found at http://business.marylandtaxes.com/pdf/EmergencyRegulations.pdf. According to the Comptroller's website, the emergency regulations are likely to be effective through February 2009, at which time identical regulations, submitted through the regular review and comment process, are expected to take effect.
The Section of Taxation is reviewing the regulations and considering the submission of comments to the Comptroller and/or the AELR Committee.
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COMPTROLLER ISSUES PROPOSED COMBINED REPORTING REGULATIONS
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On Monday, July 14, 2008, the Section of Taxation submitted Comments on the draft regulations to Tax Gen. 10-804.1, Maryland's new combined reporting requirements. The Comments are attached below. I want to thank the State Legislation and Regulatory Proposal Committee and other members of the Section for their signficant efforts in putting these Comments together on such an expedited basis. Definitely a job well done.
Comments on Draft Regulations 
Combined Reporting Notice
Combined Reporting Regulations
Pro Form Return
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