NC Department of Revenue Announces Business Advisory Council

NC Department of Revenue Announces Business Advisory Council

RALEIGH – The North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) today announced the formation of a Business Advisory Council in order to create a collaborative forum for the agency to better engage with its industry stakeholders. The Business Advisory Council, comprised of a cross-section of business leaders from across the state, will provide a forum for industry stakeholders to communicate their opinions on NCDOR services and procedures and to share their expertise to collaboratively address emerging issues in tax administration and collection.

“The Business Advisory Council will help the North Carolina Department of Revenue better fulfill our mission of administering the tax laws and collecting the taxes due in an impartial, consistent, secure, and efficient manner,” said Secretary Ronald G. Penny. “I am pleased to meet with this diverse group of leaders who will facilitate communications and transparency and help us better address emerging issues in tax administration.”

The Business Advisory Council will meet quarterly, with the first meeting occurring October 9, 2019, in Raleigh. The Council will be comprised of the following members:

Lynn Dender of Charlotte is Senior Vice President; Tax Executive with Bank of America. Her current primary responsibilities are state income tax controversy and tax policy. She has been with Bank of America since 2003. Prior to Bank of America, Lynn worked for Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, the North Carolina Department of Revenue, and Deloitte.  She currently serves as vice-chair of Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association state and local tax committee and as a member of the North Carolina Business Advisory Board.  Her past appointments include serving as a trustee for the Taxpayer Federation of Illinois and a member of the Texas Business Advisory Board.

Greg Floyd of Kinston is Franchise Principal of Piggly Wiggly Supermarkets throughout eastern NC, as well as holds ownership in commercial real estate holdings. He previously was a partner with the regional law firm of White & Allen, P.A. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Lenoir Community College, the Presidential Board of Advisors for Campbell University, the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association (past Chairman), the Board of Directors of the Carolinas Food Industry Council (past President), and the Retail Advisory Board of Merchants Distributors, Inc.

Ken Gibbs of Durham is a tax partner with Thomas & Gibbs. He received a B.S. degree and a Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University and Master of Taxation degree from the University of New Haven. Ken is a Certified Public Accountant and Member of the North Carolina State Bar. He has over twenty years of experience in corporate taxation including compliance, planning, audits, with emphasis on inbound transactions for multi-national conglomerates and handling other controversy matters having served as Director of Taxes and a Financial Controller for Glaxo Wellcome, Inc., Tax Accountant with Richardson Vicks, Sales and Use Tax Accountant at Pitney Bowes, Inc., and a Tax Accountant at Uniroyal, Inc.

Charles Mercer of Raleigh is a partner in the Raleigh, NC office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, where he co-chairs the state and local tax practice.  He has represented clients before state and federal courts and administrative boards and commissions on a variety of matters. He provides counsel, guidance, and strategic advice to clients on a range of complex issues involving litigation and administrative matters, regulatory questions, state and local tax controversies, and economic development strategies. For more than 30 years, Mr. Mercer has advised and represented clients on state and local tax issues, and he has handled a wide variety of state and local controversy matters.  He has taught state and local tax at several law schools.

David Oettinger of Rocky Mount is founder of Oettinger & Company, a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm. Oettinger is a CPA and attorney licensed to practice accounting and law by the respective regulatory boards of the State of North Carolina. He practices as a CPA primarily in the areas of business and personal tax planning, compliance, purchases and sales of businesses, and other matters.

Jack Schmoll of Charlotte is a CPA for his namesake business and has worked exclusively in state and local taxation since 1992.  He worked for nine years with the Washington State Department of Revenue and has practiced public accounting since 2001. He works with a wide variety of businesses to assist them with tax planning, determining filing requirements (nexus), product and service taxability, audits, appeals, and other state tax issues.

Anne Shaw of Jacksonville is the State Director for the Small Business Center Network.  Shaw’s background includes seven years in the banking industry and the operation of three family-owned businesses. She established the Small Business Center program at Coastal Carolina Community College in September 1986 and served in the capacity of SBC Director there for more than 30 years.

Desmond Sheridan of Greensboro is a partner with the law firm of Isaacson Sheridan. He has practiced law since 1986 and is a licensed CPA who practiced public accounting in Washington, D.C. before becoming an attorney. Since beginning his legal career in tax, Sheridan has expanded his practice to include business transactions, commercial real estate, commercial leasing, structuring business entities, and business succession planning.

David Whilden of Asheville is Senior Trust Officer at Boys, Arnold & Company, a wealth management firm where he has worked since 2001. Previously, he worked with two North Carolina-based regional banks. Whilden has served on the Board of Directors for the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, the University of North Carolina at Asheville Foundation, Trust Education Foundation at Campbell University, Appalachian State University Foundation, Givens Estates, Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community and MemoryCare.

Paige Worsham of Raleigh is Associate General Counsel for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners. Before joining the NCACC, she worked with a policy nonprofit on higher education, legislative, and health policy issues; with the criminal law group at the UNC School of Government; and at the N.C. General Assembly in the Legislative Reporting Service office. She received her undergraduate and law degrees at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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