ALI-ABA Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast State Unclaimed Property Laws: Best Practices for Compliance October 20, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Transcription

1 ALI-ABA Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast State Unclaimed Property Laws: Best Practices for Compliance October 20, 2009 PROGRAM FACULTY PARTICIPANTS FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES STUDY MATERIALS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. State Unclaimed Property Laws: Best Practices for Compliance By Kendall L. Houghton and Weiyen Jonas Page ix xi xiii 1 vii

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3 ALI-ABA Teleseminar/Audio Webcast State Unclaimed Property Laws: Best Practices for Compliance All Times Eastern Daylight 12:30 p.m. Program Begins October 20, 2009 PROGRAM Part I: State Unclaimed Property Laws Part II: Impact on Companies and Other Holders Part III: Current Legal Environment Part IV: Best Practices 1:45 p.m. Questions and Answers 2:00 p.m. Adjournment ix

4 National Teleseminar/ Webcast PROGRAM SCHEDULE Eastern Central Mountain Pacific & Arizona Alaska Hawaii Program Begins 12:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. Adjournment 2:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 12:00 noon 11:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m. SCOPE AND PURPOSE Unclaimed property audits can be costly and companies cannot afford to be out of compliance with the various state laws. In the absence of records, states have the right to estimate past due unclaimed property liabilities (for example, California can look back to 1959) and can charge interest and penalties for late reporting. In addition, compliance with state unclaimed property laws including related internal controls and reporting procedures may be required under the Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. Join acknowledged experts in this field for a teleseminar/audio webcast which will help you get a better understanding of the basics of state unclaimed property laws and the potential legal, financial and reputational consequences of noncompliance, and learn about compliance and audit defense best practices. The faculty will represent the perspectives of the state unclaimed property authorities, outside counsel, in-house counsel, and consultants. Total 60-minute hours of instruction: 1.5; Total 50-minute hours: 1.8 Suggested Prerequisite: Some experience in practice in subject matter Learning Objectives: Acquisition of knowledge and skills to develop proficiency as a practitioner; maintenance of professional competence as a practitioner; provision of information on recent legal developments Level of Instruction: Basic to Intermediate x

5 ALI-ABA Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast State Unclaimed Property Laws: Best Practices for Compliance Tuesday, October 20, 2009 FACULTY Kendall L. Houghton, Esquire Baker & McKenzie LLP 815 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, DC Weiyen M. Jonas, Esquire Vice President and Associate General Counsel FMR LLC Legal Department Fidelity Investments Mail Zone MC1S 397 Williams Street Marlborough, MA xi

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7 ALI-ABA Teleseminar/Audio Webcast State Unclaimed Property Laws: Best Practices for Compliance October 20, 2009 FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES Weiyen M. Jonas Vice President and Associate General Counsel FMR LLC Legal Department, Fidelity Investments Weiyen M. Jonas is a Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Fidelity Investments. She is part of the legal team which interprets, applies and oversees compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA and other laws and regulations affecting retirement products and services, and the state laws and regulations regarding unclaimed property. She is actively involved in discussions with federal and state regulators regarding pending legislation and regulations, on behalf of Fidelity Investments and various industry groups in which Fidelity participates. Internally, Ms. Jonas advises on the legal aspects of new product development, negotiates contracts and works closely with compliance groups, among other responsibilities. Ms. Jonas frequently presents at conferences and webcasts, including the Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization Annual Conference in March 2009 and the 2008 May Meeting of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association (of which she is a member), and is a member of the Faculty of the American Law Institute American Bar Association for its Retirement, Deferred Compensation, and Welfare Plans of Tax- Exempt and Governmental Employers course of study. She has also taught a class on ERISA and Employee Benefits Law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. Before joining Fidelity in 1999, Ms. Jonas practiced employee benefits law at Goodwin Procter LLC in Boston after graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School. After graduating magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a BS in Business Administration and prior to attending law school, she was employed as a tax accountant and CPA for Price Waterhouse. Ms. Jonas has been admitted to the Massachusetts Bar and was formerly a certified public accountant. xiii

8 Kendall L. Houghton Partner, Baker & McKenzie Practice Group General Tax Planning Tax Controversy & Litigation Practice Description Kendall Houghton is a partner in Baker & McKenzie s Tax Practice group. For more than two decades Kendall has focused her practice on state and local tax planning, tax counsel and controversy matters. As a member of Baker & McKenzie s extensive SALT team, Kendall focuses her major practice in these areas, advising clients regarding issues such as income tax nexus, tax base, business/non-business income and apportionment, FIN 48 compliance, sales/use tax nexus and compliance issues, and other technically complex tax matters. Her practice also focuses on multistate unclaimed property law matters which include multistate compliance and voluntary disclosure, planning, audit defense and litigation of state unclaimed property assessments. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie, Kendall was a partner in the tax practice of another national law firm. Kendall also previously served as the General Counsel to Council On State Taxation (COST). As General Counsel, she wrote and filed amicus briefs with the United States Supreme Court in numerous critical cases impacting state taxation of multistate commerce. She also testified before the United States Senate Commerce Committee and House Judiciary Committee in support of the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act (enacted in 1998). Additionally, she participated in numerous initiatives with the Federation of Tax Administrators, Multistate Tax Commission and other organizations on significant multistate tax policy matters. Kendall also served as Co-Chair of the National Tax Association s Electronic Commerce and Telecommunications Tax Project. The Tax Project presented a report to the Congressional Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce in 2000 regarding sound tax policy in the arena of electronic commerce and telecommunications. Select Publications & Articles Unclaimed Property, Tax Management Multistate Tax Portfolios, st Talking Trash: Why the Sales Factor Throwout Rule Needs to be Recycled, Multistate Tax Report, Vol. 15, No. 6, June, 27, A Compendium of Current and Recurring Unclaimed Property Issues: Voluntary Disclosures and Audit Defense, 18 State Tax Notes, 441, February 7, "The Redemption of Equitable Apportionment" The Tax Executive, September - October Check Your California Receipts: California Supreme Court Should Provide Appropriate Standards for Equitable Apportionment, Tax Analysts, September Vondjidis v. Hewlett Packard: Sacrificing Good Unclaimed Property Policy in Search of Perfect Compliance?, 51 State Tax Notes 45, Kendall Houghton and Matthew Hedstrom, January 5, xiv

9 Filling State Coffers, Legal Times, October Select Speeches & Presentations Gift Card Reorganizations, and National Trends in Unclaimed Property Law, Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization Annual Conference, March 2006, 2008, and Ethics and the Communications Tax Professional, 2009 Communications Taxation Conference, June TEI European Chapter Winter Conference, January 28-29, Multistate Tax Commission's 38th Annual Conference and Committee Meeting, July 24-29, Streamlined Sales Tax Project Developments and Assessment, Institute for Professionals in Taxation 29th Annual Conference, June 19-22, TEI s State and Local Tax School, 2005, 2006 and Tax Executives Institute Mid-Year Meeting, March 30-April 1, 2009; April 3-6, Top Ten Cases: The Game-Changers?, COST 2009 Income Tax Conference/Audit Session; COST 2005 Income Tax Conference/Audit Session. Professional Affiliations Member, State Tax Committee, American Bar Association ( ) Editor-in-Chief, ABA State and Local Tax Lawyer (1998) Member, Hartman Multistate Tax Forum s Advisory Board Education & Admittance Education: LL.M., in Taxation, Emory University School of Law, 1994 J.D., New York University School of Law, 1989, Moot Court Editorial Board A.B., magna cum laude, Harvard College, 1986 Admittance: District of Columbia California Georgia (inactive) xv

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