The expiration of key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have implications beyond federal tax policy, particularly on the debate around the cap on the itemized deduction for state and local taxes. Arguments for letting the SALT cap expire emphasize its unfairness to some taxpayers, while advocates for extending or modifying the cap cite its role in helping fund federal tax cuts and maintaining fiscal discipline at the state level. What are the burdens the cap places on residents of high-tax states like California, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey? If the SALT cap is allowed to expire, how will that affect the passthrough entity election? If the cap is extended, what issues remain unresolved with that election? 

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Cara Griffith
President and CEO, Tax Analysts

As the moderator for our Taxing Issues webinars, Cara objectively analyzes issues and asks probing questions that challenge panelists to explain and defend their positions.

When she’s not moderating Taxing Issues webinars, Cara provides strategic oversight for Tax Analysts. She has led efforts to improve the Tax Notes suite of products and to aggressively pursue transparency in the administration of tax systems. Previously, Cara managed the editorial department, including the flagship daily news publications and weekly magazines. She has written for a broad range of tax policy publications, including Tax Notes State, The Tax Adviser, The Hedge Fund Law Report, and The Hill. She regularly speaks at tax conferences and other events, discussing a variety of technical tax issues as well as the need for transparency in tax administration.

Cara has a BA in political science and a BA in international studies from the University of Evansville and a JD from the George Washington University Law School.

Nikki E. Dobay
Shareholder at Greenberg Traurig

Nikki Dobay is nationally known for her deep experience and understanding of state tax policy and the legislative process. She also advises her clients on sophisticated multistate tax issues as well as the consequences and planning opportunities related to corporate M&A transactions and oversees state and local tax controversy matters, ranging from audits to appellate litigation, and involving sales and use taxes, income and franchise taxes, property taxes, and constitutional issues. 

Nikki regularly engages with statewide business and taxpayer associations and departments of revenue, as well as national tax administrator organizations, including the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA), the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC), and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), on key SALT issues impacting multijurisdictional taxpayers. 

Nikki’s previous experience includes spending five years as senior tax counsel for the Council On State Taxation (COST). She also gained experience working in the national office of a Big Four accounting firm and at a large international law firm and a large corporate law firm in Oregon, where she assisted clients with multistate tax issues and Oregon tax controversy matters, including proceedings in the Oregon Tax Court. 

Kathleen K. Wright
Director of state and local tax program at Golden Gate University School of Taxation

Kathleen Wright is the director of the state and local tax program at Golden Gate University School of Taxation in San Francisco. She has a BS in accounting from Florida State University, a JD from Fordham Law School, an MBA in taxation from New York University, and an LLM in taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law. She is a CPA licensed in California and New York and a member of the New York State Bar.    

Wright has a private tax practice focusing on small business tax planning and consulting. She is the author of States of Mind, a bimonthly column in Tax Notes State, and she serves on the magazine’s advisory board. She publishes frequently on state and local tax issues, with articles appearing in The Tax Adviser, The Tax Lawyer, the Journal of State Taxation, and the Journal of Legal Tax Research.    

 Wright has been elected to the board of trustees for the California CPA Education Foundation and the Franchise Tax Board’s executive advisory board. She has also been appointed to the American Institute of CPAs’ technical resource panel for state and local tax issues.

James W. Wetzler
Former director at Deloitte Tax

James W. Wetzler retired in 2013 as the director of the New York City office of Deloitte Tax LLP, having joined the firm in 1995. He specialized in the resolution of state tax controversies. He served as adjunct professor of law at NYU Law School in 1995 and as New York state tax commissioner from 1988 to 1994.

In 1994 Wetzler was elected president of the Federation of Tax Administrators. From 1973 to 1984, he served on the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, beginning as staff economist and going on to become deputy chief of staff. He participated in the JCT staff’s investigation of the Nixon administration’s political use of the IRS and the agency’s audit of Nixon’s tax return. He served on the 1996 National Commission on the Restructuring of the Internal Revenue Service and, in 2012-2013, on tax reform and relief commissions for New York state.

Wetzler has a PhD in economics from Harvard and a BS in economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.