Mission Statement

To shed light on tax policy and administration through aggressive, unbiased reporting and informed commentary from leaders in the field.

Background

Tax Analysts is a nonpartisan, nonprofit publisher of news and commentary about federal, state, and international tax issues under the brand Tax Notes. We also hold and sponsor conferences about timely issues of tax policy and administration. Through our investigative journalism and, if necessary, the courts, we shed light on government actions that affect taxes by bringing secretive decision-making into the open. Through our publications, conferences, and other activities, we engage with the broad tax community.

History

Tax Analysts was founded in 1970 to foster an open and informed discussion about taxes. We began to publish our federal tax magazine in 1972, and we added our international and state magazines in 1989 and 1991, respectively. Each of these weekly magazines provides the best coverage available on the latest changes in tax policy and administration, as well as on court opinions, legislative action, and revenue rulings. We added online daily news services for federal, international, and state taxation between 1987 and 1991, and we produce several research and reference tools as well as specialized services focusing on tax-exempt organizations, state tax audit guidance, and multinational tax treaties.

At the start, we sought to defend the public interest and force tax policymaking into the open. We first sued the IRS in 1972 to gain public access to private letter rulings (PLRs) and technical advice memoranda (TAMs) — crucial documents through which the IRS provided legal advice to specific taxpayers and IRS field agents. The courts gave us access to PLRs, and Congress soon required the IRS to publicly disclose its TAMs. Over the years, we have also used the Freedom of Information Act to force the IRS and state revenue departments to publicly share information about tax assessments and exemptions they have provided in private decisions.

We marked the start of a new era for Tax Analysts in 2006 by moving into a new headquarters building in Falls Church, VA. From our origins as a tiny nonprofit that operated on a shoestring budget, we are now a global publisher, have a full-time headquarters staff of almost 200 employees, and over 250 correspondents spanning more than 125 countries. More than 150,000 tax professionals in law and accounting firms, corporations, government agencies, and academic institutions rely on our in-depth federal, state, and international content every day.
 

Our Board of Directors

Ameek Ashok Ponda, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Chair

Sharda Cherwoo, Digital Transformation Leader

Eli J. Dicker, Crowe LLP

Karen Hawkins, Tax Attorney, Retired

Joseph Huddleston, EY

Christian Kaeser, Siemens

David J. Kautter, RSM US LLP

Nina E. Olson, Center for Taxpayer Rights

Robert Risse, WU Vienna

Danielle Rolfes, KMPG

H. David Rosenbloom, Caplin & Drysdale Chtd.

Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, former New Your City Finance Commissioner

Sam Sim, Vienna University

Samuel C. Thompson, Jr., Penn State Law