Nicole L. Johnson | Blank Rome LLP

Nicole works with clients to resolve state and local tax controversies at the audit, administrative, and judicial levels and advises clients on state and local tax law in transactional matters. She represents clients on matters that implicate virtually every category of taxes, including corporate income and franchise taxes, gross receipts taxes, gaming taxes, sales and use taxes, and transactions taxes.

Nicole frequently delivers lectures on state and local tax matters and has presented at several organizations, including the Council On State Taxation, Tax Executives Institute, Energy Tax Association, Ohio Tax Conference, and California Tax Policy Conference. In 2022, she was appointed to the Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum Advisory Board. Nicole was also appointed to the New York Tax Appeals Tribunal Advisory Panel in 2018. She regularly provides expert insights and commentary to the annual Bloomberg Tax Survey of State Tax Departments.

Prior to joining Blank Rome, Nicole was a partner at a leading Am Law 100 firm and served as a local state and local tax manager at one of the big four accounting firms. In 2006, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Michael B. Thornton, U.S. Tax Court.

Melanie L. Lee | Blank Rome LLP

Melanie concentrates her practice on a wide range of state and local tax matters, including representing clients at the audit, administrative and judicial levels. Melanie’s practice touches nearly every tax type, including corporate income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes and gross receipts taxes. Melanie is the co-editor of her practice group’s monthly state and local tax publication, The BR State + Local Tax Spotlight, and she has authored articles for the Journal of State Taxation, Tax Notes States and Tax Stringer.

Melanie previously served as a senior manager of state and local taxation and alternative investment funds at a tax firm headquartered in San Francisco. In this role, she advised both individuals and companies on issues involving sales and use tax, personal income tax, corporate income tax, and pass-through entity tax.

I. How nexus has historically been established and how nexus can be established post-Wayfair | 11:00am – 11:30am

II. Recent litigation at the state and local level impacting to what extent sales tax obligations can be imposed on remote sellers | 11:30am – 12:00pm

Break | 12:00pm – 12:10pm

III. Compliance issues that arise from remote selling activities and how those issues can be most effectively addressed | 12:10pm – 1:10pm