State Tax 360° Conference (IN-PERSON)

Andrew DiSalvo, Director, State and Local Tax Srvcs, CohnReznick

Andrew J. DiSalvo, CPA, is a director within the Firm’s State and Local Tax (SALT) Practice who has over 25 years of state and local tax experience.

Andy has over 20 years of property tax experience that includes real estate and personal property taxation and has significant large account management experience in directing personal property tax engagements for major retail, real estate development, renewable energy and diversified multinational industrial accounts, including volume compliance and fixed asset inventories.

Andy specializes in all aspects of multi-state taxation, including income and franchise compliance and planning, state tax M&A, sales and use tax volume compliance, sales and use tax audit defense and planning, personal and real property tax compliance and audit defense, and engagement management.

Prior to joining CohnReznick, Andy was director of state and local tax for one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies. He also spent eight years with a “Big Four” firm. In his prior position, Andy played a significant role in the company’s tax department re-engineering, including mitigation of a tax material weakness and restructuring. As part of this effort, Andy was the lead tax professional on a $3 billion Chapter 11 filing where he was responsible for all aspects of the tax restructuring. Andy also served as the project manager for the global implementation of Thomson Reuters OneSource Tax Provision, Vertex sales and use tax Q series for a major business unit, and Property Tax Management System (PTMS) in the United States.

David Bigger Esq., Associate, Shipman & Goodwin LLP

David Bigger is chair of the firm’s Tax and Employee Benefits Practice Group, providing comprehensive counsel on international, federal, state and local tax matters to individuals and businesses active in a broad range of industries. His clients include individual entrepreneurs, business owners and executives, as well as companies at every stage of the business lifecycle, from startup to established enterprise.

David focuses his practice primarily on privately held and family-owned mid-size companies, recognizing that — in today’s interconnected economy — businesses of all sizes are likely to face tax-related issues from numerous jurisdictions and tax authorities. After beginning his legal career at Shipman, he served as in-house federal tax counsel at MassMutual, where he assisted with a wide range of investment and employment tax matters. Returning to Shipman and the private practice of law, this in-house experience further deepened his insights into the priorities, challenges and issues facing his clients.

David counsels clients on the full spectrum of income, sales and use, property, capital gains and other taxes. He has particular experience in tax-related issues that arise in the context of major corporate events — including business formations, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions — and with respect to specific entity structures, including limited liability companies, partnerships and S-corporations, insurance tax and other general business tax matters. He advises clients on issues arising out of bankruptcies, restructurings and reorganizations, as well as with respect to investment strategies and federal and state tax-credit, incentive and economic-development programs, including the Qualified Opportunity Zones program.

When disputes arise, David represents and defends taxpayers before relevant tax authorities. He has advised clients on and negotiated resolutions to enforcement and collection matters, appeals of tax rulings, and other federal and state tax controversies.

David has spoken at and served as a panelist for numerous legal and industry events, including webinars, seminars and roundtables, where he has discussed a range of tax issues, including updates to Connecticut state tax law and the ever-changing Internal Revenue Code. He also regularly provides continuing legal education (CLE) instruction through firm- and third-party-sponsored courses.

John Biello, Deputy Commissioner, State of CT, Dept of Revenue Services

John Biello Deputy Commissioner Connecticut Department of Revenue Services

John Biello is the current Deputy Commissioner and Director of the Audit and Compliance Division of the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. He also served as the Acting Commissioner for much of 2020 where he led the agency through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Throughout his 33-year career at DRS, Mr. Biello has played an active role with emerging issues. He most recently led the agencies Strategic Plan Administration Unit overseeing a portfolio of agency projects and initiatives. He has also served as an audit representative on various Department of Revenue Services committees including the department’s Tax Policy Group, Interdivisional Tax Team, the department’s Speakers Bureau, Withholding Tax Implementation Team, and Forms Committee.

Mr. Biello has had the opportunity to speak at many seminars and conferences including those sponsored by the UConn Tax School, The Federation of Tax Administrators, The Connecticut Society of CPA’s, The Connecticut Bar Association, The Northeastern States Tax Officials Association, The UConn Law School Tax Clinic, The Cornell University State and Local Tax Group and the NYU State and Local Tax Group.

Mr. Biello serves on the Malcom Baldridge School of Business Executive Advisory Board for Post University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting as well as a Master’s degree in Public Administration.

Louis Schatz, Partner, Shipman & Goodwin LLP

Louis Schatz served as chair of Shipman’s Tax and Employee Benefits Practice Group for more than 20 years and, from 2007 to 2017, served on the firm’s Management Committee. A past chair of the Tax Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, Lou draws on his decades of experience in federal and Connecticut tax matters to help clients understand the real-world impact of complex tax laws and regulations, make effective tax-planning decisions, and resolve disputes with tax authorities.

In addition to being a tax-specific counsel, Lou serves as a trusted, primary relationship partner for many of his clients. He has developed strong relationships within the accounting community and has a deep understanding of the connection between business performance and tax strategy. Lou uses these insights to help clients identify and assess potential opportunities and challenges and engage appropriate counsel and other advisors to address a broad range of legal, financial and business issues.

Lou advises clients from across the spectrum — including high-net-worth individuals, family-owned and privately held businesses, and national and multinational, companies. He has particular experience representing closely-held businesses organized as limited liability companies, partnerships and S corporations; real estate joint ventures; and taxpayers involved in federal and Connecticut tax controversies. In recognition of his experience and legal acumen, he has been appointed to several State of Connecticut tax panels, advisory boards and special committees tasked with reviewing and providing recommendations on a range of state tax laws.

Lou was a primary organizer of the firm’s Opportunity Zones team, a multidisciplinary group that advises clients on the federal program that provides incentives to invest in economically distressed urban and rural communities. In this regard, Lou counsels clients — including institutional investors, developers, banks, private equity and venture capital firms, fund sponsors, private investors, family offices and nonprofits — from across the country on opportunity zone matters both within and without the State of Connecticut.

Committed to educating business leaders as well as the next generation of legal and tax professionals, Lou is a frequent lecturer on Federal and Connecticut tax, partnership and limited liability company issues. For many years, he has provided annual updates on Connecticut tax developments to accountants practicing in New York and New Jersey. His recent lectures include presentations to the Connecticut Bar Association, the Connecticut Society of CPAs, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, the New York State Society of CPAs, the Long Island Tax Practitioner Symposium, the National Business Institute, the University of Connecticut Income Tax School, the New England Tax Institute and the Foundation for Accounting Education in New York City. He is frequently asked to author articles about state and local tax developments, such as the Tax Notes article entitled “Big Changes Coming to Connecticut’s Passthrough Entity Tax” which was published in 2023.

Lou is widely published; among numerous articles, book chapters and commentaries, he authored the latest edition of Connecticut Limited Liability Act: Forms and Practice Manual, the leading treatise in Connecticut on limited liability companies.