MULTISTATE TAX COMMISSION NAMES JOE HUDDLESTON AS ITS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- June 22, 2005 -- The Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) announced today that Joe Huddleston, a former tax software firm executive and the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue from 1987-1995, is its new executive director. The Commission is an organization of 47 participating state governments that work to promote equitable and efficient administration of tax laws that apply to multistate enterprises.
Huddleston, whose official start date is August 1, 2005, will replace Rene Y. Blocker, who has served as the interim executive director of the organization since the December 2004 departure of Dan Bucks. After holding the top MTC post for 17 years, Bucks resigned to join the cabinet of Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer as director of that state’s Department of Revenue.
MTC Chair R. Bruce Johnson, who is a commissioner on the Utah State Tax Commission said: “Joe embodies all of the qualities we need in the person at the helm of the Multistate Tax Commission. He understands tax issues from the perspective of a former state tax commissioner and also as someone who served in a major accounting firm. His background in the tax software industry gives him an important perspective in tackling the challenges that are in front of the MTC today.”
Commenting on his new position, Huddleston said: “I look forward to working with state tax organizations as we address the challenges that will define the next several years. The MTC has made enormous strides in recent years and I very much intend to help write the next chapter of the continuing success story at the Commission.”
The new MTC executive director was most recently vice president of tax solutions for Liquid Engines Inc., a tax software firm focused on advanced state income tax planning models and methodologies for multi-state and multi-national companies. Prior to joining Liquid Engines, Huddleston was a state and local tax partner for middle market and Fortune 500 companies served by Grant Thornton LLP, then the nation’s sixth largest accounting and management consulting firm.
He served as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue from 1987 to 1995. Huddleston was responsible for development of a $25 million integrated tax system (RITS) for the state of Tennessee. During his tenure as commissioner, he was president of both the Federation of Tax Administrators and the Southeast Association of Tax Administrators.
Immediately after leaving the Tennessee Department of Revenue, Huddleston became chief financial officer for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. In that position, he was responsible all of the city’s financial affairs, including more than $1 billion in annual expenditures.
Huddleston launched his legal career after stints as an Internal Revenue Service revenue officer in Chattanooga, TN., and Columbia, S.C. He entered private practice in Nashville before working from 1984-1987 at the District Attorney General’s office in Cookeville, TN. Huddleston is a founding trustee of the Paul Hartman Tax Forum at Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tenn. A graduate of the University of South Carolina, he received his J.D. from the Nashville School of Law. Huddleston is a member of both the Tennessee and American Bar Associations and their respective tax sections.
ABOUT THE MTC
Created by an interstate compact, the Multistate Tax Commission encourages tax practices that reduce administrative costs for taxpayers and States alike, develops and recommends uniform laws and regulations that promote proper state taxation of multistate and multinational enterprises, encourages business compliance with state tax laws through education, negotiation and enforcement, and protects state fiscal authority in Congress and the courts. Of the 47 states (including the District of Columbia) that participate in the Commission, 21 are Compact Members, five are Sovereignty Members, 18 are Associate Members, and three are Project Members.
CONTACT:
Ailis Aaron
(703) 276-3265
aaaron@hastingsgroup.com.
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