Speakers
Fred Nicely, Thomas Shimkin, Steve DelBianco
Fred Nicely serves as Tax Counsel for COST. Fred’s role as Tax Counsel extends to all aspects of the COST mission statement: “to preserve and promote equitable and nondiscriminatory state and local taxation of multijurisdictional business entities.” Before joining COST, Fred served in the Ohio Department of Taxation for four years as Deputy Tax Commissioner over Legal and for the prior seven years as the Department’s Chief Counsel.He is a frequent speaker and author on Ohio’s tax system and on multistate tax issues generally.
Thomas Shimkin has worked for the Multistate Tax Commission since 1998, first as counsel to the Commission’s National Nexus Program, then as counsel in the Commission’s legal division where he worked on tax policy issues and model legislation. He is now director of the National Nexus Program. His responsibilities include working with states to develop uniform policies with respect to nexus issues; educating taxpayers about nexus; and managing the Commission’s fast-growing multi-state voluntary disclosure program.
As the executive director of NetChoice, Steve DelBianco is a well-known expert on Internet governance, online consumer protection, and Internet
taxation. Steve has provided expert testimony in seven Congressional hearings, and is a frequent witness in state legislatures. Moreover, Steve is an advocate for business interests at meetings of the Internet Governance Forum and ICANN, where he serves as vice chair for policy coordination. Steve is often quoted on technology issues in the media, including a segment on "60 Minutes" to expose barriers to e-commerce in residential real estate.