Yesterday, the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) kicked off its annual conference and committee meetings with meetings of the Audit and Nexus Committees. The MTC’s Audit program continues to grow by adding Iowa, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Delaware to the program during the last fiscal year. The MTC Nexus Committee is responsible for administering the National Nexus Program, which includes monitoring policy developments, overseeing the Multistate Voluntary Disclosure Program, and providing legal support to state participants in litigating certain nexus issues. While the Audit Committee is largely closed to the public, the Nexus Committee did conduct much of its work in an open session.

Among the goals identified in last year’s Nexus Committee meeting was to improve the Multistate Voluntary Disclosure Program. The Multistate Voluntary Disclosure Program allows non-filers access to a “one-stop shop” (i.e., to simultaneously negotiate a settlement agreement with multiple member states). The MTC Nexus Committee formed a working group last year to make recommendations for improvements to the program. The multistate voluntary disclosure improvement team reported that it cannot make recommendations without further work and requested an extension of the project completion date until the December 2015 meeting of the Nexus Committee.

The Nexus Committee considered three recommendations for potential future projects. After a quick poll, the states’ representatives supported a proposal to research the establishment of an information-sharing program or procedure that would allow member states to share taxpayer information. The other two proposals that the committee contemplated were the establishment of a phase-in fee structure for the nexus program and an increase or change to the number, topics or locations of nexus schools.

Stay tuned for news from the remaining MTC committee meetings to be held in the coming days.