Alabama Law Judge Bill Thompson Receives BNA Tax & Accounting Award For Distinguished Service in State Tax

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec.13, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- BNA Tax & Accounting announces that the 2010 Franklin C. Latcham Award for Distinguished Service in State and Local Tax Law honors Judge Bill Thompson, the Alabama Department of Revenue's chief administrative law judge. The award was presented Dec. 13 at a meeting of the BNA Tax & Accounting Multistate Tax Advisory Board in New York City. The Latcham Award is named for Franklin C. Latcham, former Advisory Board chair and founder of BNA Tax Management's State Tax Portfolio Series.  

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Appointed to his current position in 1983, Thompson is the department's first — and so far, only — administrative law judge, presiding over more than 16,000 cases during his tenure. He is also the principal author of the Alabama Taxpayer Bill of Rights and Uniform Revenue Procedures Act, which was enacted unanimously by the Alabama Legislature in 1992.

"He has an incredible work ethic and desire for independence, even though he is an employee of the Department of Revenue," said Bruce P. Ely, partner in Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, based in Birmingham, Ala. "He has achieved a national reputation for clarity of rulings and decisions on some of the major issues facing state tax practitioners today."

"He is a great judge, an inspiration to all of us and our field is better because of his many, learned, thoughtful opinions," said Paul Frankel, chairman of the Multistate Tax Advisory Board and partner in Morrison & Foerster LLP.

"Judge Thompson is a very well-respected and valued employee of the Alabama Department

of Revenue," said Cynthia Underwood, acting commissioner of revenue. "He is regarded by many of his peers as a leader and authority on state and local tax law. On behalf of the Alabama Department of Revenue, I congratulate Judge Thompson on receiving this prestigious award, and I'm proud to be associated with him."

Judge Thompson is a 1973 graduate of Auburn University and received his J.D. from the University of Alabama in 1976. From August 1976 until 1983, he was assistant counsel for the revenue department and handled its corporate and personal income tax cases. Judge Thompson received the Alabama State Bar's Award of Merit in 1997 and currently serves on the advisory board to the Paul J. Hartman State and Local Tax Forum.

Earlier recipients of the Latcham Award include Prentiss Willson, former national director of Ernst & Young's State and Local Tax Practice and Procedure; Walter Hellerstein, professor of law at the University of Georgia Law School; James Buresh, former national partner in charge of sales and use tax practice for Deloitte and Touche; Jack Cronin, former partner in charge of Deloitte Tax's Multistate Tax Practice; Jean Walker, retired senior manager with Ernst & Young; William R. Brown, first executive director of COST;  the late Paull Mines, general counsel with the Multistate Tax Commission; Joanne Garvey, member of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe in San Francisco; William Peltz, senior tax counsel for Shell Oil Corp.; Gerald Goldberg, former executive director of the California Franchise Tax Board; California tax attorney John Warren; the late educator and author Jerome Hellerstein; and Eugene Corrigan, first director of the Multistate Tax Commission.

About BNA Tax & Accounting

BNA Tax & Accounting is the foremost source of tax and accounting research, news, practice tools, and guidance for tax attorneys, CPAs, corporate tax managers, estate planners, and financial accountants.  For more than 50 years, BNA Tax & Accounting has offered practitioners expert insights and guidance on every significant issue in tax and accounting planning and compliance. Written by practitioners for practitioners, BNA's award-winning Portfolios offer topic-driven, in-depth guidance on transactions designed to help tax professionals achieve new levels of excellence and client service. For more information about our products and services, visit BNA Tax & Accounting online at www.bnatax.com.

SOURCE BNA Tax & Accounting

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