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TAXUPDATEnumber 214JUNE/JULY 2021Tax Update is a bi-monthly e-newsletter published bythe Pennsylvania Department of RevenueGovernorTom WolfClick HEREto sign upfor PA TaxUpdatee-alertsSecretary of RevenueC. Daniel Hassell

TAX UPDATErevenue.pa.govP. iCONTENTS1REVENUE SECRETARY NAMED TOBOARD FOR THE FEDERATION OFTAX ADMINISTRATORS2DEPARTMENT ACKNOWLEDGESRETIREMENT OF DAVID BRADEN3DOR FRAUD DETECTION ANDANALYSIS UNIT RECOGNIZED FORPARTICIPATION IN ISAC42021 DEPARTMENT OF REVENUETAX SEMINARS5TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE AVAILABLEAT REVENUE DISTRICT OFFICES,ONLINE AND BY PHONE62021 STATE TAX SUMMARY - JULY72020-21 GENERAL FUND REVENUESThe No. 1 goal in thedepartment’s strategic planis to continually improvecustomer service.– Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell

TAX UPDATErevenue.pa.govP. 1REVENUE SECRETARY NAMED TO BOARD FOR THE FEDERATION OFTAX ADMINISTRATORSDepartment of Revenue Secretary Dan Hassellwas recently named to the Board of Trustees of theFederation of Tax Administrators (FTA), an organizationthat provides services to state tax authorities andadministrators.“Being a member of the FTA Board of Trustees will beanother way for our agency to stay engaged with our taxadministration colleagues in other parts of the country,”Secretary Hassell said. “We have benefitted greatly inrecent years from this ongoing dialogue with other FTAmembers, and I’m looking forward to participating inthose conversations in this new role.”FTA serves the principal tax collection agencies of the50 states, the District of Columbia, Philadelphia, andNew York City. The work of FTA is directed and governedby an 18-member Board of Trustees composed of taxadministrators representing all regions of the country.FTA serves as a source of information and expertise forstate administrators and others on the workings of statetax agencies and systems as well as issues generallyaffecting tax policy and administration. FTA staffregularly monitors the activities of state tax agenciesand the federal government in order to serve as aclearinghouse on topics important to administrators.FTA also conducts research projects in such areasas state tax policies and structures, compliance andenforcement programs, and federal and state courtdecisions. In addition, significant effort is devoted toinquiries from tax administrators on special problemsand issues.FTA was originally organized in 1937 to improve thequality of state tax administration. The Department ofRevenue’s involvement with the organization allows itsleaders to stay informed on how other agencies areaddressing taxation, enforcement and modernization,among other topics. This helps the departmentfulfill its mission of fairly, efficiently, and accuratelyadministering the tax laws and other revenue programsof the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.Department of Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell“Being a member of the FTA Board of Trustees will beanother way for our agency to stay engaged with our taxadministration colleagues in other parts of the country ”

TAX UPDATErevenue.pa.govP. 2DEPARTMENT ACKNOWLEDGES RETIREMENT OF DAVID BRADENThe Department of Revenue recently acknowledgedthe retirement of David Braden, who was well known inthe community of tax professionals and practitionersdue to his frequent participation in conferences acrossPennsylvania. Braden often served as a guest speakerand representative of the department at these events,sharing the latest updates on state tax administrationand legislation. Braden retired with 31 ½ years ofservice to the commonwealth.Braden said he plans to continue working for himselfand characterized his retirement as, “merely movingon to other adventures and activities in my life.”The Department of Revenue’s executive staff thankBraden for his service and wish him well in hisretirement.Braden began his career in state government in 1990 atthe Pennsylvania Treasury Department Office of FiscalReview. In April of 1996, he became an Audit Managerand was responsible for the review of personal incometax refunds and Property Tax/Rent Rebate Programclaims. In June 2004, Braden joined the Department ofRevenue as the Assistant to the Director for the Bureauof Individual Taxes. In this position, he specialized inpersonal income tax issues and played a leading rolein assisting taxpayers and tax professionals with PITquestions.Braden also served as an integral part of thedepartment’s education and outreach efforts asa recurring speaker at the department’s Fall Taxseminars. Braden was also known to go above andbeyond to assist members of the PennsylvaniaInstitute of Certified Public Accounts (PICPA) and thePennsylvania Society of Tax & Accounting Professionals(PSTAP) with questions related to individual taxes.“Stay inquisitive, focused and positive in your workand working relationships,” Braden wrote in a partingmessage to his Revenue colleagues. “More importantly,stay safe, stay well and keep your head held high.Better days are ahead for all of us.”“Stay inquisitive, focusedand positive in your workand working relationships”David Braden

TAX UPDATErevenue.pa.govP. 3DOR FRAUD DETECTION AND ANALYSIS UNIT RECOGNIZED FORPARTICIPATION IN ISACThe Department of Revenue’s Fraud Detection andAnalysis Unit recently was recognized for helping theIdentity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Information Sharing andAnalysis Center (ISAC) reach an important milestone inits history. Staff from the Fraud Detection and AnalysisUnit recently made the 1,000th alert on the ISAC secureportal, which is used to share information on scams andreport fraud with stakeholders in the state and federalgovernments, as well as the private sector.The ISAC was launched on Jan. 27, 2017 during theopening of the 2017 tax fling season. ISAC Partner Intuitposted the very first alert in the ISAC portal. The alertshared suspicious activity identified by Intuit with theother 18 partner organizations in the ISAC. It was a boldand significant landmark event for the ISAC and thebeginning of a growing, trusting relationship amongseparate entities who had limited insight into suspiciousactivity identified across the tax ecosystem.“When the Department of Revenue became an ISACpartner, we began by watching what others were sharingin the ISAC. Once we started downloading the data andrunning it through our systems, we realized we wereable to identify and stop fraud based on the informationshared by other ISAC partners,” Revenue Secretary DanHassell explained. “We noticed as more partners shared,we were able to see large schemes emerging. We realizedwe had additional data that would help all partners buildthe characteristics of these schemes and therefore ourparticipation evolved from watching and using data tosharing and teaching.”Five years later, the ISAC has 72 partner organizationsand more than 450 ISAC users. Allen Daugherty, themanager of the Department of Revenue’s FraudDetection and Analysis Unit, is an integral part of hisagency’s participation in the ISAC.“In previous years, Pennsylvania was more of a consumerof the information shared within the ISAC. This year wemade it a team commitment to be more of a participantin sharing and have posted 22 alerts since January,”Daugherty said. “Secretary Hassell and his entireexecutive staff have taken the time to understand theISAC and the data being shared and the full weight ofthe agency has been dedicated to providing additionalresources so the we can have a more concerted effort insharing in the ISAC.”“The communications and data that the ISAC secureportal fosters and provides is critical for our missionand values. It makes the invisible, visible,” said Revenuefraud analyst Julie Welsch, who also works in the FraudDetection and Analysis Unit. “If we see something inPennsylvania, we need to say something so all ISACpartners can search their own systems and then shareany pertinent information they may find. One single alertcan truly make the difference, which is why we all needto make the effort to share.”The ISAC secure portal thrives on consistent participation,good communication and sharing timely data from allISAC partners. Sharing just one data point or pattern canhelp ISAC partners and users discover fraudulent activity,alert others and ultimately protect taxpayers.Taxpayer security and scam detection are extremelyimportant issues for the Department of Revenue, whichis why the department launched the Fraud Detection andAnalysis Unit in 2016. This specialized unit is tasked withassisting victims of identity theft and combatting taxrefund fraud, monitoring known and newly discoveredtypes of tax fraud, and helping the department bystrengthening its automated fraud filters. This work helpsto intercept fraudulent and erroneous tax refund filings.It is extremely important to report identity theft as soonas you are aware of it. If you are a victim of identity theftor discover a fraudulent Pennsylvania personal incometax return was filed using your identity, please contactthe Fraud Detection and Analysis Unit at 717-772-9297 orRA-RVPITFRAUD@pa.gov.

TAX UPDATEP. 4revenue.pa.gov2021 DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE TAX SEMINARSThe Department of Revenue’s annual series of TaxSeminars officially kick off in September. Tax professionalsare encouraged to learn about changes to state tax lawsand policies during one-day seminars held across thestate and virtually.The tax seminars educate tax professionals on personalincome tax, sales tax, corporate taxes, complianceDatesSeptember 23initiatives and using the department’s website to establishtax accounts for new businesses, file tax returns and paystate taxes.The schedule below includes a listing of seminar dates andlocations. You can also find updated information — includinghyperlinks for the virtual seminars — by visiting the TaxSeminars page on the Department of Revenue’s website.Conference LocationHomewood Suites by HiltonAllentown Bethlehem3350 Center Valley ParkwayCenter Valley, PA 18034SponsorLehigh Valley PSTAPSherry DeAgostino800-270-3352sherry@pstap.orgSouth Central Chapter PSTAPSherry DeAgostino800-270-3352sherry@pstap.orgHarrisburg PSTAPSherry DeAgostino800-270-3352sherry@pstap.orgCentral Chapter PSTAPSherry DeAgostino800-270-3352sherry@pstap.org Pittsburgh PSTAPSherry DeAgostino800-270-3352sherry@pstap.orgPhiladelphia Tri-CountyPSTAPSherry DeAgostino800-270-3352sherry@pstap.orgWyndham GettysburgSeptember 30October 595 Presidential CircleGettysburg, PA 17325Radisson Penn Harris Hotel &Convention Ctr1150 Camp Hill Bypass US 15Camp Hill, PA 17011DoubleTree by Hilton ReadingOctober 20 October 21701 Penn StreetReading, PA 19601Cranberry Regional Learning AllianceCenter850 Cranberry Woods DrCranberry Township, PA 16066Springfield Country ClubContactOctober 28400 W. Sproul Rd (Rte 320)Springfield, PA 19064 November 3Virtual (link not yet available)PSTAPSherry DeAgostino800-270-3352sherry@pstap.orgNovember 91/2 Day Virtual (link not yetavailable)Wilkes University ContinuingEducation Dept.Margaret Petty570-408-4460margaret.petty@wilkes.eduNovember 121/2 Day Virtual (link not yetavailable)Wilkes University ContinuingEducation Dept.Margaret Petty570-408-4460margaret.petty@wilkes.eduWilkes University ContinuingEducation Dept.Margaret Petty570-408-4460margaret.petty@wilkes.eduMcDevitt & KlineBill Kline570-251-3805william.kline@ceworkshops.comThe Woodlands Inn and ResortDecember 6Highway 315Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766December 15Virtual (link not yet available)