History and Purpose

Since 1986, the Tax Executives Institute (TEI) and San José State University have sponsored the High Technology Tax Institute in Silicon Valley. The TEI Santa Clara Valley Chapter approached Dr. Joseph Mori, chair of the SJSU Accounting and Finance Department and SJSU tax instructor Rudy Fahr to partner on providing a high quality, tax education program that would also involve the IRS so as to have an open and broad dialogue on key tax issues of relevance to corporate tax departments, accounting and law firms, the IRS and academics.

In 1988, Dr. Stewart Karlinsky joined SJSU and took over directing the Institute and converted it to a focus on high technology tax matters. Since 2005, SJSU Professor Annette Nellen has directed the Tax Institute, assisted by Julie Ryan, SJSU Administrative Assistant, who has served as the administrative support for the conference since 1996. The SJSU Tax Advisory Board members provide their expert advice and assistance in identifying topics and presenters for each High Tech Tax Institute program.

In 2009, on the occasion of the High Technology Tax Institute's 25th anniversary, the High Tech Tax Institute honored two founding members who continue to actively participate in the planning and delivery of the tax institute: Larry Langdon of Mayer Brown and Stephen Sedler of Seagate. We were also honored to have IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman as the keynote luncheon speaker that year.

The High Tech Tax Institute's focus on relevant tax issues for hardware, software and web-based companies, as well as pharmaceutical, biotech, communications and "green" technologies, makes it an invaluable educational tax experience for accountants, attorneys, and corporate representatives who serve high technology companies.

Each High Tech Tax Institute session is designed to foster the sharing of tax planning ideas and problem solving strategies at a level consistent with TEI's and San José State University's high standards for professional tax education. Lectures are presented by nationally and internationally recognized practitioners and government representatives who have practical experience of implementation.

In 2010, the SJSU MST Program and the Santa Clara Valley TEI Chapter launched a second tax conference — the TEI-SJSU Tax Policy Conference, held annually on one-day in February. In 2011, the Institute launched the High Tech Tax Institute Academy to cover the upcoming Institute's key topics at an introductory level. The Academy serves the needs of tax professionals new to the field of taxation and those wanting to learn more about high technology taxation topics. The Academy is on a Friday a few weeks before the Institute.

In 2013, at the request of the IRS, the SJSU MST Program launched with the IRS, the IRS/SJSU Small Business Tax Institute. The first conference was held on June 19, 2013 in Santa Clara, CA. The event was co-sponsored by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the CalCPA Society and the Young Tax Lawyers Committee of the State Bar of California Taxation Section. Future Small Business Tax Institutes will be held one day in June each year.