Tax appeals commission chief resigns
Exit was days before bill on panel picks gained approval
Attorney and certified public accountant Jeffrey H. Moore of Little Rock has resigned from Arkansas’ three-member Independent Tax Appeals Commission.
In a letter dated March 14 to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Moore wrote, “I am writing to submit my resignation from the Tax Appeals Commission, effective immediately.”
Moore could not be reached for comment by telephone Monday.
His resignation became effective two days before the state Senate voted Thursday to send Sanders a bill that would grant the governor additional flexibility in making appointments to the commission. The legislation is Senate Bill 185 by state Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning.
Asked whether Sanders has appointed a replacement for Moore yet, Sanders spokeswoman Alexa Henning said Monday, “No personnel announcements at this time.”
In the 2021 regular session, the Legislature enacted Act 586 of 2021 to create an independent tax appeals commission inside the state Department of Inspector General to resolve disputes between the state Department of Finance and Administration and taxpayers. The commission is required to comprise three people with substantial knowledge of Arkansas law appointed by the governor to nine-year terms.
Act 586 of 2021 requires names to be submitted to the governor by the Arkansas Supreme Court, the Arkansas Bar Association, and the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants and then requires the governor to select from the three pools of candidates, then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s office said last year.
In June of 2022, Hutchinson appointed Moore, who was nominated by the Arkansas Supreme Court, as chief commissioner, and tax attorney Matt Boch of Little Rock, who was nominated by the Arkansas Bar Association, and certified public accountant Joseph Sanford of Rogers, who was nominated by the American Society of Certified Accountants, as commissioners. All three commissioners are paid $149,861 a year, according to
the Arkansas Transparency website.
The governor would no longer be required to appoint a commissioner from each pool of nominated candidates under SB185.
The governor may appoint an individual who is not nominated and meets the applicable licensure requirements of a particular pool of candidates and who otherwise meets the qualification requirements in Arkansas Code Annotated 26-18-1007 under the bill. With the advice of the secretary of the state Department of Inspector General, the governor shall designate one of the commissioners to serve as chief commissioner, and the governor may change the designation of chief commissioner at any time under the bill.
Under current state law, the chief commissioner shall be appointed from the pool of candidates nominated by the state Supreme Court. That would no longer be a requirement for the chief commissioner under SB185.
One of the commissioners would no longer be required to be both a licensed attorney and certified public accountant under the bill, Johnson said. One of the other commissioners is required to be a licensed attorney and the other commissioner is required to be a certified public accountant under state law.
The position — currently required to be held by a licensed attorney and a certified public accountant — could be filled by either a licensed attorney or a certified public accountant under SB185 and “gives a broader personnel that they can choose from for that position,” Johnson told the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.
“It is very difficult apparently to find someone who is an attorney and also a CPA, so this will broaden that pool of potential candidates,” state Rep. Les Eaves, R-Searcy, who is the House sponsor of SB185, told the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.
If a vacancy occurs in the position of chief commissioner, the governor shall designate one of the commissioners as interim chief commissioner until the vacancy is
Today’s radar speed checks
Little Rock police and the Pulaski County sheriff’s office will use radar to detect speeding at these locations. Police and sheriff’s deputies may conduct radar checks in other locations as well. Little Rock: 9600 Geyer Springs Rd. Pulaski County: Fortson Rd. filled, under the bill.
SB185 includes an emergency clause that would make it effective upon the governor’s signature.
“It is found and determined by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the Tax Appeals Commission is in the process of setting up to begin receiving and hearing appeals in January 2023, and that this act is immediately necessary to provide for appointments of commissioners upon vacancy,” the bill states.
Johnson filed the bill Jan. 31, according to the General Assembly’s website.
Johnson said Monday he didn’t know that a tax appeals commissioner had resigned.