Episode 58

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Published on:

13th Jan 2023

An Inside Look at Lobbying in Colorado with Jenn Penn

In this episode of the SALTovation podcast, Meredith Smith and Judy Vorndran talk with Jenn Penn, a Contract Lobbyist at Dome Strategies in Colorado. Jenn works with businesses to simplify tax and build coalitions for other special interest groups. Jenn talks about legislative sessions and shares the vision of the SUTS system, a sales and use tax online filing system within the Colorado Department of Revenue for businesses and local governments to work together and have one place to file their sales and use taxes. 

Join us in simplifying Colorado’s Sales Tax at simplifycosalestax.com.

 

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • The formation of the sales tax coalition
  • Legislative sessions and lobbying
  • The SUTS System 

 

What You Will Learn:

  • [01:21] Jenn’s professional journey 
  • [11:45] The Sales Tax Coalition 
  • [19:22] Creating a competitive economic environment in Colorado 

Quotables:

  • “Lobbyists are really an integral part of the process. We are targeted communications. A lot of businesses hire PR. Lobbyists really help businesses, non-profits, and other organizations communicate with the state legislator.” - Jenn Penn [02:37]
  • “The mission of the sales tax coalition is to reform Colorado’s complicated sales tax system with the goal of making it fair, simple, and predictable for businesses in a way that is revenue neutral to have any adverse impacts on local and state public services and create a competitive economic environment for Colorado that will attract additional employers and trade organizations.” - Jenn Penn [18:53]
  • “The general view of taxpayers isn't such that they won’t file. They just need to know how to file  and they need to have a mechanism that is easy enough to understand to make it happen.” - Meredith Smith [21:16]
  • “People are starting to see with technology getting better and better, there is more compliance. This is good for business. Because it is meant to be a voluntary system, not an extractive system. It is a win-win for business and governments. ” - Judy Vorndran [17:13]


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Production Support

This episode was produced with support from Truth Work Media. www.truthworkmedia.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Advanced Sales and Use Tax Workshop

Take your sales tax to the next level at Advanced Sales and Use Tax Workshop, February 19-21 in Nashville. Diane Yetter and the Sales Tax Institute’s industry-leading faculty provide individualized training, valuable resources, and practical solutions. Expand your network and earn 23 CPE credits. Visit the link in the show notes and use the code SALTOV10 for 10% off. Save your spot now!" https://keap.page/xp141/saltovation-podcast.htm

Use Tax Workshop

SALT Contact

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About the Podcast

SALTovation: Making Sense of State and Local Tax
Welcome to SALTovation. The SALTovation show is a podcast series featuring the leading voices in state and local tax (SALT). Here we talk about issues, strategies, and planning tools to help you make sense of SALT. Because, in SALT, there is no “one and done.” SALT is a puzzle of ever-changing pieces. Solving that puzzle is our business at SALTovation. Tens of thousands of listeners know they won't get tax talk as usual with the SALTovation team. Our team is known for straight-talk with a flair for fun, providing clarity and opinions that move businesses forward with confidence.

Attorney, CPA, speaker, and writer Judy Vorndran leads the SALTovation team as they go inside business to help deal with the daily operations and long-term strategies of making SALT less “taxing.” Judy has spent more than 25 years advocating for businesses with innovative strategies, renowned knowledge and experience. She has helped guide thousands of taxpayers across the nation and globally through the morass of SALT, freeing them to concentrate on growth. Joining Judy are the wickedly smart members of the SALTovation team, who have seen, worked with and tamed some of the most prickly issues in SALT. They enjoy sharing their stories and knowledge with listeners.

Solving the SALT puzzle doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it takes a community. So, we invite leaders in business and state and local tax to share their stories, challenges and successes on this show. Drop us a line at SALTovation.com if you'd like to join the conversation and tune into our regular series at TaxOps.com.