Chris leads the firm's State & Local Tax (SALT) Practice. His practice spans most tax matters, but focuses primarily on New York State and New York City business taxes, including corporate income tax, unincorporated business tax, flow-through entity income taxation, and sales and use taxes. Chris provides counsel for tax-wise transaction structuring as well as tax controversy representation at every level, from audit representation to representation before New York's Court of Appeals. Chris is a former instructor of tax practice and procedure at the University of Buffalo School of Management. Honors ● Listed, 2012 Upstate New York Super Lawyers Experience $20 Million Sales Tax Refund Claims on Behalf of Hotel Clients 75-Turbine, 112.5 MW Wind Energy Project in Western New York Administrative Law Judge-Level Hearing and Successful Appeal at NY's Tax Appeals Tribunal Gas Import Tax Declared Unconstitutional Nonresident Avoids Tax on Deemed Sales of Assets in New York Planning Nets Tobacco Products Business a Cool Million Tax Assessment Defeated, Client Obtains Attorneys’ Fees from State Professional Affiliations ● Independent SALT Alliance board of directors ● Buffalo Institute on Taxation (past co-chair) ● Bar Association of Erie County Taxation Committee (past chair)

Debra Herman is a partner in the Hodgson Russ LLP's State & Local Tax Practice. She is widely recognized for her experience in state and local taxation. Debra works with a variety of clients to address the state and local tax impact of their multistate activities from both a planning and an audit and controversy viewpoint and on complex transactions, with a focus on New York State tax matters. Debra counsels clients with respect to corporate income and franchise taxes, bank taxes, utility taxes, unincorporated business taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes, excise taxes on real property transfers, rent and occupancy taxes, and withholding taxes. She also has extensive experience working with high-net-worth clients on residence and other personal income tax matters and successfully representing clients in all phases of tax disputes, including audits and litigation at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as criminal tax investigations. Debra’s clients have included domestic and global financial service companies, law firms, real estate investment trusts and cooperatives, manufacturers, retailers, airlines, entertainers, high-net-worth individuals, and tax-exempt organizations. Debra served as the chair of the State and Local Tax Committee of the New York City Bar Association and is the past Immediate Chair of the State and Local Tax Committee of the American Bar Association, Tax Section. She is also a nationally recognized author on state tax topics. She co-authored the BNA Portfolio “New York Sales and Use Taxes” and a bimonthly article on New York State and New York City taxation in the New York Law Journal and writes a monthly column in the Journal of Taxation on state and local tax matters before the U.S. Supreme Court. Debra is a frequent speaker on state and local tax issues and has appeared before such groups as Tax Executives Institute, the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Debra has twenty-five years of experience representing clients in state tax audits and New York State and New York City tax litigation, obtaining federal and state rulings and advisory opinions, providing tax opinion letters, and assisting with voluntary disclosures and collection matters.

As a member of the State and Local Tax (SALT) Practice, Joseph (Joe) works with clients to navigate New York State’s vast system of tax laws. His primary focus is on New York State and New York City taxes, but he also counsels clients on multistate SALT matters, including sales tax and various business taxes. Joe works to simplify the ins-and-outs of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for his clients. During his tenure, he has worked extensively with Department of Taxation personnel, which has given him insight into what auditors look for, allowing him to craft nuanced strategies focused on efficiently resolving each client’s audit. Joe understands that the best way to win a residency audit is to plan ahead. He counsels clients moving out of New York State through the entire audit process from start to finish – including helping to develop a legally-grounded strategy for a move that aims to help clients strengthen their change of domicile position and decrease their audit risk. Joe also assists clients looking to move out of California. When a client is met with an audit notice, Joe focuses on not only easing that burden for his client, but also quickly and proficiently working through the process in order to obtain an economical outcome. When working with clients to help resolve tax disputes, Joe crafts unique and individualized approaches for each scenario. He understands that not all clients are the same and develops distinctive solutions for each case. In addition to his work with clients, Joe also is the host of the first ever Hodgson Russ LLP podcast, “State Tax Talks with Joe Tantillo.” As the host, Joe works to un-complicate some of New York State’s most complicated tax laws and requirements for listeners, bringing in SALT experts to provide additional commentary on current issues faced by taxpayers around the United States. Joe is a regular contributor to the Noonan’s Notes tax blog, and has published several articles on various topics in the world of SALT. Joe also enjoys public speaking on tax topics, and has presented on SALT issues both in person and in Webinars. Joe is licensed to practice in New York State, California, and Washington, D.C.