Governor seeking candidates for tax commission as Dixon Pignanelli will not seek reappointment
SALT LAKE CITY (May 18, 2015) – Tax Commissioner D’Arcy Dixon Pignanelli has informed Gov. Gary R. Herbert she will not seek reappointment to the Utah State Tax Commission. She will serve until June 30, 2015.
“D’Arcy has served this state well, and I appreciate her service to the citizens of Utah,” said Gov. Herbert. “During her service she implemented programs and changes that improved services to taxpayers.”
“It has been an honor to serve the citizens and taxpayers of Utah,” said Dixon Pignanelli. “However, I also want to be part of a natural turnover and reinvigoration of new ideas and fresh perspectives in government.”
Commissioner Dixon Pignanelli was first appointed in 2006 by Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. to fill the one year remaining term of then commissioner Palmer Depaulis. She was reappointed in 2007 by Gov. Huntsman to a full four-year term, and again in 2011 by Gov. Herbert to a second four-year term.
“Over the last nine-years I worked to provide efficiencies and transparency, and to listen carefully to taxpayers and be willing to take a different perspective when I felt it important,” said Dixon Pignanelli. “As in all items, credit can be shared with those both inside and outside the Tax Commission, either a taxpayer or advocate who convincingly argued a different perspective on an appeal or individuals who helped a new service or program be successful.”
Dixon Pignanelli was asked by her fellow commissioners to serve as point person on many issues that required consistent attention, review, and coordination with multiple stakeholders both inside and outside of the tax commission. Among her contributions to the Commission is the creation of the redaction program, which assured the body of administrative case law being created by the commission was redacted and placed on line as a resource for taxpayers and tax practitioners. Redaction assures both taxpayer confidentiality and transparency in government. She also expanded mediation services to more timely address and resolve locally assessed property tax appeals filed to the commission, implemented the use of electronic signatures on appeal forms, and oversaw private letter rulings, internal audits and the appeals unit.
Consistent with Utah law, the Governor’s Office is requesting lists of potential appointees from the Utah State Bar, organizations representing certified public accountants licensed to practice in the state and organizations that represent persons who assess or appraise property in the state. The administration is also requesting potential appointees from national organizations that offer a professional tax certification in property tax, sales and use tax; and state income tax; and that require experience, education, and testing certification; and require additional education to maintain said certification.
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