Annette Nellen

Annette Nellen is a lawyer, CPA, academic and author. She is a professor as well as the director of the graduate tax program at the San José State University.

Nellen is most known for her works on taxation, primarily focusing on the taxation of e-commerce, tax reform and tax policy matters. Among her authored works are her publications in academic journals, including Tax Notes State, and Journal of Taxation of Investments as well as books such as Tax Aspects of Business Transactions: A First Course and South-Western Federal Taxation: Individual Income Taxes. Moreover, she also authored the Bloomberg BNA Tax Portfolio number 533, Amortization of Intangibles.

Nellen received the Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award in 2013 from the Tax Division of the AICPA, the highest honor in taxation within the accounting profession. In 2019, she also earned the Benjamin F. Miller Award from the Taxation Section of the California Lawyers Association. Furthermore, in June 2023, she was honored with the Sid Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education by the AICPA. She holds the title of fellow at the American College of Tax Counsel and serves as a research fellow at the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies of Joint Venture Silicon Valley.

Education
Nellen completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge, followed by a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University in 1981. Later in 1987, she obtained a J.D. from Loyola Law School.

Career
Nellen began her academic career in 1990 by joining the San Jose State University where she became a professor in 1996. Additionally, she serves as the director of the graduate tax program at the university.

Nellen has been engaged in the tax sections of the AICPA, where she previously chaired the Tax Executive Committee and has been leading the Virtual Currency & Digital Assets Tax Task Force. In 2023, she was appointed to the IRS Advisory Council (IRSAC), later assuming the role of vice chair in July. She also runs the 21st Century Taxation website and blog. She is a frequent speaker on cryptocurrency, tax developments, tax policy and tax reform.

Research
Nellen's tax research focuses on tax reforms and state taxation as well as curriculum development in taxation studies. She was the lead author of the Guiding Principles of Good Tax Policy: A Framework for Evaluating Tax Proposals, presenting a set of 12 principles for assessing proposed changes to existing tax regulations. Her 2021 op-ed offered 3 questions to ask Congress that would make United States' tax system more fair and simple. In her textbook titled Tax Aspects of Business Transactions: A First Course, she provided an overview of tax concepts, highlighted the interplay between financial and tax accounting, underscored the significance of tax regulations and principles in financial accounting, and illustrated the pivotal role of taxes in the business decision-making process. Emphasizing the need to adapt tax policies and rules to the modern digital age, specifically with regard to Internet transactions and e-commerce, she offered a structured framework for analyzing and addressing these challenges within the principles of good tax policy. Her 2015 study proposed that entrepreneurs and their tax advisors need to be proactive in adapting to the evolving landscape of technology and taxation, and they should anticipate new guidance and regulations as the digital economy continues to transform the business environment. In her formal analysis of US tax policies, she argued that poorly structured taxes lead to significant reductions in taxes for high-income individuals and advocated for the elimination of costly and unnecessary tax breaks to improve equity, neutrality and simplicity of tax systems. Moreover, she conducted an analysis of the role of consumption taxes within California's taxation system and subsequently offered recommendations for potential tax system reforms aimed at achieving specific objectives pertaining to revenue generation, equity, and the mitigation of externalities.

Awards and honors

 * 2001 – Outstanding Professor, San José State University
 * 2005 – Distinguished Service Award, San José State University
 * 2013 – Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award, San José State University
 * 2019 – Benjamin F. Miller Award, California Lawyers Association Taxation Section
 * 2023 – Sid Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Books

 * Tax Aspects of Business Transactions: A First Course (1998) ISBN 978-0073228785
 * South-Western Federal Taxation 2022: Individual Income Taxes (2021) ISBN 9780357519073 (co-author/co-editor, plus related texts and additional years)

Selected articles

 * Nellen, A. (2009). Integrating Modern World Tax Issues In the Classroom. The Tax Adviser, 40(5), 327–330.
 * Nellen, A. (2012). Internet taxation and principles of good tax policy. Policy & Internet, 4(1), 1–21.
 * Nellen, A. (2015). Taxation and today's digital economy. J. Tax Prac. & Proc., 17, 17.
 * Nellen, A. (2018). New State and Local Tax Obligations in Cyberspace. Bus. Law., 74, 279.
 * Nellen, A. (2020). Now Is the Time To Start Fixing the Sales Tax Base. Tax Notes State., 97, 987.
 * Nellen, A. (2022). Form to Increase Transparency of Reconciling Information Returns. Tax Notes State., 104, 1211.