New Stetson Tax Innovators Exchange goes virtual with first conference

Nate Wadlinger, Lecturer at Florida State University and a certified public accountant, shares his presentation during the Stetson Tax Innovators Exchange.
Nate Wadlinger, Lecturer at Florida State University and a certified public accountant, shares his presentation during the Stetson Tax Innovators Exchange.

By George Thurlow

On Nov. 13, 2020, Stetson University College of Law and the Tax Law Society sponsored the first Stetson Tax Innovators Exchange (S.T.I.X.) featuring experts in the fields of environmental taxation and tax technology.

Speakers included Professor Roberta Mann from the University of Oregon School of Law, David Blair, a partner at Crowell & Morig, accountant Nate Wadlinger, and Daniel Town and Daniel Raymer—both recent Stetson Law graduates who crafted award-winning environmental taxation papers.

Mann discussed how tax policy can impact innovation and the environment, focusing on automation, entrepreneurship, and working from home. Blair examined the recent Internal Revenue Code 45Q carbon capture tax credit developments and the necessity for economic incentives for environmental action. Wadlinger explained how artificial intelligence can improve tax practice—including a program that could calculate the odds of success on a particular tax dispute in a particular jurisdiction, which can be an invaluable tool in determining whether a potential dispute is worthwhile to pursue.

Town presented on his paper “From Futile to Utile: Addressing the key role of Florida’s Electric Utility Companies in mitigating Sea-Level Rise,” which focused on addressing sea-level rise through the lens of electric companies – the highest emitters of carbon. He proposed three solutions: a gradual increase in taxes and fees on some aspects of Florida electric utility companies, offering tax credits and subsidies for transitioning to more environmentally-friendly power generation, and reforming electric utility regulations as an incentive to adopt a more climate-conscious, public welfare approach — all while maintaining a profit-making structure that can both maintain revenue and reduce the impact of sea level rise in Florida.

Raymer shared his paper “Plastic Tax: An Alternative to Plastic Alternatives,” which focuses on the consequences of rising sea-level on Florida’s economy and proposes a hybrid of upstream and downstream taxes on targeted single-use plastics that will not only potentially deter overuse of such plastics, but also generate an adequate disaster fund to alleviate the state’s burden of funding the future damages and revenue loss caused by the threat of rising sea levels.

S.T.I.X. was also sponsored by the Tax Section of The Florida Bar and included Florida CLE.  This year’s seminar was open to the public and free of charge. Organizers plan to make it an annual event.