Recipient of the 2012 Wade Anderson Medal Award
Michael E. Mason, Deputy Revenue Commissioner for the Alabama Department of Revenue, was awarded the Wade Anderson Memorial Medal for Leadership in Interstate Tax Cooperation at the Commission’s annual meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on August 1, 2012.
Mason is the ninth recipient of the Wade Anderson medal, which is awarded jointly by the MTC and the Federation of Tax Administrators. The award presentation alternates between the MTC annual meeting and the FTA annual meeting.
Mason began his 38-year career with the Alabama Department of Revenue as a revenue field examiner. He became Deputy Revenue Commissioner after serving more than a dozen years as the head of what is now called the Tax Policy and Research Division.
Mason’s enthusiasm for making tax administration better for the state, the country, the taxpayers, and the administrators is exemplified in the many areas and activities in which he is involved, including —
- Serving
as Alabama’s representative to the MTC’s Uniformity and Nexus Committees, as
well as the Executive Committee in absence of the Commissioner.
- Serving for the past eight years on
the AICPA’s (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) State and
Local Tax Committee, providing a state
governmental perspective to the committee serving a valuable liaison function
between the AICPA and the MTC.
- Awarded the Outstanding Alabama CPA in
Governmental Service award.
- Serving
on Discussions Panels at the Paul J. Hartman State & Local Tax Forum and
published in State Tax Notes.
- Participation
in Alabama's Streamlined Sales Tax Project, where he provided guidance in the
drafting of the 2011 legislation which created Alabama's Streamlined Sales and
Use Tax Commission. This commission is
composed of members of the business community, local government
representatives, and representatives from the Department of Revenue.
- Conceived the legislation
creating Optional Network Election for Single Point Online Transactions (ONE
SPOT). He worked with business
community, local government partners, etc. to streamline business processes to
significantly reduce the administrative burden on businesses with locations or
other physical presence in multiple cities and counties within the state.
About the Wade Anderson Award
The medal honors Wade Anderson, who spent 30 years in a variety of positions with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and also served several more years as a tax attorney in the private sector. He was a founding member of the Border States Caucus of tax agencies in states along the U.S.-Mexico border and served as member of the boards of the Federation of Tax Administrators and the Multistate Tax Commission. In 1992 he was the winner of the FTA Award for Outstanding Service and Leadership. The Wade Anderson Memorial Medal was established after his death in 2003 to commemorate his tireless and creative efforts to promote interstate cooperation among tax agencies and between tax administrators and taxpayers. The award is to be given annually to an individual who best exemplifies his commitment to interstate cooperation to promote fairness, simplicity and consistency in state tax administration.
Medal winners are chosen by representatives of the FTA Board of Trustees and the MTC Executive Committee, selected from nominations submitted by state tax agency employees.