Annapolis, MD (June 11, 2008) - Comptroller Peter Franchot today announced the election of Deputy Comptroller Linda Tanton as president of the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA). Tanton was elected by a vote of her peers at the group's 2008 annual meeting in Philadelphia, Pa. Franchot praised Tanton's leadership as a key member of his senior staff and recognized her many accomplishments in making the Comptroller's Office a national leader in the field of state tax administration.
"Throughout her distinguished career with the Maryland Comptroller's Office, Linda's expertise and extraordinary leadership qualities have made her an invaluable member of the team. She continues to play a pivotal role as we work to take this great agency to an even higher level. As one of the leading national organizations for state tax administration, the FTA will be well-served over the coming year as she brings invaluable energy and experience in her new role," said Comptroller Franchot.
"I am honored and humbled by the confidence and trust put in me through the vote of my peers from across the country," said Deputy Comptroller Tanton. "Maryland has enjoyed a strong partnership with the FTA for years. My predecessor, Stephen Cordi, also served as president of the FTA. In this role of president, I look forward to applying the same lessons and principles that I have learned during my time at the Comptroller's Office and highlighting Maryland's successes as a leader in state tax administration."
The FTA was organized in 1937 to improve the quality of state tax administration by providing services to state tax authorities and administrators. These services include research and information exchange, training and intergovernmental and interstate coordination. The federation also represents the interests of state tax administrators before federal policymakers.
A nonprofit, the FTA serves the principal tax collection agencies of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the City of New York. The work of the FTA is directed and governed by an eighteen-member board of trustees composed of tax administrators representing all regions of the country. The board's four officers, including the president, first and second vice-presidents and the secretary, are elected annually by the general membership.
Tanton has been an active member of the FTA for over 10 years, including serving two years as a board of trustees member and then most recently as its first-vice president. In her new role as president, Tanton will preside at FTA meetings, appoint committee members and perform other various duties.
Prior to her appointment as deputy comptroller in January 2006, Tanton served as director of the Compliance Division, a position she held beginning in 1994. She also served as assistant director of the Compliance Division from 1993 to 1994. Before reorganization of the Comptroller's Office, Tanton was the assistant to director of the Retail Sales Tax Division/Sales and Use Tax Division from 1980 to 1993. She originally started her career in state service in 1977 as a staff attorney for the Retail Sales Tax Division.
Tanton is a graduate of Wake Forest University. She earned her law degree from the University of Baltimore and later received her L.L.M. in Tax Law from Georgetown University. She was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1975.
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