Mississippi Tax Institute

Featured Speakers

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  Gray Edmondson

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  Gray Edmondson, J.D., LL.M., is a partner in the firm Edmondson Sage Allen, PLLC, in Oxford, Mississippi, and practices in partnership, corporate, and individual tax planning; business transactions; tax controversy; estate and wealth transfer planning; probate; estate and trust litigation; asset protection; and charitable planning. Mr. Edmondson has conducted, authored, and directed numerous seminars for professional, academic, and civic groups on taxation, business planning, asset protection and estate planning. He is a member of the Mississippi State Bar Association, Past President of the Mississippi Bar Estates and Trusts Section, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Federal District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, and all Mississippi Courts. Mr. Edmondson earned his B.A., cum laude, and his B.P.A., cum laude, at the University of Mississippi; his J.D., cum laude, at the University of Mississippi School of Law; and his LL.M. at the New York University School of Law.

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  Tyler Noesser

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  Tyler is a Technical Director at alliant, specializing in the engineering, manufacturing, and system integration industries.

  An engineer by trade, Tyler combines his strong industry expertise with his knowledge of the tax code to help American businesses identify powerful government-sponsored incentives. To date, Tyler has worked with hundreds of small to mid-sized businesses to help them claim more than $500 million in credits and incentives.

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  Mike Carraway

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  Michael Carraway has been working with businesses and individuals since 1995, advising large corporate groups, small start-ups, and everything in between. He has worked at the deepest levels of tax planning for partnerships and corporations, solving income tax puzzles, helping to structure transactions, and providing strategic advice to businessowners and executives. In addition to a CPA, Mike is also a Certified Valuation Analyst, performing work in the areas of business valuation, expert witness, and other related areas in which business value, cash flow, and structure are important.

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  David Aughtry

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  DAVID D. AUGHTRY (B.A., The Citadel, 1975; M., Acc., University of South Carolina, 1978; J.D., University of South Carolina, 1978; LL.M., Taxation, Emory University, 1982). David opened the Atlanta Office of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry in 1986. He practices in the area of civil tax controversy. David has tried or argued over 100 federal tax cases across the Tax Court, various District Courts, the Court of Federal Claims, eight U.S. Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
  David taught tax controversy as an Adjunct Professor at Emory University School of Law (1987- 93, 1997-98, 2003), and served as an instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, "Litigating before the United States Tax Court" program (1993-2000, 2018). In his prior life, he served as the Trial Attorney and Tax Shelter Coordinator for the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service (1978-82). He is a Fellow in the International Society of Barristers and in the American College of Tax Counsel. David served as president (2010) and Chair (2011) of the Southern Federal Tax Institutes.
  Beyond recognition for his tax controversy work by Chambers U.S.A., and the Legal 500 U.S. Tax Controversy, and Best Lawyers in America, David received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fulton County Daily Report in 2019 and Best Lawyers named him Lawyer of the Year (Tax Litigation) in 2020.

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  Jan Craig

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  Jan Craig serves as the Associate Commissioner for Income and Property Taxes for the Mississippi Department of Revenue in Jackson. She has held this position since 2011. As the Associate Commissioner, Ms. Craig oversees the Income Taxes which include Individual Income Tax, Corporate Income and Franchise Tax, Withholding, Miscellaneous Taxes, the Customer Service area for the Department, and the Property Tax area which includes the Motor Vehicle Registration and Title. Ms. Craig has been with the Department for 22 years and has served in the Income Tax Bureau and Miscellaneous Tax Bureau. Ms. Craig holds an MBA from Delta State University and a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of Mississippi. She is also a CPA.

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  Brad Hatchett, CPA, CVA

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  Brad has been with GranthamPoole since 2008, with varied practice areas. Before joining GranthamPoole he spent a number of years with International Accounting Firms.
  Brad Graduated with a BS from Samford University in 1995 and a MBA from the University of Alabama.
  He is a member of the AICPA, MSCPA, Central Chapter of the MSCPA and NACVA.

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  Melanie Woodrick

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  Melanie has been with GranthamPoole since 2005 with varied practice areas.
  She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Business Administration.
  Melanie is a member of the AICPA, MSCPA, and the Central Chapter of the MSCPA.

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  John Fletcher

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  John Fletcher, J.D., LL.M., is a Partner with Jones Walker, LLP, in the Tax & Estates Practice Group and practices from the Jackson, Mississippi office. With more than twenty years' experience in the legal, corporate, and accounting arenas, his practice focuses primarily on state tax matters, encompassing Mississippi, Louisiana and multi-state income, franchise, sales, use and local ad valorem taxes. Mr. Fletcher earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Delta State University, where he currently serves on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, and his Juris Doctor at The University of Mississippi School of Law. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in Tennessee, is active with the Mississippi Economic Council and Mississippi Manufacturer's Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association's State and Local Tax Subcommittee, the Institute for Professionals in Taxation ("IPT"), and the Council on State Taxation ("COST").

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  Bridgette Thomas

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  Bridgette Thomas currently serves as the Chief Counsel for the Mississippi Department of Revenue. As Chief Counsel, Bridgette oversees the Department's Legal Division, Bankruptcy Section, Review Board, and Office of Tax Policy. Prior to her position as Chief Counsel, she spent over 10 years as a senior attorney with the Department's Legal Division where she represented the Department as lead counsel in many of the state's corporate income and franchise tax cases.
  Before joining the Department, Bridgette spent several years practicing law in both the private and public sectors in the areas of insurance defense and child support enforcement. Bridgette holds a Bachelor of Accountancy and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Mississippi State University and a J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law.