Beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year, Georgetown offers a Certificate in State and Local Taxation (SALT). This area of practice is extremely important to multi-state corporate taxpayers, from Fortune 500 companies to regional businesses. The SALT field offers promising career opportunities in major accounting firms, state and local revenue departments, and law firms.

Georgetown’s SALT curriculum covers the principal sources of state revenue — income/franchise taxes, sales/use taxes, property taxes, and the incentive programs connected with them — as well as federal constitutional limitations on state taxing power and the procedures used to resolve SALT disputes. Students can supplement these core courses with electives addressing such topics as value-added taxation, public finance, and municipal securities.

Faculty are drawn from major law and accounting firms, the Multistate Tax Commission, the Council on State Taxation, and NGOs devoted to this field. The courses will feature guest speakers from the public and private sectors who likewise are prominent SALT experts. Participating firms and agencies will offer externships that enable students to gain practical experience in this area.

This Certificate may be completed as a standalone program on a part-time basis, or in conjunction with the LL.M. degree in Taxation. Because the courses presuppose a basic understanding of U.S. constitutional law, the SALT Certificate is generally open only to students who received their J.D. degree in the United States. To be admitted for the Certificate, students must have taken a basic course in federal income taxation.

SALT flyer

The four required courses comprising the core of the SALT curriculum are:

State and Local Taxation: Income & Franchise Taxes (2 credits, Fall Semester)
State and Local Taxation: Business Taxes Other Than Income-Based Taxes (3 credits, Fall Semester)
Federal Limitations on State and Local Taxes (2 credits, Spring Semester)
Special Topics in State and Local Taxation (3 credits, Spring Semester)

Students may choose to supplement these required courses with elective courses that delve into related areas, such as Public Finance: Tax and Securities Aspects and Global Indirect Tax: The VAT.

Contact Information

To learn more about the Certificate in State and Local Taxation, please contact:

Albert G. Lauber
Director of Tax and Securities Programs
Office of Graduate Programs
600 New Jersey Avenue, N.W.
Suite 6000, Hotung Building
Washington, D.C. 20001-2022
(202) 662-9124
agl26@law.georgetown.edu

Revised November 17, 2011 (mbj)