Stanley R. Arnold joined Rath, Young and Pignatelli as an advisor in 2003, shortly after his retirement as Commissioner of New Hampshire’s Department of Revenue Administration.  Stan represents the Firm on national business and government task forces dedicated to improving the administration of taxes.  Stan also provides advice on state and local tax policy for clients that may have questions on effectively interacting with the revenue departments of various states.  In addition, Stan advises corporations on issues related to the management and administration of their tax departments.

In his 14-year tenure as Commissioner, Stan served four governors from both political parties as he made New Hampshire’s tax administration a model of innovation and simplicity for taxpayers.  Stan used his business experience to develop a tax policy designed to allow taxpayers to understand their legal obligations without ambiguity.  During his 30 years of tax experience, Stan has prepared tax returns for individuals and small businesses, audited multistate businesses for state tax issues, administered state assessment and tax laws, evaluated tax legislation for the governor and Legislature and provided policy advice for public decision-makers.

As commissioner, Stan helped develop the Business Enterprise Tax, which has stabilized revenue during the current economic contraction.  The tax, an innovative way to broaden New Hampshire’s tax base, is now being considered by several other states as a model for their own tax reforms.

Stan also participated in the creation of the electric consumption tax in collaboration with utilities, business executives and government leaders to replace the property based franchise tax.  By taking action prior to actual deregulation, the state’s progress toward electricity deregulation was simplified.

Stan served on three national task forces during his service as commissioner, all of them addressing deregulation and technology and how these changes influence tax policy.

Stan served on the National Tax Association Communications and Electronic Commerce Task Force, which sought to reconcile the differing views that state, county, local government and business have on the taxation of electronic commerce.

From 1994 until his retirement, Stan chaired the Task Force on EDI Audit and Legal Issues for Tax Administration. The task force, a cooperative effort of business and government tax experts, produced seven white papers on evolving issues created by the electronic business environment.

In the early 1990s Stan served on the Taxation of Financial Institutions task force, which developed model regulations for the multi-state tax treatment of the banking industry as it changed from a regulated to a deregulated environment.

Stan is a past president of the Federation of Tax Administrators and a past president of the Northeast States Tax Officials Association. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New Hampshire Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Stan’s additional managerial experience comes from 24 years in the United States Army, rising to command sergeant major of an artillery battalion.