who we are

The California Taxpayers Association was established in 1926 by taxpayers as a nonpartisan, nonprofit tax research and advocacy association.

CalTax members include individuals, small businesses and Fortune 500 companies operating in every sector of the California economy. We are the state’s largest and oldest organization representing taxpayers, with a mission to promote sound tax policy and government efficiency.

Located just one block from the Capitol in Sacramento, we have a team of experts who actively represent taxpayers before the Legislature. Our team also serves on the advisory councils for the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, Franchise Tax Board, Office of Tax Appeals, and State Board of Equalization.

CalTax also engages in state and local ballot measures by providing analysis and making recommendations to voters.

The David R. Doerr Medal

The David R. Doerr Medal for Excellence in Tax Policy, named in honor of a legendary policy expert and taxpayer advocate, is awarded every year to recognize those who follow in Doerr’s footsteps.

Dave began his career in the California State Assembly in 1959 and served as chief tax consultant to the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee from 1963 to 1987, when he joined CalTax and served as our chief tax consultant until his passing in 2022. During his tenure as the Assembly’s top tax expert, Dave was responsible for drafting legislation that reformed assessment practices (AB 80 of 1966), exempted business inventories from annual taxation, created water’s-edge provisions (SB 85 of 1986), and implemented Proposition 13 of 1978 (SB 154 of 1978). At CalTax, Dave literally wrote the book on tax policy in California (California’s Tax Machine: A History of Taxing and Spending in the Golden State).

To honor Dave’s legacy, CalTax established the Doerr Medal to celebrate those who mentor a new generation of tax experts and have a positive impact on tax policy. The Doerr Medal is awarded every year at the CalTax Annual Meeting.

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Doerr Medal Recipients

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2023

Teresa Casazza, CalTax President from 2007 through 2018

Teresa served as president and chief executive officer of CalTax from 2007 until retiring in 2018, and was the first woman to lead a major broad-based statewide business association in California. She steered the organization through historic state budget crises and major reforms, including establishing independent redistricting (Proposition 11 of 2008), a transparency measure requiring legislation to be in print at least 72 hours before a vote is held (Proposition 54 of 2016), and taxpayer protections that define the difference between taxes and fees (Proposition 26 of 2010). Prior to leading CalTax, Teresa worked as a certified public accountant and in the early 1990s opened the first high-tech policy office in Sacramento (for the American Electronics Association, where she served as vice president and legislative advocate). Teresa taught a fledgling tech industry how to engage in Sacramento, develop policy platforms, and create meaningful relationships in the Capitol. In addition to winning many battles for taxpayers’ rights, Teresa broke glass ceilings, and her expertise and tenacity made the California business community much stronger and more inclusive.

Board of Directors

The CalTax Board of Directors is composed of tax policy experts and public affairs representatives who seek to improve California and advance CalTax’s mission. Each director brings a unique set of skills, expertise, and diversity to our organization.

Jon Almeras

Airlines for America

Carlos Anguiano

AT&T

Jim Asay

Sempra

John Barnes

T-Mobile

Delia Besio

Franklin Templeton Investments

Nicolaus Blackburn

Granite Construction

Michael Brown

Abbott Laboratories

John Cmelak

Verizon

Cheyanne Cook

Altria

Joseph Coughlin

AbbVie

Mardiros 'Marty' Dakessian

Dakessian Law, Ltd.

Calli Daly

Koch Industries

Kristine Dankenbrink

Comcast

Chesley Dillon

TracFone Wireless

Ben Elliott

Deloitte

Meredith H. Garwood

Charter Communications

Martin Guenther

Tenet Healthcare

Tim Gustafson

Eversheds Sutherland

Tyler Henderson

Amazon

Christopher Hayes

RAI Services

Melanie Hoskins

Walmart

Fran Inman

Majestic Realty Company

Trini Jimenez

Watson Land Company

Kevin Keane

American Beverage Association

Erica Kenney

NextEra Energy

Thomas Klingler

Enterprise Holdings

Stephen Konig

Marathon Petroleum

Jason Lane

California Bankers Association

Michael Langford

Farmers Insurance

Michael Lebeau

Bewley Lassleben & Miller, LLP

Clara Lee

The Wonderful Company

Martin Loeber

Valero Energy

Maria Mirkovski

Netflix

Kevin Miller

Dry Creek Corporation

Ocean Mills

BlackRock

Charles Moll

McDermott Will & Emery, LLP

Jeffrey S. Moreno

Wells Fargo & Company

Omar Munoz

KPMG

Sabrina Nussipov

Intuit

Cris K. O'Neall

Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Sara O'Neill

Aera Energy

Wade Philips

Shell USA

Curtis Raulinaitis

Anheuser-Busch

Carley Roberts

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP

Gina Rodriquez

Ryan

Jerry Ruskowski

General Electric Company

Terry Ryan

Apple

Shane Simpson

United Parcel Service

Daniel Smith

Google

Jon A. Sperring

PwC

Mark Stefan

Ernst & Young

Jeremy Stohs

H&R Block

John Stowell

The Walt Disney Company

Joe Strong

Microsoft

David Uphaus

BNSF Railway

Steve Utech

Union Pacific Railroad

Barry Weissman

Individual

Jana Wells

Solar Turbines

Patricia Wong

Edison International

William Wright

Bank of America

Michelle Wright Conn

Cisco Systems

Elena Xu

Meta Platforms

Andrew Zalewski

Chevron

Becky Zhu

Pacific Gas & Electric Company

STAFF

CalTax has the most experienced tax policy and tax-lobbying staff in Sacramento. When working on tax policy issues before the Legislature, the tax agencies, local governments, in court, or on statewide ballots, the CalTax policy team is an effective partner to CalTax members. We closely monitor legislative, tax agency, and local government tax policy deliberations, and coordinate with CalTax members and industry representatives to promote tax policy changes that would reduce the cost of doing business and encourage job growth in California – changes that would have a positive impact on CalTax members and the state economy.
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Robert Gutierrez

President and CEO

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David Kline

Vice President of Communications & Research

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Peter Blocker

Vice President of Policy

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Bart Baer

Chief Tax Counsel

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Joan Armenta-Roberts

Sales Tax Consultant

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Tobias Wolken

Legislative Aide

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Lexey Chandler

Associate Director of Membership & Operations

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Annie Lor

Publications & Website Specialist

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Desiree Webb

Accountant

National Taxpayers Conference

CalTax is an active member of the National Taxpayers Conference, which consists of state organizations dedicated to promoting sound tax policy and producing independent analysis of public finance issues. Other members include the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, and the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association.