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Jeff Phang

Senior Associate
Sacramento

Senior Associate, Sacramento

T: +1.916.329.4723
T: +1.916.329.4723

Areas of Focus

Jeffrey Phang is based in the Sacramento office, with a focus on state and local tax controversy.

Jeff advises clients with state tax and local income, franchise, and sales and use tax issues. Jeff focuses primarily on tax controversy including voluntary disclosure agreements, audit defense, protest, settlement negotiation, and appeals proceedings. Jeff also advises on mergers and acquisition state and local tax diligence for a diverse range of businesses.

 

Representative Experience

  • Represented a technology client before the California Franchise Tax Board, State Board of Equalization and Office of Tax Appeals and secured a favorable closing agreement related to an apportionment dispute.
  • Assisted a grocery retailer with a multi-year unitary combination dispute and achieved a favorable settlement resolution with the California Franchise Tax Board.
  • Represented aerospace client before the California Franchise Tax Board and secured favorable settlement related to sourcing dispute.

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  • Represented asset management client in dispute regarding qualified investment partnership status.
  • Assisted investors with state sourcing issues related to disposition of business interests.

Professional Highlights

Honors & Awards

  • Recognized by Chambers USA for Tax: State & Local (2025).

Publications

  • “California Governor Releases 2025 Budget Proposal to Move Banks and Financial Corporations to Single-Sales-Factor Apportionment,” Pillsbury Client Alert, with Jeffrey Vesely and Zachary Atkins, February 20, 2025.
  • “California OTA Denies Credit for NYC Business Taxes in Precedential Opinion,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts, Robert P. Merten III and Taylor A.F. Wolff, December 9, 2024.

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  • “California’s Market-Based Sourcing Amendments; Public Hearing Requests Due by Oct. 16,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts and Robert P. Merten III, October 7, 2024.
  • “California’s 2024-2025 Budget Seeks to Block $1.3 Billion of Refunds for Water’s Edge Taxpayers, Suspend NOL Deductions, and Limit Tax Credit Utilization,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts, Jeffrey Vesely, and Robert P. Merten III, June 5, 2024.
  • “Reminder: ‘Gross’ Does Not Mean ‘Net’ – California OTA Holds All Repatriated Dividends Must Be Included in Sales Factor,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts, Robert P. Merten III, and Nolan Kessler, April 4, 2024.
  • “Winter Storm Relief – California’s 2024 Extended Deadlines to File and Pay Taxes,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Robert P. Merten III and Carley Roberts, March 20, 2024.
  • “No Day Off for Buehler: California Sources Gain from Sale of Intangible to Domicile and Denies Other State Tax Credit,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts, May 17, 2023.
  • “UPDATE: California Adds New Counties, Further Extends Deadlines to File and Pay Taxes for Businesses and Individuals Affected by Severe Winter Storms,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Robert P. Merten III and Carley Roberts, March 8, 2023.
  • “California Extends Deadlines to File and Pay Taxes for Businesses and Individuals Affected by Severe Winter Storms,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts and Robert P. Merten III, January 23, 2023.
  • “The California Franchise Tax Board Fails to Follow the Order of Its Market-Based Sourcing Cascading Rules,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts, October 24, 2022.
  • “The Curious First Meeting of the MTC’s Model Receipts Sourcing Regulations Work Group,” Pillsbury Client Alert, with Zachary Atkins and Nolan Kessler, October 18, 2022.
  • “California Court Holds Nonresidents’ Pass-through Income from Intangibles Is Taxable if It Is Classified as Business Income at the Entity Level,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts, June 9, 2022.
  • “California Tax Credits and NOL Deductions Are Back! Governor Signs Legislation Reinstating Business Taxpayer Benefits Limited by 2020 Legislation,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Robert P. Merten III, February 10, 2022.
  • “How to Be Reasonable When Reasonably Approximating the Market: Part II,” Tax Notes State, with Carley Roberts, Robert P. Merten III, and Lexi Louderback, December 20, 2021.
  • “California Governor Vetoes Sales Tax Bill Seeking to Require Large Online Retailers to File Informational Reports Detailing Sales by Destination,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts and Robert P. Merten III, October 7, 2021.
  • “Taxpayer Files Court Action Challenging California’s Proposition 39 (2012) and its Mandatory Single-Sales Factor Apportionment Formula,” SeeSALT Blog Post, with Carley Roberts and Robert P. Merten III, September 20, 2021.
  • Speaking Engagements
    • “Reasonable Cause Standard – How Reasonable Is It?” 2024 Annual Meeting of the Tax Bar and Tax Policy Conference, November 2024, Anaheim, CA.
    • “Sourcing Income from Passthrough Entities & Developments Since Metropoulos,” 2023 Annual Meeting of the Tax Bar and Tax Policy Conference, November 2023, Palm Springs, CA.
    • “Top Corporate Income Tax Cases and Trends,” TEI Chicago Chapter Virtual State Income Tax Program,” December 2021, Webinar.
    • “Recent Developments in California Income Tax Apportionment and Sourcing Law,” California Lawyers Association, September 2021, Webinar.

Education

  • J.D., Seton Hall University School of Law, 2013
    cum laude

    B.S., University of California, Davis, 2010
    Managerial Economics, magna cum laude

Admissions

  • California

Courts

  • Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

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