Annette Nellen, CPA, CGMA, Esq. is a professor at San José State University teaching graduate level tax courses for the MST and Advanced Tax Practice Certificate Programs. She teaches tax research, taxation of property transactions, advanced individual tax, ethics and tax policy courses. Annette directs 91做厙’s TEI-91做厙 High Tech Tax Institute and Blockchain Tax Conference. She chaired the 91做厙 Academic Senate (2003-2005) and is a recipient of the Outstanding Professor and Distinguished Service Awards at 91做厙.
Annette is active in the tax sections of the AICPA (including former chair of the Tax Executive Committee and current chair of the Digital Assets Tax Task Force, and member of the SALT TRP), ABA (Council Director, and past chair of two committees (Tax Policy & Simplification; Sales, Exchanges and Basis), California Lawyers Association, and the American Academy of Attorney-CPAs. In 2023 she was appointed to the IRS Advisory Council (IRSAC) for a 3-year term, served as chair for 2024 and was reappointed for a fourth year for 2026.
Annette is the recipient of the 2013 Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award given by the Tax Division of the AICPA, the highest award given by the accounting profession in taxation, and the 2019 Benjamin F. Miller Award from the Taxation Section of the California Lawyers Association for achievement and contribution in the field of state and local taxation law. In 2023, she was awarded the Sid Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education from the AICPA. In 2026 Annette received the Distinguished Service Award from CalCPA. She was named to Accounting Today’s 2024 and 2025 Lists of 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. Annette is a fellow with the American College of Tax Counsel. She is a research fellow with the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies of Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
Annette authors Bloomberg Tax Portfolio #533, Amortization of Intangibles, and Tax Analysts’ Tax Notes State Moving Forward? column. She is co-author/co-editor of four tax textbooks from Cengage (the South-Western Federal Taxation (SWFT) series). She is a regular author for Tax Analysts’ Tax Notes State, with a column called Moving Forward? Annette is a frequent speaker on tax developments, digital assets, ethics, tax reform and tax policy. She was the lead author of the AICPA’s Guiding principles of good tax policy (still in use today). She has testified several times before various legislative committees and tax reform commissions on tax policy and reform, most recently on October 1, 2025 before the Senate Finance Committee on digital asset taxation. Annette runs the 21st Century Taxation website and blog, started in 2007 to focus on raising awareness and encouraging discussion on how to help tax systems reflect how we live and do business today and follow principles of good tax policy (21stcenturytaxation.com).
Contact information:
Professor Annette Nellen
Lucas College and Graduate School of Business
San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0066
(408) 924-3508
http://www.sjsu.edu/people/annette.nellen
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This page last updated August 28. 2026