Federation of Tax Administrators welcomes R.I. Tax Administrator as board president

Published on Tuesday, February 01, 2022

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) last week welcomed Tax Administrator Neena S. Savage as president of the national organization’s Board of Trustees.

Savage will assume the role of president of the FTA’s Board of Trustees, replacing Kimberly Lewis, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue, who leaves her role to be executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Louisiana State University.

“I am happy to share the news of Neena Savage’s appointment as president of the Board of Trustees of the Federation of Tax Administrators. It is a testament to her deep knowledge of tax and legal matters, hard work, and collegiality. I’m sure that federation members will benefit from her leadership.” said Guillermo Tello, Director of the R.I. Department of Revenue.

In accepting her appointment, Savage expressed her gratitude to Secretary Lewis for her leadership and guidance over the past 6 years.

“Secretary Lewis’ tireless dedication to and leadership of the FTA and its mission has been invaluable given the recent unprecedented challenges faced by state tax administrators. I hope to continue to lead the FTA’s Board of Trustees in building on the foundation that Secretary Lewis, Executive Director Bonardi, and the FTA Board of Trustees have established.”

Savage has served on the FTA Board of Trustees since 2017 and was appointed Rhode Island’s Tax Administrator on Jan. 4, 2017. She is an attorney with almost 30 years of legal experience in the nonprofit, public and private sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University and a Juris Doctorate from the Washington College of Law of the American University.

The Federation of Tax Administrators was organized in 1937 to improve the quality of state tax administration by providing services to state tax authorities and administrators. FTA provides services that include research and information exchange, training and intergovernmental and interstate coordination. FTA represents the interests of state tax administrators before federal policymakers where appropriate and serves the principal tax collection agencies of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Philadelphia, and New York City.

The Division of Taxation is one of six divisions that are part of the Rhode Island Department of Revenue. The other divisions are: Central Collections Unit, Division of Motor Vehicles, Division of Municipal Finance, Office of Revenue Analysis and Rhode Island Lottery.