Overview
James Helms is a Managing Director who joined CBIZ MHM, LLC in 2012. He specializes in the resolution of state income, franchise, and sales tax issues. Mr. Helms also handles dispute resolutions including business/nonbusiness analysis, unitary determinations, U.S. Constitutional limitations on taxation of multijurisdictional activities, and filing methodology issues for companies with multiple lines of business. He has also been instrumental in developing and resolving favorable positions dealing with the flow-through of partnership factors in apportionment computations, sourcing revenues for apportionment factor computations, the classification of various gains as allocable outside of a certain taxing jurisdiction, the restructuring of business activities and alternative apportionment methodologies for clients. Other services in which Mr. Helms consults include performing nexus analysis studies, reviewing sales/use tax implications on various transactions and filing voluntary disclosure agreements to aid clients in efficiently becoming compliant with state laws.
Mr. Helms has over twenty years of federal and state corporate income tax experience, both as a consultant and as an in-house tax professional. Beginning in 2005, Mr. Helms served as Tax Specialist with Dow Lohnes Price Tax Consulting Group LLC, focusing on tax controversy involving application of unitary principles in jurisdictional proceedings, business/nonbusiness determinations, treatment of partnership apportionment flow-throughs, analysis of nexus creating activities, taxation of intangible holding companies, and the reasonable sourcing/apportionment of income to multiple states. Mr. Helms also served as a primary consultant on the Media General South Carolina Supreme Court case which overturned long-standing South Carolina tax policy, thereby allowing taxpayer the use of a combined apportionment method.
Mr. Helms began his career with Arthur Andersen in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1988. After five years with Arthur Andersen, Mr. Helms moved to Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc., which was the nation's largest operator of family dining restaurants. At Advantica, he was the Manager of Tax Research and Planning and was responsible for Federal planning, audit resolution, and analysis regarding the taxation of acquisitions and reorganizations.
In 1997, Mr. Helms became Tax Director for Mount Vernon Mills, Inc., a textile manufacturer. While at Mount Vernon Mills he was responsible for the oversight of all corporate taxes including federal income taxes, state income and franchise taxes, property taxes, and sales and use taxes. His responsibilities included planning for international expansion, audit resolution, and tax incentive planning.