Practical SALT Guidance: Last week I received an e-mail from a business associate. He's a member of a high-technology finance executive group which includes CFOs, finance VPs, and corporate controllers, many whom work for high-tech start-ups. Along with his e-mail, he forwarded a fellow member's question on state franchise taxes. The question stated that this executive's company was incorporated in Delaware, had operations in Alabama, California, and Missouri, and a single employee working in Tennessee. My colleague, being well aware of my state tax focus, forwarded the question to me, and I enthusiastically answered it. I'm often asked about state franchise taxes; many companies don't understand exactly what a state franchise tax is and when a filing is required. As the executive who posed the question said, " In most small start-ups, you need a whole tax department to keep up with the reporting requirements if the letter of the law were followe