Albert Thomas

for his 23 years of impressive leadership!

Paychex is proud of our ongoing connection as an NJCPA Premier Partner.

Resources & tools to support accounting professionals: Accountant Tools and Resources | Paychex y Governor Murphy signing the New Jersey Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax Act (BAIT) (2020) and subsequently signing important amendments (2022). The NJCPA received the Power of A Silver Award from the American Society of Association Executives for its role in passage of the New Jersey BAIT.

Ralph has continuously helped to improve the business climate in New Jersey and has been sought by lawmakers. “Ralph has been a trusted leader and advocate in New Jersey as we’ve worked to provide greater economic opportunity for businesses and residents across our state,” said Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin. “His knowledge and all-around professionalism make him a standout, and it was with great pleasure that I appointed him to the New Jersey Sales and Use Tax Commission in 2018. It has been a privilege to work together, in all his capacities.”

Ralph also served on former New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney’s bipartisan Economic and Fiscal Policy Working Group, which authored the “Path to Progress Report,” a series of reforms to assist New Jersey’s economic recovery.

“During his 23 years at the helm of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, Ralph Thomas has played a pivotal role in advising legislators, governors and business leaders on a wide range of complex fiscal issues. When Congress slashed the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), Ralph led the CPAs’ twoyear campaign to get the state to enact an innovative corporate tax workaround that is saving New Jersey business owners hundreds of millions of dollars a year on their federal income taxes,” said former New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, who is currently the advisory board chair of the Steve Sweeney Center for Public Policy at Rowan University. “Ralph continues to provide expert advice as a member of the Sweeney Center’s Multi-Year Budget Workgroup. His career embodies the best traits of professional expertise, civic involvement and nonprofit leadership. I have been proud to count him as a friend and an adviser,” he added.

Ralph is also a member of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Cornerstone Initiative and the Commerce & Industry Association of New Jersey Board of Directors.

According to Thomas Bracken, president and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Ralph has been one of the most staunch and tenacious proponents of improving the business environment in the state over the last several decades. “There has not been one major economic initiative that the State Chamber has led, and there have been many, that didn’t include the NJCPA and Ralph Thomas,” he said. “Any successes we had were absolutely benefited by Ralph being part of the team. Individuals with the stature of Ralph Thomas are few and far between and, when you add in his willingness to always engage, you have a very special person. He will be greatly missed by the accounting industry, the business community and me personally. You hate to lose ‘go to’ allies because they are few in number.”

Others praised Ralph’s ability to collaborate effectively on various business issues. Calling Ralph a highly respected advocate and voice on complex tax issues, Michele N. Siekerka, Esq., president and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), cited his work on eliminating the estate tax in New Jersey, knowing that this was one issue (among many) driving individuals and affluence out of our great state in retirement. “Ralph was steadfast in reminding our policymakers that as fiduciaries, accountants must advise their clients to seek tax benefits that meet their needs and with regard to estate tax, it meant advising clients of their options to move to more tax friendly states in order to protect their assets,” she said.