The Entire IRTA Family Grieves The Passing Of Our Founder and Barter Hall of Fame recipient Paul Suplizio. It was Paul’s vision and determination that created IRTA in 1979. He was THE driving force behind getting organized barter legitimized by the IRS in 1982 with the passing of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA), which President Ronald Reagan signed. To this day TEFRA is the model barter legislation that is admired and duplicated across the globe. Paul mentored many of the barter industry’s most successful trade exchange owners. His IRTA advisory memos written over his eighteen-year tenure as IRTA’s leader, remain some of the most scholarly works in IRTA’s vast resource library.

 

January 8, 1931 ~ March 2, 2024

Born in: Dubois, Pennsylvania Resided in: Falls Church, Virginia

PAUL SUPLIZIO’S OBITUARY  

Paul E. Suplizio died at noon on Saturday March 2nd, 2024 surrounded by family members. Funeral services will be held November 20th at 3:00 p.m., at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Paul was a native of Pennsylvania, a graduate of West Point (BS 1953) and Harvard (MPA, 1958), and an economist by profession. He was born in Dubois to Anne E. Parrenzi and Paul P. Suplizio on January 8th, 1931, making him 93 years old when he passed away. 

Paul worked extensively – both inside and outside of government – in the fields of economics, energy and trade.[Text Wrapping Break]In his military career, Paul served on General Westmoreland’s personal staff in Vietnam and held a combat command in the Mekong Delta. He holds the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman’s badge, and eight Air Medals. He twice held high staff assignments in the Pentagon, specializing in aviation combat requirements and officer personnel management. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. 

Paul served in the Federal Energy Administration as Director of Strategic Planning after retiring from the Army in 1973. In this capacity, he directed Project Independence studies for the Ford Administration and was responsible for preparation of the nation’s first National Energy Plan submitted to Congress in 1975. 

Paul was the head of organization liaison for the Jimmy Carter presidential campaign, chairman of Veterans for Carter, and a member of the Presidential transition task force in 1976. He later served as a consultant on employment and training issues in the Carter Labor Department, and in 1980 formed the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Coalition to support human resource investments as a critical driver of economic growth. Paul directed the WOTC Coalition as its president advising hundreds of companies and associations until he died. 

In 1978, Paul formed Paul Suplizio Associates, a government relations consulting firm, to represent domestic and international clients before the U.S. Congress and other agencies of U.S. government. His prepared testimony was received by the Trade Subcommittees of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees, in connection with trade policy and recognition of commercial barter companies as legal bodies under the tax and trade laws of the U.S. Paul also testified on customs and international trade issues before the International Trade Commission, House Commerce Committee, and Senate and House Appropriations Committees. 

Paul is preceded in death by his brothers, Sam and Jimmy, his sister Marie, and the mother of his first three children, Rose Marie Mancuso. He is survived by his sister, Ella Jean (Jack) Reynolds, 4 children, 6 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, and 2 great great-grandchildren.