WEB Browsing

Editors: Dennis Schmidt, Ph.D., CPA; Will Yancey, Ph.D., CPA

• Council on State Taxation (COST) (www.statetax.org) is the leading state and local tax (SALT) professional organization representing taxpayers. Established in 1969, COST is a nonprofit trade association consisting of nearly 600 multistate corporations. Its objective is to preserve and promote equitable and nondiscriminatory state and local taxation of multijurisdictional business entities. It provides a number of services for tax professionals, including SALT educational programs, conferences and schools. The website includes a calendar of SALT events, publications comparing state business tax policies and studies compiled by COST. Membership is required for full access to the website; consultants may join as Practitioner Connection subscribers.
• Deloitte International Tax and Business Guides (www.deloittetaxguides.com) are free online publications provided for businesses that operate in multiple countries. They are written in cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit (www.eiu.com). The website provides guides on the latest legislative and regulatory changes and operating conditions in more than 50 jurisdictions. Shorter versions (Snapshots) are provided for nearly 100 jurisdictions. Both types provide a variety of useful information on tax bases, rates, deductions, exemptions and payroll taxes for businesses and individuals.
• Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) (www.house.gov/jct) provides technical support to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees. The professional staff consists of more than 50 attorneys, accountants and economists selected by the majority and minority political parties. JCT’s primary function is to estimate the tax revenue effect of tax bills proposed in Congress. The JCT publishes these estimates frequently on its website. Other JCT reports contain excellent summaries and analyses of tax bills.
•  KPMG’s Tax Governance Institute (www.taxgovernanceinstitute.com) provides an open forum for board members, corporate management, stakeholders and government representatives to share know- ledge on the identification, oversight, management and appropriate disclosure of tax risk. It features a library of news articles, discussion papers and other documents related to tax governance. Site users can participate in interactive polls, engage in panel discussions and view webcasts on emerging tax risk and governance topics.
• National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) (www.naea.org) is an 11,000-member professional organization representing enrolled agents. Its primary focus is to help members maintain high levels of knowledge, skill and professionalism in all areas of taxation. The website contains information about the organization, links to advocacy resources, descriptions of educational opportunities, press releases and links to its publications, including the EA Journal. Access to several of the site’s resources requires NAEA membership.
• Stay Exempt (www.stayexempt.org) is sponsored by the IRS Office of Exempt Organizations. It contains five interactive tax courses designed to help Sec. 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations maintain exempt status and meet filing requirements. The courses cover exempt status, unrelated business income, employment issues, Form 990 and required disclosures. The courses can be taken individually and in any order; each takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The site also contains a resource library with course descriptions, a glossary of terms and links to relevant Service forms and publications.