In today’s information-driven organizations, the costs to generate, keep available, manage and recover data are staggering. Many businesses today depend on 100 percent data availability to keep mission-critical functions operating. With the increasingly widespread reliance upon data, the costs of interrupted access to data or data losses could financially compromise an organization and, in some cases, leave it no room to recover. The price of downtime is just too steep. 

Senators Barack Obama (D-IL)), Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Carl Levin (D-MI) have introduced a bill designed to crack down on the use of offshore jurisdictions as tax havens and toughen penalties for abusive shelter transactions.The bill, S. 681, would establish a list of 34 "Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions" and authorize the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on foreign jurisdictions found to be impeding the enforcement of U.S.

The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury recently issued guidance regarding how employers can rollover their health Flexible Spending Arrangements (health FSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for their employees. The guidance provides a special transition rule for transfers for 2006. Under the transition rule, the amendment, election and transfer must take place by March 15, 2007.The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-432, enacted Dec.

The Government Accounting Office (GAO) reported to Congress last week on the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) progress in implementing its ongoing Business Systems Modernization (BSM) program. While the IRS has made advances in improving its modernization management controls, the GAO report said, two key projects experienced significant cost overruns and “more work remains to be done to fully develop a long-term vision and strategy for completing the BSM program.” The administration has proposed increasing BSM funding by 43 percent for 2008.

Changes in federal employment law may change the way you and your employees store e-mails and e-messages, but Business & Legal Reports reports that one of the key changes facing small business owners this year is not a change in law at all.The U.S. Supreme Court established a set of new procedures dealing with electronic messages that may be needed as evidence in trials. Why is the procedural change important to you? One look at your computer inbox, electronic communication has exploded in recent years, leaving the postal carrier feeling a bit lonely these days.

The IRS has started a news service, e-News for Small Businesses. Distributed every Wednesday, it brings timely, useful tax information right to your computer, including, but not limited to:Important, upcoming tax dates What’s new on the IRS Web site Reminders and tips to assist businesses with tax compliance IRS news releases and special IRS announcements E-News’ convenient format will put IRS tax information at your fingertips.

The U.S. House of Representatives agreed on Friday to attach $1.3 billion in tax breaks for small businesses to legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over two years.

There's a new learning alternative for tax practitioners, financial professionals, and others who have an interest in the tax matters relating to not-for-profit entities. Effective immediately, the Internal Revenue Service has begun offering its popular Exempt Organizations Workshop in an online format on the Internet. The five modules of the workshop, which take approximately three hours to complete, can be accessed at www.stayexempt.org .

Most employers make every effort to meet their employment tax obligations. They take the care to review all factors affecting their relationship with their workers and classify their workers as employees or independent contractors accordingly.