Last week, members of the U.S. Treasury met with executives and economists for the purpose of discussing America's system of corporate taxation in terms of global competitiveness. At the conference, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson received support from participants for considering an overhaul of the U.S. business tax system.Among those in attendance were former U.S.

American Red Cross President and CEO and former IRS Commissioner, Mark W. Everson, has announced that current IRS Acting Commissioner Kevin M. Brown will join the charity as the Chief Operating Officer on September 10, 2007. In this role, Brown will oversee all six lines of business, including Biomedical Services, Service to Armed Forces, Disaster Response, International Services, Chapters, and Preparedness, and Health and Safety Services. "Kevin has a proven track record as an effective manager. He is a personable leader with sound judgment and a man of great integrity," said Everson.

Earlier this year, an International Monetary Fund working paper classified the United Kingdom as an "offshore financial centre," alongside jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has issued a new report indicating that the IRS's decision to end its call-in tax filing program, TeleFile, has increased the financial burden on taxpayers by as much as $23.6 million.Results of a TIGTA study disclosed that in 2006, 541,000 taxpayers who formerly phoned in their tax return information spent $23.6 million on tax preparation software.

Just a day after a key House committee voted to repeal the Internal Revenue Service tax debt privatization program, the agency's own National Taxpayer Advocate has once again sharply criticized the program and called for an end to it.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that we reported the U.S. Supreme Court had refused to hear two cases that would have addressed the issue of substantial economic presence in a state being enough to constitute nexus. In Lanco, Inc. v. Director U.S. and FIA Card Services N.A. f/k/a MBNA America Bank, N.A. v. Commissioner, U.S., NJ and West Virginia chose to apply income taxes on corporations that had no physical presence in the state. In Lanco, A Delaware-based company licenses trademarks to women's apparel stores in New Jersey.

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it began mailing educational letters this month to more than 650,000 small tax-exempt organizations that may be required to submit a new annual notice, Form 990-N, "Electronic Notice (e-Postcard) for Tax-Exempt Organizations Not Required to File Form 990 or 990-EZ."IRS expects to mail the letters over a period of several months, finishing in December.With the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), the majority of small tax-exempt organizations are now required to submit the e-Postcard.

An article that is appearing in the August issue of Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health discusses the possible effects of instituting a tax on salty, sweet, and fatty foods including cookies, cakes, and processed meals. Using consumption patterns provided by the National Food Survey of Great Britain, researchers at England's Oxford University are suggesting that a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 17.5 percent could have the effect of reducing consumer demand and, as a result, reducing heart attacks and strokes.

Many smokers are feeling a greater squeeze on their wallets as more states increase cigarette taxes, while most states have held the line on gas and sales tax rates over the last year, according to CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business and a leading provider of tax information, software and services. As part of its annual survey of consumption taxes, CCH takes a look at gasoline, cigarettes and sales tax.