In April, 2009, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) published the "Business Tax Index 2009: Best to Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship and Small Business," which ranks the 50 states and District of Columbia according to the costs of their tax systems for entrepreneurship and small business.

With previous efforts to aid homeowners who are facing foreclosure or whose home values are "underwater" making only a slight dent in foreclosure projections, Congress has passed carrot-and-stick legislation called the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act to encourage both homeowners and lenders to take advantage of government mortgage programs. What has changed in this new bill since the U.S. Treasury announced its foreclosure prevention plan in March is that lender participation in government plans is now required as long as consumers meet eligibility requirements.

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that taxpayers who qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit and purchase a home during 2009 prior to December 1 have a special option available for claiming the tax credit either on their 2008 tax returns due April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year. Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before December 1 can receive a tax credit of up to $8,000 or $4,000 if they are married filing separately. "For first-time homebuyers this year, this special feature can put money in their pockets right now rather than waiting anothe

The Internal Revenue Service has announced an expedited process that will make it easier for financially distressed homeowners to avoid having a federal tax lien block refinancing of mortgages or the sale of a home.If taxpayers are trying to refinance or sell a home and there is a federal tax lien filed, there are options. Taxpayers or their representatives, such as their lenders, may request that the IRS make a tax lien secondary to the lien by the lending institution that is refinancing or restructuring a loan.