Local sales and use tax rates are updated frequently. With many U.S. jurisdictions regularly adjusting their tax rates, it is important for businesses to stay informed of these changes as they happen.

The following chart lists recent adjustments made to U.S. sales and use tax rates as of July 1, 2009. Knowing which local governments are charging sales and use taxes and what their rates are will help make sure your payments are correct.

The former CFO of a prominent Harvard, Mass museum is being sued for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from the organization.

According to an article published in The Daily News Transcript, former Fruitlands Museum Chief Financial Officer Peggy Kempton is accused of working with her three children to embezzle $1 million from the museum over a seven year period.

Organizations that purchase the rights to cut down and remove trees from a tract of land now face new IRS rules requiring them to report the sale on a form 1099.

The rule is an amendment to Internal Revenue Code 6045(e), which went into effect on May 28, 2009. According to the ruling, purchasers of standing timber in a lump sum transaction must report the sale on a form 1099-S, which is used to report real estate transactions.

The City of Topeka, Kansas will soon continue an ERP implementation that was put on hold more than a year ago for financial reasons. Despite the mayor’s objection to the project, the city council was able to overturn his veto.

According to an article published in Topeka Capital-Journal, Topeka’s mayor vetoed purchasing a Lawson ERP system in September 2007 and again in April 2008. When work on the project picked up again in May 2008, the then district attorney filed a lawsuit claiming the purchase violated the city’s cash-basis law. A judge agreed.

According to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, a remotely created check (RCC), also called a "telecheck," a "demand draft," or a "preauthorized draft," is "a check that is drawn on a customer account at a bank, is created by a person other than the paying bank and does not bear a signature applied by or purported to be applied by the person on whose account the check is drawn."

You would be hard pressed to find an organization that looks forward to sales and use tax audits. While the entire process can be a headache for the companies involved, there are a number of issues that particularly cause headaches for recipients.

An article published in Sales and Use Tax Monitor features interviews with organizations that have recently received sales and use tax audits. Each recipient describes a particular pain point they faced during their audit.

Local sales and use tax rates are updated frequently. With many U.S. jurisdictions regularly adjusting their tax rates, it is important for businesses to stay informed of these changes as they happen.

The following chart lists recent adjustments made to U.S. sales and use tax rates as of June 1, 2009. Knowing which local governments are charging sales and use taxes and what their rates are will help make sure your payments are correct.

Learn How AP and Supply Chain at Memorial Hermann Healthcare System Collaborated on an e-Invoicing Project to Optimize AP and Increase PCard Spend
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 • 2:00 p.m. ET • 60 minutes

A prominent business process outsourcing firm in India is preparing to hire hundreds of U.S. workers to handle expected industry growth in 2010.

According to an article published in The Seattle Times, Infosys, the India’s third largest BPO firm, plans to hire about 1,000 new U.S. employees during the next 12 to 18 months. This includes 100 people to man the Bellevue, Wash. location.

by Diane Mueller

In the aftermath of banking failures, subprime mortgages, and bailouts across multiple industry sectors, it is a good time to examine the strategies it will take to rebuild public trust in our government and in the world’s financial markets. I believe the answer depends both on what we can do and how we do it.