State governments are currently facing huge budget deficits. In fact, only two states – Montana and North Dakota – dot not have budget shortfalls. As a result, many states are looking for any way they can to boost revenue.

Rather than resort to unpopular tax increases, they are instead focusing on stricter enforcement of existing tax laws. One popular target for cash-starved states is sales tax.

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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.

Just because the accounts payable specialist job description mentions a lot about invoice handling duties and nothing about playing office basketball doesn’t mean there isn’t room for both in your department.

Employee motivation in AP is an issue very near and dear to my heart. After speaking with organizations that maintain dedicated employee motivation programs – often allocating funds for the programs as part of the yearly budget – and seeing the real benefit they have on productivity, it’s hard to imagine why any company wouldn’t have one.

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.