If you regularly download tunes to your iPod or another device (or if you work in the music industry), you’ll probably cheer a recently introduced bill. The Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2011 (S. 971 and H.R. 1860) would ensure that digital goods are not taxed at a higher rate than their tangible counterparts. For example, the legislation prevents taxation of mp3 and software downloads at a higher rate than the tax on music and software CDs, according to an announcement by the bill’s sponsors, Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) Co-sponsors from the House were Representatives Howard Coble (R-N.C.) and Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.).

The bill “is an effort to ensure that states and political subdivisions thereof do not discriminate against providers and consumers of digital goods and digital services by imposing multiple, excessive and discriminatory taxes and other burdens on such providers and consumers.” more

Darn you, Preet Bharara.

As a fellow Class of ’90 college graduate, his recent accomplishments, hard work and glowing profiles give me a dose of early-40s anxiety (what, exactly, have I accomplished in my professional life?). And double-darn him: New York Magazine reports that he’s responsible for taking away one of my favorite hobbies.

Of course, Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is in the news for taking away years of free time from Raj Ranjaratnam, the founder of hedge fund firm Galleon. Ranjaratnam faces a possible prison sentence of up to 19.5 years (under Federal Sentencing Guidelines, though many observers point to a more likely range of 10 to 15 years when he is sentenced July 29) after his recent conviction. more

Two months ago, I checked in with Russ Miller at ClearBridge Compensation Group for assessment of how Dodd-Frank compliance issues were playing out in the first batch of proxy filings.

At the time, only one Fortune 500 company (among 30 filers) had failed to receive majority shareholder support (”say on pay”) of their executive compensation program, (and the vote was relatively close: 45 percent “for” votes and 55 percent “against” votes). Today, 93 percent of filers (at all sizes of publicly listed companies) have received majority shareholder support for executive pay programs.

more

The volume of U.S. initial public offering (IPO) activity is increasing, raising a big question for finance and accounting managers at private companies contemplating an IPO: Are we ready?

If the answer is “no,” the question becomes: How can we get ready? If the answer is “yes,” the question becomes: How can we be sure? Fortunately, a new resource provides answers to both of these questions.

more

The keys to success in implementing an Enterprise Risk Management (”ERM”) program can be found in greater integration and better technology - that’s according to a recent survey presented at the 2011 Risk and Insurance Management Society (”RIMS”) Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. Entitled “Excellence in Risk Management VIII”, this is an annual independent survey of executives conducted for RIMS by Marsh. The most common focus area noted in the survey is a desire to strengthen enterprise or strategic risk management approaches. While more than half of the survey respondents indicated this desire, a majority saw the primary barrier to achieving this goal was a lack of understanding of the risk landscape across numerous silos of information. more