US Firm Offers International Tax Planning Software

Tax-News.com, New York

04 January 2002

RIA, a New York-based provider of tax information and software, announced yesterday that it will team with Sweden-based COMTAX AB to provide tax professionals in the U.S. with COMTAX's international tax planning software. RIA will now sell COMTAX's tax planning software solution alongside its own international research offerings.

"COMTAX offers an invaluable tool for sophisticated research on the critical tax issues that face multinational and global corporations," said Mark Persons, Director of Product Management for RIA. "Customer demand for an international tax planning system led RIA to COMTAX, and the reaction from initial users indicates that COMTAX is a perfect complement to our expansive international research services."

"COMTAX is the only software of its kind that allows you to navigate the worldwide treaty network and position companies where there's an optimal opportunity for tax repatriation," stated COMTAX subscriber Jim Angus, Vice- President of Taxes for The Marmon Group in Chicago. "It is a logical extension to the international treatises and tax tools that RIA currently provides."

Along with The Marmon Group, current domestic users of COMTAX Systems include Sonoco Products Corporation and Phelps Dodge Corporation. International subscribers include Ericcson AB and Daimler Chrysler Corporation. The newly formed alliance opens doors for even wider distribution of COMTAX Systems in the United States, according to Mats Lundberg, Managing Director of COMTAX AB.

"RIA is a well-known and respected provider of domestic tax products which, together with the COMTAX Systems, will form a strong and attractive package for international tax professionals," commented Lundberg. "This relationship provides us with a unique opportunity to introduce our products to the U.S. market through already established sales channels."

What makes the COMTAX software so remarkable, says RIA, is its ability to assimilate up-to-date tax rate information from 115 countries worldwide and then run "what if" tax planning scenarios. Research that traditionally requires long hours and a multitude of multinational tax books, treaties, and rate tables can now be executed in minutes. Referencing a database of tax rates on dividends, interest, royalties, and capital gains on cross-border sales of shares, COMTAX provides a professional with the best route for a cross-border transaction.

COMTAX is delivered on CD-ROM with monthly updates delivered by means of a Live Update facility over the Web. The software can be purchased with tax information for all 115 countries, or for a select number of countries. Pricing is based on the number of countries purchased.

"If you license and plan one transaction correctly, it'll pay for itself ten times over," Marmon Group's Jim Angus explained. "I don't know how any multinational corporation can live without it. It's that powerful."

RIA claims to be the premier provider of technology and information to tax professionals in accounting firms and corporations, providing industry-leading tax compliance software for even the most complex requirements and the most comprehensive and innovative tax research and information products available. The New York-headquartered company is a business unit of Thomson Tax & Accounting (TTA) and was formed with the joining of Research Institute of America (RIA), Computer Language Research (CLR) and Warren, Gorham & Lamont (WG&L).

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