The Montana Department of Justice, Gambling Control Division won the 2008 Government Achievement Award in the category of Government-to-Business. The honor was awarded to the Department for the success of its Online Suite of Services, of which GenTax® and Taxpayer Access Point are a large part. TAP is used by business taxpayers to:

• Submit license applications
• Manage their Gaming Tax registration
• File Gaming Tax returns and make payments
• Manage permits of video gaming machines
• Certify new video gaming machine / software
• Submit gaming machine meter readings

Best of the Web recognizes the most innovative, user-friendly state and local government portals while the Digital Government Achievement Award recognizes outstanding agency and department Web sites and applications. Judges from all over the nation determined the winners.

The Public Sector Quality Fair is an annual event showcasing service quality excellence within Ontario in the federal, provincial, municipal and broader public sector. At the 2008 Ontario Public Service Showcase, the Ministry of Finance’s project to implement GenTax®, dubbed MOST (Modernizing Ontario’s Systems for Taxation), won a Gold Award for Best-in-Class Performance and also received the Merit Award. The Merit Award was in the Government Modernization category which recognizes initiatives in which Information Technology has played a critical role in providing business value while enabling significant organizational transformation.

In addition, the project team also received the Corporate CIO Award. This award “recognizes projects and teams that demonstrate extraordinary success in developing and implementing the often-invisible technology and program infrastructure that allows the business of government to function effectively.”

Businesses doing business in West Virginia apparently like the state’s online filing system to file their tax returns. Since the May 15 launch of MyTaxes, 9,418 taxpayers have used the system to file more than 12,000 returns. Those returns were worth about $54 million in taxes.

The TAXcess project team successfully implemented, on time and on budget, a new service that allows taxpayers across Manitoba, Canada and the United States to apply for registration of their accounts, file returns and pay provincial taxes online, in both official languages. TAXcess allows taxpayers 24/7 secure access to review account balances over the past 24 months and amend returns previously filed. It is believed to be the only system in North America with such expansive service-oriented features, and is the first system in Canada to provide taxpayers with paperless sign-up for pre-authorized debit.

Fast Enterprises of Greenwood Village has installed its program in numerous other jurisdictions, and will adjust it to fit Colorado’s tax laws. The project is the first installation to be supervised by Locatis’ team and “the one we’re most proud of.”

State tax officials on Friday demonstrated to journalists a new Web service where taxpayers can sign up to learn about their state taxes. Dubbed TAP, for Tax Access Point, the site provides information about when refunds are due, allows businesses to file change-of-address notices and lets taxpayers review returns from past years.