Electronic Taxation Research
The Pappas Law Library provides access to a wide range of taxation research tools in electronic formats, as well as its print collection. Major electronic resources include:
Premium Tax Services
Checkpoint, by Research Institute of America (RIA), integrates expert guidance with its library of primary tax documents in the most widely used taxation research platform. The library's subscription is supplemented by content from two premium WG&L treatises: Biitker and Lokken’s Federal Taxation of Income, Estates and Gifts and Bittker and Eustice’s Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders.
You may register for personalized access to RIA. Within Checkpoint, the "Home" tab links to online support, which includes User Guides, Guided Tours and Customer Support information.
Tax Management Library, by the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), features BNA's Tax Management Portfolios (also available in print in the Law Library's Reserve section), which cover an extensive range of federal, state and international tax topics. The TM Library also includes a full range of source documents, including federal and state statutes, regulations, and court decisions; and IRS rulings and interpretations.
Upon logging in to the Tax and Accounting Center, consult the "Getting Started" section for Frequently Asked Question, a Quick Tour and training and support materials.
Tax Research Network, by Commerce Clearing House (CCH), provides the full content of the Standard Federal Tax Reporter, the Federal Estate and Gift Tax Reporter, the Tax Treaties Reporter, and other CCH products; and includes primary taxation materials, along with CCH Explanations and Analysis.
When logging in, you will be prompted to enter your BU e-mail address, in order to preserve any settings you have made. The "Training & Support" tab includes a link to the Quick Start Guide and other online help.
Tax News
The RIA, BNA and CCH services all provide news services to keep you apprised of developments in tax law; and they allow you to receive ongoing updates on topics that you choose. For other news sources, see the Newsletters & Updates page in this research guide.
The Pappas Library subscribes to BNA's Daily Tax Report and many other Tax Management and Tax Planning titles. (See the full list of BNA titles.) BU Law faculty, students and staff may sign up for e-mail delivery of BNA updates.
Tax Notes Today (from Tax Analysts) is another premium tax news service.
Lexis and Westlaw
Lexis and Westlaw both offer access to a vast array of taxation materials. Two easy ways to survey the scope of these resources:
- During a research session on Lexis, choose Tax Center from the Research Tasks tab to access and search the whole range of primary tax documents, tax journals, treatises and other analytical materials. Lexis provides more information about Tax Center.
- During a research session on Westlaw, use the Add/Remove tabs feature to select a Tax tab. This brings together a wide range of primary federal and state primary materials, journals and newsletters, treatises and other analytical materials, as well as court documents, ABA Tax Section publications, and more.
See the Library's eResources page for an alphabetical listing of electronic databases and other resources.
See the Federal Tax Research Guide for more detailed information about taxation research using print and electronic sources. A Research Portal to tax materials is also available.
Page maintained by David Bachman
Last updated: May 2008