Transportation Services Index, the new government-compiled economic indicator of U.S. transportation input, increased 1 percent in December over November to an all-time peak of 118.5. TSI uses 1996 as the base, so the index shows that the output in transportation was 18.5 higher in December than in 1996. “Today’s results give us a clear indication of how much the strength of the transportation sector mirrors the strength of our economy, ” said Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. “If you look at the data, every time the TSI heats up, the economy follows.”

CompuNet Credit Services and TransCore have formed an alliance allowing users of TransCore’s DAT Partners or DAT Connect services to obtain CompuNet Credit reports at the click of a mouse.

U.S. Small Business Administration announced that Congress has extended the authorization for the 504 Loan Program temporarily through May 21. The 504 program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing to small businesses to acquire real estate, machinery or equipment for expansion or modernization. The loans are delivered through Certified Development Companies, which are private, nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping businesses grow and thrive in their local communities.

National Accounting and Finance Council is proposing to revive its State Tax Guide and is asking members of NAFC and the American Trucking Associations for input. For more information, visit this site.

Inside the auditor’s head
You can’t limit your risks if you don’t know what they are. In the case of a tax audit, a trucking company can readily review its potential exposure only if it knows what the Internal Revenue Service looks for in an audit.

An IRS auditor doesn’t treat each type of business the same. It wouldn’t be very savvy to assume, for example, that a florist and a trucking company would have the same tax compliance issues. An agent planning to audit a trucking company will hone up on the industry by reading trade magazines, industry guides and recent tax audit or tax court rulings.

But an auditor’s most important tool is the “Market Segment Specialization Guide,” published by the IRS for its own auditors. MSSGs, published for a variety of industries, are like roadmaps to the juiciest tax violations. Fortunately, MSSGs are not super-secret documents. In fact, you can view these audit guides online.