E-BIZ STRATEGIES LACK INVOLVEMENT OF TAX DEPARTMENT.

E-commerce will lead to increased competition over the next three years, according to 51 percent of the respondents in a recent survey of leading Fortune 1000 consumer market companies conducted by KPMG's Consumer Markets Tax Practice.

However, only 24 percent of those surveyed say that their tax department is actively involved in e-business strategy development.

The survey revealed that although only approximately one-quarter of companies say that their tax department is actively involved in their e-business strategy, nearly half of the same respondents say that their tax department is responsible for implementing tax solutions that support the e-business strategy.

Respondents felt that tax should be a key consideration in the following areas: sales (74 percent), procurement (62 percent), and logistics (59 percent) if a company is to achieve optimal e-efficiency.

The survey also examined tax issues related to business-to-business and business-to-workforce processes. Few respondents have even begun to look at tax savings opportunities in the e-business world beyond business-to-consumer. Only 49 percent of those surveyed have examined business-to-business processes, with even fewer (18 percent) looking into revenue-saving business-to-workforce services.