LexisNexis® Tax Center: One Librarian’s “Top 10” Favorite Research Features (05/10)
By Bridget MacMillan
Recently a librarian contacted me for an overview of tax resources on the LexisNexis services. Her library is aligning individual librarians with practice areas, and she was considering supporting the tax practice. That was the only impetus I needed to take a deep dive into the LexisNexis Tax Center, the specialized, tax-research interface. (Link to it from the Taxation Area of Law page or the Transactional Advisor tab.)
After reviewing the LexisNexis Tax Center and its useful features, this librarian asked me to sum up our session by compiling my 10 favorite features of Tax Center. Honestly it was difficult to limit my favorites to only 10.
The most compelling reason why the LexisNexis Tax Center is incredibly useful for me is that, even though I am not a tax practitioner, this interface makes conducting tax research easy. I am confident that I have taken the right steps to tax research.
1 Look at What You Can Do Right From the Main Screen!
I really like the look of the default screen for Tax Center. Select up to 80 sources, combine them and search—all from same screen. (Even save source combinations.) The list of sources stays in front of you, making it is easy to select. Then you search without moving to a new screen. The search box and list of combined sources stays in view the whole time.
2 Favorite Sources
It’s easy to select Favorite Sources and save them. Click the yellow star outline next to a source name. The star fills in, and the source is a favorite. Plus you can make My Tax Center your default start page for greater efficiency.
3 Save Searches for as Long as You’d Like
Since tax research is often done on a quarterly or annual basis, you can save a search until you need it during the next cycle. Searches can be saved on My Tax Center indefinitely; they do not expire after 30 days.
4 Custom Folders—a Great Place for Saved Searches
Create custom folders and store your searches. For example, create folders for individual clients, projects, seminars, etc. You can save multiple searches to the same folder, keeping your work organized efficiently. Go to My Tax Center > Saved Searches.
5 Retrieve past issues of certain publications for the previous 10 days
You know the request … “I saw a story in today’s Tax Notes Today®, and now I need the one related to it from three days ago.” You can do that easily; just select the Tax News tab and choose a prior issue.
6 Research a Code Section with LexisNexis Tax Advisor
I’m not a tax expert, but with background information like a topic or a code reference, I can easily find the most helpful path. If the requestor provides you with a Code section, you can begin your research drilling down into the Code.
7 State Practice Insights Offer Real-World Guidance on State Issues
Because I’m not a tax expert, I also like the real-world guidance, insight and analysis on state tax law issues for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. I also like the Practice Insights legend that indicates the key issue being addressed.
8 BNA® Enhanced Table of Contents View
The Enhanced Table of Contents allows you to click through topics, and you also have the option to search the table of contents. This makes for much easier searching and browsing if you are familiar with the contents or have the time to browse the contents. Look for BNA sources with “Enhanced” in the title, i.e., BNA Tax Management Portfolios - U.S. Income Series (Enhanced).
9 Get a Document—Three Options!
When you choose the Get a Document tab on LexisNexis Tax Center, there are three widgets to aid you in getting the correct document, even if the citation you’ve been given is incomplete or inaccurate.
10 International Resources
A robust collection of international resources makes it easy to find the nation you need.
Explore the LexisNexis Tax Center … See if your “Top 10” features match mine!
