Accenture Lobbies Tax Writers, Invests in Info Management

Reports are that lobbyists for Accenture Ltd. will be successful in convincing congressional tax writers to make small changes in a technical corrections bill that would that ensure the consulting group is grandfathered in under a corporate tax bill originally passed in 2004.

Excepting companies that completed a move before March 4, 2003, provisions in last year's $145 billion corporate tax bill denied tax breaks for companies that moved to low taxation Bermuda and other tax haven countries. Although spokespeople for Accenture have refused to comment on the matter, sources have said that because of the way the company's Bermuda incorporation was formalized, the Internal Revenue Service may have an argument that the U.S. government is owed taxes.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the difference could amount to tens of millions of dollars annually for Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting, and there is some concern that the argument could also apply to the grandfather exceptions meant for Tyco and Ingersoll-Rand. Technical corrections bills are typically used to fix typos and correct punctuation.

In a separate announcement, Accenture said that it will invest $100 million over the next three years to extend leadership in information management services. Accenture has more than 5,000 consultants around the world who specialize in information management services. According to a statement from the company, industry analysts say that the market for the full array of those services is growing at approximately 9 percent annually and is estimated to exceed $27 billion by 2007.

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