The Ross-Blakley Law Library subscribes to two tax law databases that are specifically designed for tax attorneys to do their work. A full overview of our tax law resources can be found in our Tax Law Libguide.
VitalLaw (Formerly CCH Cheetah) by Wolters Kluwer
History
VitalLaw is a tool used by law firms and in-house counsel focused on tax, accounting, and regulatory compliance. The service (in recent history) started as Intelliconnect. After years of providing this singular platform, Wolters Kluwer discovered that accountants (at the Big 3 like PWC and Deloitte) were using the service in a very different way than attorneys (at Big Law firms). Each had proposed fixes to make the platform more useful to them but they could not be done on the same interface. As a result, the service was bifurcated into two platforms: Cheetah (Law) and AnswerConnect (Accounting). Cheetah was just recently rebranded as VitalLaw and it now and now looks and functions like AnswerConnect.
VitalLaw = Legal Tax Research
Two platforms structured based on your research needs
AnswerConnect = Accounting Tax Research
Content
Here at ASU, you have access to both VitalLaw and AnswerConnect. The content on our subscription is the same on both platforms. It is simply organized in different ways – depending on whether the research is law or accounting related.
VitalLaw by Wolters Kluwer Tutorial Video
This video is a brief overview of VitalLaw and how ASU Law users can use this to perform tax law research:
Checkpoint by Thomson Reuters
Checkpoint is Thomson Reuters’ analog to VitalLaw. It is used by many firms that work in tax law, Human Resources (pension and payroll), business valuation, and international trade. Checkpoint provides access to up-to-date research materials, editorial insight, productivity tools, online learning, news updates, and marketing resources. Checkpoint combines both accounting and legal research into a single platform and is used by many large CPA firms and multinational corporations.
Compared to VitalLaw, the Checkpoint interface is simplified with one large search bar to find content. Thomson Reuters provides a robust collection of training videos and webinars if you are interested in learning more about the details of using Checkpoint. If you would like a short introduction, we have created a summary guide to the platform below:
Tax Notes
ASU Law students also have access to the famously-useful Tax Notes via their webpage interface.
From the publisher’s website:
Founded in 1970, Tax Analysts was created to foster free, open, and informed discussion about taxation. In 1972 Tax Analysts published Tax Notes Federal, its first weekly journal, featuring news, commentary, and analysis on federal taxation. In 1989 Tax Analysts added Tax Notes International, a weekly magazine focused on international taxation. Tax Notes State rounded out the weekly portfolio in 1991. Each magazine offers best-in-class tax commentary and analysis on the latest changes in tax law and policy, as well as on court opinions, legislative action, and revenue rulings.
Tax Notes has continued to innovate through the years, adding the online daily news services Tax Notes Today Federal, Tax Notes Today International, and Tax Notes Today State between 1987 and 1991. Tax Notes also provides several research and reference tools, as well as specialized services focusing on exempt organizations, state tax audit guidance, and international tax treaties.
“About tax notes” from www.taxnotes.com
To access
- You must be on campus and logged into the campus wifi the first time you access this resource. It authenticates accounts from the campus IP range.
- Navigate to https://www.taxnotes.com/user in your browser.
- Select “Register Here” and create your account. Note: You should see “New Arizona State University User?” if you are logged into the campus wifi (pictured below):
If you have any questions about tax research, do not hesitate to reach out to the Ross-Blakley Law Librarians for individual training or a Group Research Training session for you and your journal or club.
