CEO declaration in respect of a company's tax return: May 12, 2005.

• Position: Chief executive officer

TEI President Judith Zelisko urged Congress to reject as unsound a proposal to require company chief executive officers to sign a declaration that the corporate tax return complies with the Internal Revenue Code and that the company has processes in place to ensure the return is accurate in all material respects. In the May 12, 2005, letter to the Chairmen of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees, Ms Zelisko pointed out that a company's Senior Tax Executive already declares under penalties of perjury that the tax return is accurate and complies with the Code. Moreover, in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, companies have instituted numerous internal controls, which must be certified by management under and reviewed by independent auditors, to ensure the accuracy of their reported financial information including taxes. The CEO tax return declaration will distract CEOs from activities, including corporate governance, where their expertise is best used.

As part of the tax title of the highway bill, See JCX-27-05, Description of the Chairman's Modification to the Provisions of the "Highway Reauthorization and Excise Tax Simplification Act of 2005" (April 19, 2005), the Senate Finance Committee approved a provision to require company chief executive officers (CEOs) to sign under penalties of perjury a declaration that the company has in place procedures to ensure that the annual federal tax return complies with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and that the CEO has received reasonable assurances of the accuracy of all material items in the return. As the preeminent association of in-house business tax professionals, TEI believes the CEO declaration provision is ill-advised and urges that it be removed from...