E-Tax Framework v1

E-Tax Administration
Framework

Microsoft State and Local Government
May 2003

Microsoft E-Tax Administration Framework 2

Overview
The Microsoft Tax Administration .NET Framework offers a new paradigm for revenue
agencies transforming their operations to:

increase collections
improve service to taxpayers
streamline business processes, and,
reduce ongoing costs.

The Tax Administration .NET Framework is divided into three sets of application
componentsE-Tax Administration, Compliance Management and Core Tax Processing
systemsthat interoperate on a common technical infrastructure. This component
architecture is designed to enable a variety of deployment strategies, through phased
projects, into virtually any large-scale revenue agency environment.

This document presents the E-Tax Administration Framework. It provides a detailed
model for rapid implementation of web-based taxpayer self-service options that leverage
existing technology investments through powerful integration technologies.

Companion documents describe the Compliance Management Framework and Integrated
Tax Processing Systems.

The purpose of these documents is to assist tax administrators and revenue agency CTOs
in planning for business operating improvements. The documents offer sample business
scenarios that portray future processing environments and conceptual and technical
architectures that illustrate how revenue agencies can use Microsoft technology, available
today, to realize the full potential of their business operations.


Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 6
1.1. Microsoft Tax and Revenue Administration Vision ........................................... 6
1.2. E-Tax Vision ....................................................................................................... 9
1.3. Transition to a New Framework ......................................................................... 9
1.4. E-Tax Administration Framework .................................................................... 10
2. Scenarios ................................................................................................................... 12
2.1. Scenarios Overview .......................................................................................... 12
2.1.1. Tax without Employees ............................................................................ 12
2.1.2. Manage Account ....................................................................................... 12
2.1.3. Integration with Existing Tax Systems ..................................................... 12
2.2. User Roles ......................................................................................................... 12
2.3. Scenario: File and Pay Tax Income Tax ........................................................... 14
2.3.1. Roles ......................................................................................................... 14
2.3.2. Goals ......................................................................................................... 14
2.3.3. File and Pay Income Tax .......................................................................... 14
2.4. Scenario: Register New Business ..................................................................... 16
2.4.1. Roles ......................................................................................................... 16
2.4.2. Goals ......................................................................................................... 16
2.4.3. Register New Business ............................................................................. 17
2.5. Scenario: Online Tax Info ................................................................................. 18
2.5.1. Roles ......................................................................................................... 18
2.5.2. Goals ......................................................................................................... 18
2.5.3. Online Tax Info ......................................................................................... 18
2.6. Scenario: Account ............................................................................................. 19
2.6.1. Roles ......................................................................................................... 19
2.6.2. Goals ......................................................................................................... 19
2.6.3. Account ..................................................................................................... 19
2.7. Scenario: Managing my own compliance ......................................................... 20
2.7.1. Roles ......................................................................................................... 20
2.7.2. Goals ......................................................................................................... 20
2.7.3. Managing my own compliance ................................................................. 20
2.8. Scenario: Appeal an Audit ............................................................................... 22
2.8.1. Roles ......................................................................................................... 22
2.8.2. Goals ......................................................................................................... 22
2.8.3. Appeal an Audit ........................................................................................ 22
3. E-Tax Conceptual Architecture ................................................................................ 24
3.1. Overview ........................................................................................................... 24
3.2. Portal Subsystem ............................................................................................... 27
3.2.1. Portal Subsystem Overview ...................................................................... 27
3.2.2. HTML Portal ............................................................................................. 27
3.2.3. Multi-Channel Support ............................................................................. 28
3.2.4. Section 508................................................................................................ 29
3.2.5. Direct Mail ................................................................................................ 29
3.2.6. Public Web Services ................................................................................. 30
3.3. Forms Subsystem .............................................................................................. 31


3.3.1. Overview ................................................................................................... 31
3.4. Content + Search Subsystem ............................................................................ 32
3.4.1. Overview ................................................................................................... 32
3.4.2. Content Management ................................................................................ 33
3.4.3. Search ........................................................................................................ 34
3.4.4. Multilingual Content ................................................................................. 35
3.5. Security + Profile Subsystem ............................................................................ 36
3.5.1. Registration ............................................................................................... 36
3.5.2. Identity Verification .................................................................................. 37
3.5.3. Authentication ........................................................................................... 37
3.5.4. Access Control .......................................................................................... 38
3.5.5. Taxpayer Profiles ...................................................................................... 38
3.5.6. Tax Practitioners ....................................................................................... 38
3.5.7. Digital Signatures...................................................................................... 39
3.6. E-Tax Services .................................................................................................. 40
3.6.1. Overview ................................................................................................... 40
3.6.2. Services ..................................................................................................... 40
3.6.3. XML and Web Services ............................................................................ 40
3.7. Tax Administration Integration......................................................................... 42
3.8. E-Tax Data Subsystem ...................................................................................... 43
4. E-Tax Technology Architecture ............................................................................... 45
4.1. Overview ........................................................................................................... 45
4.1.1. What is .NET? ........................................................................................... 46
4.2. Platform Technology Layer .............................................................................. 47
4.2.1. Windows Server 2003 ............................................................................... 48
4.2.2. Microsoft .NET Framework...................................................................... 48
4.3. Presentation Layer ............................................................................................ 49
4.3.1. Microsoft Solution for Internet Business .................................................. 50
4.3.2. Content Management Server 2002............................................................ 51
4.3.3. Search Engine ........................................................................................... 53
4.3.4. ASP.NET Forms Engine ........................................................................... 54
4.3.5. Real-Time Collaboration and Communication ......................................... 57
4.3.6. Telephony ................................................................................................. 57
4.3.7. Section 508................................................................................................ 58
4.4. Services Layer ................................................................................................... 59
4.4.1. Windows 2003 Active Directory .............................................................. 59
4.4.2. Certificate Server ...................................................................................... 61
4.4.3. CryptoAPI and Active Directory API ....................................................... 61
4.4.4. XML Web Services................................................................................... 62
4.4.5. UDDI......................................................................................................... 62
4.5. Integration and Data Layer ............................................................................... 63
4.5.1. Biztalk Server 2002................................................................................... 63
4.5.2. Schedules .................................................................................................. 66
4.5.3. Host Integration Server 2000 .................................................................... 67
4.5.4. SQL Server 2000....................................................................................... 68
4.6. Infrastructure and Management and Tools ....................................................... 69


4.6.1. Data Center ............................................................................................... 70
4.6.2. Management and Operations .................................................................... 71
4.6.3. Developer Tools Visual Studio.NET ..................................................... 73


1. Introduction
1.1. Microsoft Tax and Revenue Administration Vision

Revenue agencies all over the world are being challenged to close the so called tax gap,
maximizing taxes collected against operating dollars spent and ensuring compliance with
tax laws, while reducing the taxpayers administrative burden.

Our vision is

Agile revenue agencies encouraging full compliance with the tax code by delivering
tailored services, to each individual and business taxpayer, through adaptable business
processes and highly leveraged technologies.

Our strategy is

To offer the Microsoft Corporation Tax Administration .NET Framework as a guide for
revenue agencies in their efforts to transform operations through phased initiatives and
technology investments leading to holistic, integrated tax solutions that support
achievement of full agency potential. Our Tax Administration .NET Framework
incorporates a suite of services delivered over a secure and private portal that provides
the right service at the right time and at the lowest cost. By using the powerful
integration capabilities of .NET, taxpayer behavior modeling and a decision engine, the
Tax Administration .NET dramatically improves the governance for existing tax laws and
enhances the agencys ability to implement new tax laws as fast as the legislature can
pass them.

The complete Tax Administration .NET Framework consists of three major components:

E-Tax Administration, a comprehensive tax portal that delivers a suite of secure
self services to taxpayers 24x7 without revenue employee intervention.

Core Tax Processing, the internal (integrated and/or tax-specific) accounting and
document processing application(s) that support agency handling of tax returns,
remittances and correspondence and that maintain the agencys authoritative
revenue and taxpayer information.

Compliance Management, a comprehensive management process using best of
breed compliance applications, behavior modeling and automated decision tools
to provide cost effective enforcement of the tax laws.

The Tax Administration .NET Framework is open, flexible and designed to leverage
current government investment in technology and business processes. The framework


E-Tax Administration Core Processing System(s) Compliance
Management
.NET Framework
E-Tax Self Services
Registration
Filing
Payment
Compliance
Self Audit
Assistance
Research Policy
Optional E-Tax
Data Store
Transaction
Processing
Registration
Returns
Remittances
Authoritative Taxpayer
Account Data
Taxpayer
Accounting
Personal
Income
Business
Income
Sales
Withholding
Misc. Taxes
Workflow/Case Management or
CRM
Correspondence and Document
Management
Strategy and Planning
Performance
Measurement
Policy Development
Taxpayer Behavior
Modeling
Decision Engine
Interoperable
Best of Breed
Collections
Audit
Tax Discovery
Legal
Tax Administration .NET Framework
Compliance Data
Warehouse
Tax
Administration
Portal
Revenue
Accounting

provides a blueprint for transforming business operations by integrating through
interoperability instead of rip and replace. The functional components that comprise the
framework can be implemented incrementally by deploying appropriate application
components that rest on a common technical architecture.

While many governments have achieved substantial benefits from investment in
integrated tax processing systems, the Tax Administration .NET Framework emphasizes
E-Tax Administration and Compliance Management as equally viable options for
launching business transformation. These approaches enable agencies to deliver
significant business value early in the change process.

The Microsoft vision for tax administration is based on managing the risk of taxpayer
non-compliance, as presented in the risk management paradigm below. The figure depicts
a model relationship between probability of compliance (or, conversely, the risk of non-
compliance) and specific service offerings and compliance activities over the taxpayer
lifecycle. In general, the cost of bringing non-compliant taxpayers into compliance is
lowest in the upper left-hand portion of the diagram and highest in the lower right.


The Microsoft vision rests on a foundation of taxpayer education, registration, filing and
payment processes oriented to maximize customer self service based on the E-Tax
Administration Framework. These processes empower taxpayers to comply voluntarily
by providing easy-to-use, web-based tools, access to extensive information and proactive
assistance and support based on the specific needs of each taxpayer.

By minimizing taxpayer non-compliance resulting from difficulty of filing,
misunderstanding of requirements and simple error, revenue agencies free up staff to
focus on more serious compliance problems. Revenue agencies can better assess the risk
and quantify the cost of non-compliance for specific taxpayers through the use of
decision support technology that leverages under-utilized agency data locked up in
stovepipe tax systems. These assessments then drive staff assignment decisions and
compliance actions to improve overall returns.

Market
E- Tax Self
Service
Taxpayer
Education
Personal Contact
Threat of
Prosecution
Identify
E-Tax Account
Taxpayer
Registration
Tax Discovery
Referrals or Tips
Hotline
Manage
E-Tax Filing or
Third Party
Assistance
Taxpayer Account
Management
Audit and
Compliance
Review
Investigate
Enforce
E-Tax Compliance
Services
Accounts
Receivable
Collections Civil
Law Enforcement
Criminal
Prosecution
Taxpayer Life Cycle
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Tax Administration
Risk Management Paradigm


At Microsoft Corporation, we believe tax agencies can realize their potential of
delivering low cost, custom service through adaptable business processes and highly
leveraged technology. This provides citizens with high quality services and the lowest
cost of compliance, for both government and for taxpayers.

Who knows maybe there will be no tax returns in the future. Required information
could be provided to the revenue agencies electronically and they would simply calculate
and send bills and process payments. Realizing each organizations potential is our
passion at Microsoft Corporation.
1.2. E-Tax Vision
Revenue agencies began offering services on-line by placing information and copies of
forms on the Internet. Over time, customer demands increased, so filing and payment
services were added. Just as tax processing systems grew up over time, the initial Internet
services have been implemented in a piecemeal fashion. As Internet adoption rates
continue to skyrocket, revenue agencies are finding the need to develop a strategy and
architecture to support real-time tax administration.

The promise of E-Tax services is 24x7 tax processing through a secure and private e-tax
administration portal containing a robust suite of services that allow taxpayers and tax
practitioners to complete their business transactions in a single contact, any time, any
where and, if possible, without the intervention of revenue agency staff.

The robust suite of services includes the full range of activities that a taxpayer may need
throughout the life cycle of their personal or business obligation. A taxpayer can register
a new business or research a policy question or verify their filings through a self-audit
wizard. Additionally, the E-Tax service applications available through the portal
recognize individual users and transaction histories, so that services provided can often
be tailored to known user needs.

Using Microsoft .NET, revenue agencies can implement this e-tax vision with the latest
technology, XML and Web Services, providing an open and flexible infrastructure that
can be readily linked to existing tax applications and incorporated into the overall agency
and government-wide technical environment. The result is low cost, secure, reliable
systems that work with your core processing and compliance management systems to
deliver outstanding taxpayer self-service..

1.3. Transition to a New Framework
Tax processing services are among the most visible, pervasive and politically sensitive
functions of government. Citizens and businesses increasingly demand that tax filing and
payment processes be delivered over the internet at service levels equivalent to the
private sector. Similarly, elected leaders and legislatures demand that revenue agencies
improve tax compliance to ensure perceptions of fairness, as well as actual fiscal health.
Unfortunately, in the current challenging economic environment for state and local


governments, discretionary dollars are not readily available to finance major business
systems investments.

To address todays challenge for business transformation in revenue agencies, a transition
approach must offer a holistic model for tax administration, but one that can be
implemented in phases, based on the specific needs of the agency involved. Typically,
implementation approaches will address areas with the rapid return on investment (ROI),
such as compliance systems, or relatively smaller investments in high visibility services
characteristic of E-Tax solutions. Escalating maintenance costs, exposure to service-level
disruptions or pressing tax changes enacted by legislatures are examples of the factors
that can motivate significant modification to core tax processing.

This document focuses on E-Tax solutions as the primary point of departure for
upgrading tax processing services. The E-Tax Administration framework offers revenue
executives an investment approach that offers near term tactical benefits, in terms of
service quality and reduced costs, and while creating a strategic technology platform that
can support longer term upgrades in core processing and compliance systems. A critical
objective for this transition is to deliver a full suite of E-Tax services without requiring
major investment in legacy tax processing systems.

1.4. E-Tax Administration Framework
The E-Tax Administration Framework provides a blueprint for building an internet based
online tax solution that enables taxpayers to conduct a full range of tax-related
transactions with their state revenue agency. The following sections of this paper
describe the business requirements and application architecture for building E-Tax
services. It is intended to be a starting point for customers and partners to understand the
business benefits and technical approaches for building a comprehensive and cutting edge
E-Tax solution.

Microsoft defines business system architectures by describing three views: the
conceptual, logical, and physical views.

The conceptual view defines the business requirements and the business users' view of
the application in order to generate a business model. Conceptual modeling techniques,
such as use case analysis, activity diagrams, process design, and business entity
modeling, describe key business processes and the data they use, in ways that emphasizes
business objectives and outcomes.

Architects create application models that are logical views of the business model as they
determine how to meet business objectives and requirements. The application models
represent the logical view of the architecture for an application. Architects here are
concerned with the overall structure of the application. They decide on the mapping of
data management and process steps, they design the interactions between parts of the
model and they determine what data and states should be held by the model.


The E-Tax Administration Framework that we have developed here provides a model for
building a E-Tax solution specific to an individual agency. This framework is based on
the latest technologies such as the Microsoft .NET Servers, XML, Web Services, and
.NET Framework.

Section 2 of this document details many (but not all) of the key tax processing services
available within the framework by means of high-level business scenarios. These
scenarios describe how citizens and businesses use the E-Tax portal. Such scenarios,
tailored to the environment of a specific revenue agency, are an important first step in
documenting agency business requirements. Section 3 of the document outlines a
conceptual architecture for E-Tax Administration. Section 4 details a technical
architecture that specifies the servers, tools, and technologies available from Microsoft to
implement the E-Tax Administration solution.


2. Scenarios
2.1. Scenarios Overview
The E-Tax portal enables citizen and business tax self-service. It is the single face of the
State revenue agency to tax filers. What distinguishes the E-Tax portal vision from most
existing implementations is that it provides a comprehensive online tax presence that
interoperates seamlessly with existing core processing applications.
2.1.1. Tax without Employees
The completeness of the E-Tax framework enables taxpayers to be able to transact the
vast majority of their business online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Tax without
Employees is a central theme of the portal. Business and individual taxpayers and tax
practitioners can pay taxes, manage their compliance, view their accounts, and get
answers to filing questions online. They are usually able to enter and correct data and
obtain confirmation in a single contact. Employee processing workloads decline when
revenue agency customers use self-service applications on the E-Tax portal. Reduced
processing workloads enable management to refocus the staff on compliance, collections,
and other revenue producing activities.
2.1.2. Manage Account
A critical theme of the E-Tax Portal is providing taxpayers and practitioners with online
access to their account (s). The account includes all demographic information and a
record of all payments and outstanding debts. The account is a central focus for the
customer. It shows the status of all filings across all tax types. It also shows the types of
taxes that the person or business files, and their next due dates.
2.1.3. Integration with Existing Tax Systems
One essential requirement of the E-Tax portal is that it must be well integrated with the
agencys core tax processing systems. This is essential so that a taxpayer can see their
latest account information, and so that payments, tax filings, etc. can all be exchanged in
near real-time. It is critical that the E-Tax portal be available 24x7. Thus, it must be able
to perform even when the internal systems are not available.

2.2. User Roles
There are several key user roles within the E-Tax Portal:

Individual Taxpayer an individual (not business) taxpayer. This user is
typically an infrequent user of the E-Tax portal. They use the portal to file and
pay their annual income tax, and quarterly tax payments. They also will access
the library to get policy information, instructions, and additional help.
Business Taxpayer a business may have a single or multiple individuals that
have rights to file or make payments. There is a master account that can create


other users and assign rights to them. Rights can be granted for actions such as
making filings, payments, and viewing the businesses tax account.
Agency Employee agency employees who manage the content on the portal.
That content includes forms, instructions, policy information and frequently asked
questions. The agency employees do not have to have expertise in web
technologies to create and manage web content. The content management
framework of the E-Tax portal enables content authoring directly from Microsoft
Office documents.
Practitioner a third party accountant, H&R Block, or bookkeeper who files on
behalf of individual or business.
Other users which may include authorized representatives of other
governments, other agencies within the government, auditors or such cooperative
users as the Multi-state Tax Commission (MTC).

The figure below depicts the key users of the E-Tax portal, the services offered and the
major types and sources data required to deliver these services to users.

E-Tax Ecosystem
Employment Agency
Accounting
State Legal Department
Pay to
$
Payroll
Individual
Taxpayer
Employee
Assistance
Register with:
Revenue agency
Other agencies
Authenticate
File and Validate
Financial Transactions
Refunds
Payments
Establish and Maintain
Pay Plan
Waiver P&I
Audit
Self
Interactive
Appeal
H & R Block
Taxpayer Legal Department
$
Bank
Security
Tax Account
Data
Forms and
policy
Data
Warehouse
Firewall
Secretary of State
E- Tax Administration Services
Intutit
Practitioners
Individual
Taxpayer
Business
Taxpayer
$ $
CFO


2.3. Scenario: File and Pay Tax Income Tax
2.3.1. Roles
This scenario targets the individual taxpayer or business taxpayer.
2.3.2. Goals
This scenario enables citizens to file taxes, make payments or receive refunds
electronically through the E-Tax portal.
2.3.3. File and Pay Income Tax
It was April 14, and Jerry Smith has not done his State taxes. He filed with the IRS
almost two months ago, but since he figured that he would owe the state, he waited until
the last minute to do his State taxes. Now he was dreading doing the taxes because it
would probably take hours to fill out all of the forms, manually make all of the
calculations, copy them by hand address it and mail it to the revenue agency. Just
yesterday Jerrys buddy told him about how fast and easy it was to use the states E-Tax
portal.

So Jerry dials in to the internet from his home PC. He opens the web browser and types
in the URL given to him by his friend. The URL takes him to the home page of the State
E-Tax portal. Right on the home page of the portal is a link File your State Income
Tax. Jerry clicks on that link and a pop-up window asks Filed your Federal Return?
If not, he is offered a choice of preparer options that include links to H&R Block,
Quicken and several other sites. He positions the cursor over the H&R Block icon, which
then displays the income criteria for free filing services. Since Jerry has already filed
with the IRS, he closes the pop-up and enters a new area of the Portal.

Jerry sees on the page the option to Register or to Login. The instructions tell Jerry that
since it is the first time that he has been here, he must register. Jerry clicks on the
registration link, and a new page displays a blank form. It asks Jerry for some identifying
information, including his social security number, name, and date of birth. Jerry also
provides an email address. This email address will be used by the revenue agency for
electronic correspondence. Jerry presses the submit button on the form. Behind the
scenes, the tax portal verifies this information with its known database of taxpayers.
(Note: Portal must verify some pieces of data, like last years refund/payment amount to
verify identity). Since Jerry filed his taxes with the State last year, the portal has a cache
of additional profile information about Jerry, including his home address, city and county
of residence, employer, and historical record of prior year filings. (If Jerry were new to
the State, the system would have asked Jerry to provide some of this profile information).
Jerry is next asked to choose a PIN number. This PIN number is a private number that
along with Jerrys SSN is used for login to the Portal. If Jerry ever forgets his PIN, he
can ask to have it emailed to his provided email address.

After Jerry completes the registration process, he is ready to begin to file his 2002 state
income tax. Jerry sees personalized articles and content on the portal page (personalized


for an individual filer). Jerry notices on the page links reading File 2002 State Income
Tax and Make Estimated Payment April 2003. Jerry selects the link labeled File
2002 State Income Tax.

The next web page that Jerry sees shows a web form with background information pre-
filled in. It includes his name, SSN, address, spouses name and SSN, dependants
names and SSNs, city, county and school district of residence and estimated tax paid for
2002. This information was pulled out of the profile information maintained by the E-
Tax portal. Jerry was happy because he didnt have to find the SSNs for his wife and
each of his children. He did verify that the agency had the right amount of estimated tax
payments credited. If Jerry had needed to change some information (like adding another
dependent, new address, etc.) he could have easily updated it on this page and the E-Tax
portal would have used the new information on his return and also updated his profile.
For errors in estimated tax payments he would have had to fax his check stubs to the
designated contact.

After confirming his information, Jerry comes to a page that explains that he will be
taken through an interview style process which will help make it simpler for him to
have a complete and accurate filing. The first page of the interview asks some simple
questions like Do you have income from a government retirement system?, Did you
pay taxes or file a return in another state? Answering yes to some of these questions
leads to other sections of questions on new pages. Jerry finds that the interview style is
much simpler and easier for him to understand than just the paper form.

While completing his return, Jerry didnt understand one of the questions Do you have
income from a government retirement system? He hovered his mouse over the help
icon on the page, and a short one paragraph explanation was given. In many cases that
quick-help answered his question. But in this instance, he felt that he wanted more detail.
So he clicked on the help icon, and a new browser window opened. In that window it had
a detailed explanation of the question. It also had additional links to Frequently Asked
Questions and Instructions. Also on that page was information about how to call or
send email to have questions answered.

All during the process of completing the interview, the pages show a status indicator
helping him to gauge how much further he has to go to completion. In many cases, the
interview questions lead to forms that Jerry must fill out. The forms are not identical to
the equivalent paper forms. Instead, they are tailored for usage on the web. The forms
have business logic in them that make edits and perform calculations.

Almost finished with his tax filing, Jerry decides to take a break. He shuts down his
computer. Later that day he returns to the portal, which has saved his work in progress.
Jerry picks right up where he left off.

A short time later Jerry finishes. The online income tax application shows that Jerry
owes the State additional tax. The application also calculates Jerrys underpayment
penalty.


Prior to submission, the portal offers Jerry the opportunity to recalculate his tax and
penalty by changing his wifes filing type to Married Filing Separately.. Jerry is routed
back through several questions that enable him to allocate deductions and small amounts
of investment income. On completing these steps, Jerry is pleased to find out that this
calculation allows him to lower his familys total tax obligation.

Jerry is satisfied with his tax filing. He has verified that all of the information in it is
correct. He is ready now to submit the filing and make his payment. The system asks
Jerry if he is prepared to submit his filing. He proceeds and is informed that since his
wife is filing separately, she must login independently and submit her own return or
designate Jerry as filer. She does so, Jerry completes the submission and is informed that
the filing is now being processed by the agency. Jerry is next prompted to make his
payment.

The portal provides Jerry several ways to make his tax payment. His choices include:
direct withdrawal from his bank, debit card, credit card, or mail a check. Jerry chooses to
make a credit card payment. The portal collects his card information and accepts
payment.

ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO Jerry gets a refund
Jerry discovers to his delight that he is going to receive a tax refund. He has the option of
asking for direct deposit into his bank account, or he can ask for a check to be mailed to
his residence. Jerry chooses the direct deposit option. The portal tells Jerry that he will
receive email when the refund has been deposited. He is given a link to his account page,
where he can monitor the status of his refund. The next day Jerry comes back to the E-
Tax portal and sees that his filing has been accepted, and that payment will be made the
next day. The following day Jerry receives an email notifying him that his refund has
been deposited in his bank account.

Jerry likes to keep a paper record of his taxes. He connects to the portal, logs in, and asks
to see he and his wifes tax filings. He selects the 2002 State Income Tax filings. He
looks at them online, and then selects the print option. Printer friendly versions of the tax
filings are displayed in the web browser. Jerry prints from his browser. The printout is
not identical to the paper form. However, it is sufficiently close and includes all of the
same information.
2.4. Scenario: Register New Business
2.4.1. Roles
This scenario targets the Business Taxpayer.
2.4.2. Goals
This scenario enables a business to register their business with the State. The portal will
notify all participating state agencies of the new business registration and will collect fees
associated with the registration.


2.4.3. Register New Business
Lucy Jones is starting a small training and consulting business. She has several
customers who are interested in engaging her to provide services. However she has never
started a new business before, and isnt really even sure how to begin. She is looking for
the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to register her business so that she can get started.
Lucy finds out that the state revenue agency has a Register New Business service on
their web portal.

Lucy connects to the internet and goes to the revenue agency web portal. When she gets
to the portal, she sees a link to Register New Business. She clicks the link and is taken
to the section of the portal for new business owners. She notices that there is a lot of
great content here that she can use. It includes electronic versions of the paper business
registration forms, information about financial incentives for starting your business in the
state, other resources such as documents and hints for new business owners, and an
online registration tool. Lucy spends quite a bit of time reading over all of the excellent
reference materials provided by the portal. After reviewing the great online content,
Lucy feels that she is ready to register her business.

Lucy clicks on the Register button to begin the online registration process. She is taken
first to the overview page. It describes the registration process and explains that this tool
will automatically register her business with several state agencies, including Labor and
Revenue. Lucy is very pleased by this, because if she were doing this on paper, she
would have to fill out each agencys forms and file with each separately. This new
streamlined approach will save her lots of time and trouble.

First, Lucy must register with the portal. She goes through the registration process, and is
assigned an individual login. She will use the secure login from now on whenever she
uses the portal.

The portal then takes her to an online registration form. It has many parts, and is
displayed in an interview format. The first section is called Enterprise Information. It
asks questions about the reason for registration, enterprise type (sole proprietorship, etc.).
Lucy provides the business name, business address, mailing address etc. The interview is
dynamic because answers to some questions may result in additional questions and data
entry required.

Lucy works on this for about hour, and then decides to stop. She is able to save her
partial results. On her way home that night, she recalls that she entered the old P.O. Box
number for her CPA rather than the new one she learned of last week. So that she does
not forget, she accesses the portal through her Pocket PC cell phone. She goes back to the
Register New Business portion of the portal, and sees that she has a registration that is
in-process. She clicks on the link Resume Registration, and she is taken to the point
where she left off. She simply updates the box number on the spot over a secure,
encrypted connection.


The next morning Lucy comes back to the E-Tax portal, signs in using her secure login
and completes the online interview. The last step is called Review and File. In this
step she looks over her filing. Her payment is automatically calculated for her based on
information that she provided during her interview. The system asks Lucy if she is ready
to submit this filing, asking her to review the submission carefully. She proceeds. She is
told that the filing has now been submitted to each of the required state agencies for
processing. Lucy is next prompted to make her payment.

The portal provides Lucy several ways to make her payment. Her choices include: direct
withdrawal from her bank, debit card, credit card, or mail a check. She chooses to make
a credit card payment. The portal collects the credit card information and accepts
payment.

Lucy is then asked if she would like to obtain information about economic development
tax credits for new businesses. She clicks on the icon and is given an electronic brief case
on the portal to accumulate important information that relates to all the government
agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service.

Lucy is now finished registering her business online. She is given a unique business
number. Her business information is now recorded in the revenue agency database. In
the future Lucy can go back to the portal to pay her required business taxes and view her
tax account whenever she needs to.
2.5. Scenario: Online Tax Info
2.5.1. Roles
This scenario targets the individual taxpayer, business taxpayer and the practitioner.
2.5.2. Goals
This scenario enables self service by providing access to a comprehensive library of
knowledge of tax-related content.
2.5.3. Online Tax Info
James is a small business owner. He files and pays his own business taxes. This year
while working on his business tax return, James runs into a question. To get help, James
connects to the state revenue agency tax portal. James easily navigates through the portal
to get to the tax form that he is having a question about. He finds an online FAQ
(frequently asked questions). He reads that over, and doesnt find the answer to his
question, but it does have some other information that he didnt know. That information
saves him from making a serious error on his return. James then goes to the form
instructions, which are posted online. For the line number that he is struggling with, he
finds the instructions. He clicks on the additional help button for that instruction page.
The browser shows James some additional clarifying information. This additional
information provides the answer that James needs. If he hadnt been able to resolve his
question with the online information, James could use email and telephone contacts listed


on the web site. These contacts were experts within the revenue agency for handling
questions about this section of the form.

While James is on the site, he remembers a question that he had about his sales tax
filings. He notices a Search box on the top of the portal. James enters Sales Tax Filing
and clicks the search button. The portal does a full text search, and shows in the list of
results a ranked list of web pages. It also has several at the top which are marked as
Best Bets. The best bets pages are those that are explicitly categorized as being related
to sales tax. James sees that one of the best bets pages is Sales Tax FAQ. He opens
that page, and there he gets an answer to his sales tax question.
2.6. Scenario: Account
2.6.1. Roles
This scenario targets the business taxpayer and practitioner.
2.6.2. Goals
This scenario enables businesses and practitioners to access their detailed tax account
information online.
2.6.3. Account
Alvin is an employee of Widget Enterprises, a medium sized business in the State. One
of his jobs is to manage the taxes for the business. He has a login account into the State
Tax Agency Portal. When Alvin logs in the portal shows a personalized view for his
business. It shows a variety of links that are tailored to the type of business that he works
for, as well as for the types of taxes that they are required to pay. When there are new
changes in policy, the site will show applicable announcements on the business home
page.

One of the links from the portal that Alvin frequently uses is the Account link. The
account page shows Alvin an itemized list of every tax payment, filing etc. that has been
processed by the revenue agency. This list includes an integrated list all of the filings
that Widget Enterprises has made, including paper filings. It provides a breakdown based
on tax types and/or a historical list by tax period. His account also shows returns,
payments, and adjustments including assessments, penalties, interest, additional
payments, and abatements. For each tax type, there is a separate balance. There is also a
summary record showing the current balance.

Alvin can only see the tax types that have been authorized for him to file. Jane, the COO
of Widget Enterprises, also has a login to the portal. Jane can see all of the same
information that Alvin can see and more.

Through the portal, Jane can create new user logins for other employees to use. She can
assign rights to these users. Users can be restricted to filing certain types of documents
and to seeing portions of the total account. Jane especially appreciates the multi-lingual
support the portal offers as well as the support for disabled workers. Widget has an


active recruiting program to identify talented immigrant and disabled staff and, as a result
has developed an especially capable and committed accounting organization.

Jane recently hired a third party accountant to do the Widget Enterprises corporate taxes.
She goes to the portal to authorize the Practitioner to have access. Since the
practitioner already has a login with the portal, Jane will just authorize it to have access
to Widget Enterprises. When she sets up the access, she stipulates that this practitioner
can only file the corporate tax form, but cannot file any other tax documents.

The practitioner completes the interview style tax form and submits the result to the
portal. Since the tax form is for Widget Enterprises, the practitioner is allowed to do it.
Jane connects to the portal and sees that the form is completed and waiting for her
review. She reviews it, digitally signs the form, and submits. She then completes the
process by making the required payment. She pays it online, using ACH debit from
Widgets bank account.
2.7. Scenario: Managing my own compliance
2.7.1. Roles
This scenario targets the business taxpayer.
2.7.2. Goals
This scenario enables business to manage their own compliance, including negotiating
the payment.
2.7.3. Managing my own compliance
Mary is the owner of a small business in the state. She likes to use the E-Tax portal for
filing taxes for her business. Yesterday, Mary received a notice from the state that her
business has been selected for an audit. The notice informs Mary that she can optionally
perform a self-audit using the states E-Tax portal.

Mary logs in to the portal. She follows the instructions supplied with her audit
notification letter. She clicks on the link to the Self Audit Wizard on the portal. The
self audit wizard is launched. The first thing that she is asked to supply is an audit id
number. Mary enters the audit id from the notification letter. Next a list of questions is
presented to Mary, interview style. She is asked a series of questions that are customized
based on the audit criteria and the specific issues with her recent corporate income tax
filing. Mary completes the interview questions. At the conclusion of the interview, the
self audit wizard calculates the audit results and the resulting tax that is owed. Mary is
presented with a summary page explaining the audit results including the amount of
additional tax owed and the penalty. Mary believes that the audit results are unfair
because of special circumstances. Mary clicks on the Appeal Audit Results button.
She is instructed to provide a written explanation of her rationale for her appeal. After
she finishes writing her explanation, the wizard explains that her case will be reviewed
and she will be contacted if there are any questions.


A week later Mary receives an e-mail from the State saying a problem resolution notice
has been placed in here E-Tax inbox. The notice explains the result of her recent audit.
It turns out that Marys special circumstance has been taken into account by the auditor
who reviewed Marys case, including the filing, her self-audit interview, and her appeal
rationale. Mary agrees with the Departments determination. The notice includes the
amount of her new tax, including penalty and interest amount. The notice contains a link
on information about how she can pay the additional tax due.

Mary clicks on the payment options link and she navigates through the site and enters
the supplied case number. Mary is taken to the payment service. There she is shown the
amount of her owed tax, penalty and interest amount. Mary is presented a few options:
pay in lump sum, setup installment agreement, or request abatement.

Mary feels that the penalty in this case is unwarranted. Mary chooses the request
abatement option. She selects the option to request abatement of the penalty. There is
an online interview that she fills out, including completing a written explanation. Using
business logic provided by the state, the audit payment service reviews the interview
results and account status and determines that the waiver of penalty is approved.

Mary then goes back to the payment service, where her new payment amount is
displayed. She notices that it reflects the abatement of the penalty. She realizes that she
cant make a lump sum payment, so she clicks on the link to request an installment
agreement. The payment wizard suggests that the payment amount be set at $400 per
month for the duration of four months. Mary would like to reduce the monthly payment,
so she requests that the monthly payment be lowered to $240. The service computes that
Mary will need to make seven monthly payments.

Once the installment duration and amounts are set up, the service needs to approve or
deny the request. In order to make the proper determination it reviews Marys past filing
and payment history. It performs a background credit check and computes a risk score.
The risk score is compared with business rules that the state uses to determine credit risk.
Based on these criteria, the payment service informs Mary that she has been approved.

The payment engine displays the payment schedule including payment due dates and
amounts. The payment is due on the first of each month. Mary is then asked how she
would like to make her payments. She is given several options: Send in payment by
mail, pay by credit card, or pay by direct account withdrawal. Mary notices that if she is
going to make payment by mail, she can print payment vouchers. She decides that it will
be simpler for her to have her payment directly withdrawn from her account. She
supplies her account information. She is informed that her monthly $240 payment will
be withdrawn on the first of each month..

One of Marys favorite portal features is the calendar of tax events. It is a monthly
calendar showing due dates for all tax payments. Mary notices that her new tax payment
now shows up on her calendar, reminding her that her payment will be withdrawn from
her account on that date.


2.8. Scenario: Appeal an Audit
2.8.1. Roles
This scenario targets the business taxpayer and revenue agency employees.
2.8.2. Goals
This scenario enables businesses to appeal audit assessment. The scenario allows the
hearing to take place online, using online meeting software.
2.8.3. Appeal an Audit
James is the Tax Director for Widget Corporation, a medium sized corporation with
operations and doing business in several states, including a small manufacturing plant in
Texorado (new 51
st
state). Recently Texorado audited Widgets corporate income tax
filings. The state auditor sent a final assessment to Widget Corp, which landed on James
desk. James met with his staff and with Widgets local counsel who represents them for
tax issues in Texorado. The team all agreed that they should appeal the audit.

The audit notification said that Widget had sixty days to request an administrative
hearing. Within the notification there was a URL to the Texorado revenue agency web
site. James went to the E-Tax portal and following the instructions in the final
assessment, he opened the Request Appeal service. Because Widgets account
information is available in the E-Tax portal, the service knew that James was appealing
his most recent assessment. James is asked to select a date/time for the informal hearing.
He is given the option to schedule the hearing as an online session (over the internet) or
an in-person audit. James selects the online hearing option. Since James and most of his
staff are not in Texorado, he is pleased to save the travel expenses that would otherwise
be incurred. James is given detailed instructions about setup steps that he should take to
ensure that he has all of the right software operational prior to the hearing.

A few days before the hearing, James receives and email reminding him that he has his
upcoming online audit appeal hearing. Included in the email is a test site where he can
verify that he has the proper software and that it is all functioning properly.

At the appointed day and time, James, his local Texorado counsel, and the Texorado
revenue agency staff connects online to the virtual hearing. The meeting follows the
same agenda as a face to face meeting. Using inexpensive microphones and video
cameras attached to their computers, the participants are able to talk to one another over
the internet. Video cameras show the faces of all participants so other participants can
see them.

In this instance, Texorado has prepared a presentation to help them articulate their case.
They bring up Microsoft PowerPoint and, using the meeting software, they share the
presentation with the others. Sharing allows every meeting participant to view a
designated application running on the computer of a presenter. At various points during
the briefing, each side shares Microsoft word documents, previous tax filings (shown by


accessing them through the E-Tax portal) and other exhibits. Note that it is not necessary
for everyone to have PowerPoint, Word etc. installed to view an application shared by the
presenter.

The entire meeting, including all exhibits, is recorded. The state saves a copy of the
meeting so that they can go back and review it as the official record of the hearing. The
recorded meeting is also available to Widget Corp.

Based on the results of the hearing and the exhibits provided by Widget Corp, a final
determination letter is issued. Widget Corporation is very pleased that they were able to
resolve the issue without having extensive travel expenses. The State is pleased too,
because the online meetings save them time and money as compared to traditional
hearings.


3. E-Tax Conceptual Architecture
3.1. Overview
The figure below depicts the principal components of the E-Tax Administration
Framework (the E-Tax solution) in context. Users of the E-Tax solution access E-Tax
services and data from the Internet. The E-Tax solution is logically and physically
separated from the agencys Core Processing Systems by the firewall shown in the
diagram, which protects the revenue agencys books of record from unauthorized access
and tampering. To support online service delivery, the E-tax solution may either access
internal applications and data directly, or may maintain required data in a database it
maintains. This flexibility facilitates a phased or incremental development approach for
the E-Tax solution, regardless of the technology or platform employed by the agency tax
applications.

The Conceptual Architecture of the E-Tax Administration Framework can be divided into
three service layers:
E-Tax
Solution
Citizens
Business
Practioners
Internet
E-Tax
Solution
E-Tax
Solution Tax Agency
Internal
Applications
Firewall
E-Tax Context Diagram


Presentation Layer This layer provides the interface and content to the end
users (individuals, businesses, and practitioners). It utilizes the services layer and
integration data layer.
Services Layer The services layer provides a number of tax specific business
rules processing and security services to the presentation layer.
Integration and Data Layer This layer maintains snapshot data of the
taxpayers and their accounts. It has integration services that can exchange data
with the agency core processing systems..

The following diagram depicts key components of each layer of the major E-Tax
subsystems.

Portal
Forms
Content + Search
Security + Profile
E-Tax Services
Tax Administration
Integration
E-Tax Data
Agency Internal Tax
Administration Systems
Presentation Services
Integration and
Data
HTML Interface
Multilingual
Multi Device, Telephony
Section 508 Compliance
Public Web Services
Forms Library
Interview Questionaires
Forms Business Logic
Content
Management
Multilingual Content
Registration
Authentication
Taxpayer Profiles
Identity Verification
Digital Certificates
Account Services
Filing Services
Payment Services
Misc. Services
Accounts
Taxpayer Profiles


The Presentation layer has three subsystems:

Portal Subsystem Provides the web based user interface for the portal. It also
can supply multi-channel support (telephony, mobile devices, web services) as
well as enable multi-lingual web content and support for Section 508 (web based
accessibility).
Forms Subsystem E-Tax solutions have special requirements for building
forms based applications quickly and easily. The Forms subsystem provides tools
that make it easy to build new forms and interviews that incorporate business
logic.
Content + Search Subsystem The E-Tax portal has a large library of content,
including form instructions, FAQs, articles, tips, etc. The content library
maintains all of the textual content and provides an easy way for non-technical
agency employees to maintain the library. It also includes a full text searchable
database with advanced search features.

The Services layer has two major subsystems:

Security + Profile Subsystem This subsystem maintains profiles of users and
organizations who access the system. It provides authentication and access
control to the portal, as well as other security services like identity verifications,
registration, and digital signature service.
E-Tax Services This subsystem is primarily composed of web services that
provide tax specific functions. The primary functions are grouped around
displaying and managing taxpayer accounts, making filings, and providing online
payment services. There are a number of others grouped together in the
miscellaneous category.

The Integration and Data subsystem has two subsystems:

Tax Administration Integration This subsystem is used to send and receive
data to the agency core processing systems that provide tax administration
functions. It has services to convert data between legacy data formats and XML
(used within the E-Tax). It can use a variety of transport protocols like FTP,
SMTP, message queues etc. Finally, this subsystem has advanced process
orchestration capabilities enabling it to interoperate with agency systems in
complex, long running, multi-step processes, as might be required, for example to
register a new business enterprise.
E-Tax Data The E-Tax Data subsystem stores static data used by the services
and presentation layers. Some of the data that will be maintained includes
account information and taxpayer profiles. All data that is specific only to E-Tax
is also maintained by this subsystem.


3.2. Portal Subsystem
3.2.1. Portal Subsystem Overview

The E-Tax Portal provides the presentation tier services of the framework. It is the layer
that the end user sees when they go to the E-Tax portal. Users will primarily use the
portal through their PC web browser, but supporting other devices such as PDAs, cell
phones and even telephone will become increasingly important during the next decade.
Regardless of which device the user connects, the portal subsystem acts as the gateway to
all of the available E-Tax services.

The Portal layer communicates with the other layers in the architecture to perform actions
on the users behalf. It calls on the Security + Profile layer to verify the taxpayer has
access and to determine which services are available. It calls on the E-Tax Services layer
to make a filing. It calls the Integration and Data layer to get authorized information
from the revenue agencys core processing systems. The portal layer takes the data that it
gets from the other layers and presents it for the user.
3.2.2. HTML Portal
The E-Tax HTML web portal is the primary presentation interface that taxpayers use to
access the E-Tax services. Users rely on the portal as their primary way to make tax
payments, file taxes, look up information to aid in filing and services. The portal
interface makes it as easy as possible for filers to find the information or services that
they need. The portal is the framework that includes navigation and a common interface
standard for all of the E-Tax content and services.

The portal divides services into four broad categories: individual, business, and tax
practitioner and other government user. Content and services in the portal are tagged
with these four labels . The portal has an internal navigation tree that it uses to place
content and services. The first branch in the navigation separates these four categories.
Content is further subdivided within each of these categories, e.g., choices within
individual might include annual filing, estimated payment, payment plan for taxes
owed and FAQ. The portal employs this hierarchical navigation structure to facilitate
consistent and intuitive user access to content and services.

Especially important services or content may be highlighted on the portal or have
dedicated links. For instance, the File Income Tax service would likely be prominently
displayed on the portal home page, potentially offering links to other tax filing services
such as H&R Block or Quicken (Intuit).

In addition to the four classes of users defined above, by default, all users who access the
site without having logged in will be treated as guest users. The other types of users
are not known until they log in to the site and provide the required information through
the user registration process that identifies them with specific categories. . From then on,
whenever the user logs in to the portal the portal knows the category for that user.


In addition to login, the portal provides new user/business registration. In the E-Tax
Administration Framework, the portal subsystem provides the interface for login and
registration, but the Security + Profile service provides the middle tier components.
Upon successful login, the Security + Profile subsystem provides a user profile (object)
that includes category. The entire user profile is used to personalize the portal interface
and services.

Personalization is the software industry term used to describe the process of delivering
content on the web portal that is customized for an individual user. The benefit of
personalization is that a user sees the content and services that they ask for, use
frequently or that is most relevant to their category. Effective personalization focuses
and streamlines the user experience with the portal.

The E-Tax solutions are designed to offer personalization designed to assist users to
complete transactions or queries with a minimum of effort. Such personalization includes
types of taxes filed, balances paid or taxes due and due dates, practitioner relationships or
authorizations and, perhaps, indications of audit, collections or delinquency history.

The E-Tax portal provides a user interface framework for all of the content and services
of the portal. Most importantly, this means that the portal provides a standard user
interface look and feel for all portal services. Consistent behavior and look and feel
across services helps to ensure user satisfaction with the E-Tax portal.
3.2.3. Multi-Channel Support
People increasingly have instant access to the internet from a wide variety of electronic
devices. Today it is commonplace to have internet access from cell phones and personal
digital assistants (PDAs). The adoption rates of PDAs with internet access have been
slower than some had predicted several years ago. Nevertheless, demand is increasing,
especially now that cell phones and PDA devices are beginning to merge. Many
manufacturers and service providers now offer combination devices with internet access.
Microsofts new device is called the Smart Phone and combines a mini-version of
Microsoft Windows with the features of a cell phone.

In the next several years there will be a rapid growth in the number of people who will be
online most of the time via personal wireless devices. As this trend emerges, it will be
important for web portals to support these users on their disparate devices.

Another category of multi-channel support--known as Computer Telephony
Interface,or CTIcan provide taxpayers and other users some electronic self-service
capabilities over standard telephones. CTI is aimed at users across the Digital Divide,
i.e., who do not have access to or regularly use a PC.

The CTI interface is used frequently in businesses like banking where customers can call
in and get current account balances, as well as transfer funds between accounts. Within
E-Tax Administration, CTI can offer individuals the ability to file some types of taxes
(simple), to make payments and to check on refund status by dialing in over the phone.


One premise of supporting multiple access devices and CTI is that it be accomplished
without adding significant incremental work for developers. Developers should not have
to write the same code and design the same page individually for each supported device.
Industry standards like WAP and Compact HTML for cell phones support this goal.
However, it is also important to use development tools that abstract out the underlying
device types. These tools enable developers to build for all of the devices without having
to learn programming specifics of each device type.
3.2.4. Section 508
Microsoft's long-standing vision of "a computer on every desk and in every home" is an
industry-wide call to action for making computers and software accessible to individuals
with disabilities.

According to government figures, one person in five has some functional limitation, and
8 percent of all users on the Web have disabilities. In the United States alone, more than
30 million people have disabilities and can be affected by the design of computer
software.

Making computers accessible to people with disabilities is the law. Many countries have
laws that mandate accessibility at some level. In the United States, three laws cover this
area:
The Americans with Disabilities Act - states that all businesses with 15 or more
employees must make reasonable accommodation for employees or potential
employees with disabilities. This act entitles individuals to sue their employers or
prospective employers if the software they use isn't accessible. Recently, this act
was interpreted to also require commercial Web sites to be accessible.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act - has a similar effect on the government
and any organization receiving federal funding. The government is the single
largest purchaser of computer software.
Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act - requires hardware and software
manufacturers to ensure that products are usable by individuals with disabilities or
compatible with existing accessibility aids commonly used by individuals with
disabilities, if readily achievable. This may apply to any hardware or software that
transfers information over the Internet, a network, or phone lines.

To ensure that reasonable access to all portal functions is provided, E-Tax services must
follow consistent industry standards and emerging best practices for developing
applications for individuals with disabilities.
3.2.5. Direct Mail
A critical function of the E-Tax portal is communicating with users over email.
Automated outbound email provides a valuable way of sending personalized links to
reminders, notifications, and general news information. The email can be personalized
for the needs and interests of the targeted user.


Direct Mail is a portal service that is used for sending email to E-Tax portal users. It has
a highly scaleable mail architecture that allows for personalized mailings. The direct
mail engine can be setup to send out personalized newsletters, reminder notifications or
any other email that the revenue agency wants to send. Mailings are defined as templates
with personalized placeholders and script. The Direct Mailer runs the scripts, which fill
in the personalized mail and then it sends the mail to the addressee. The mailing can be
setup to run on predetermined schedules (hourly, daily, weekly etc).

In general, outbound direct mail should not include private data in the email. Instead, the
email should include a hyperlink back to the portal. The user clicks on the link and be
taken directly to the portal to see their private data. The portal prompts the user to login.
After successful login they are redirected to the page with the information. For example,
the direct mailer sends a taxpayer notification that his tax refund has been posted to his
bank account. The message not include the amount of refund, which account it was
posted to, etc. Instead the email includes an embedded hyperlink. The taxpayer simply
clicks on that link and is directed to the portal. Then, the taxpayer is prompted to login.
After login, the refund page pops up automatically and the taxpayer is shown the amount
of refund, account that it was posted to, along with date and time posted.
3.2.6. Public Web Services
There are many accounting and tax filing software packages for individual and business
taxpayers. In the traditional process, the information that is in the revenue agency core
processing systems and the information in the taxpayer accounting and tax filing software
is completely separated. Revenue agency account information is stored and maintained
by the revenue agency, and it is not shared electronically with the taxpayer. In the future,
E-Tax portals must provide individual and business taxpayers both the ability to view
their account data and, for specific processing scenarios, a way for the taxpayers tax and
accounting software to access and use revenue agency data directly. Web services can
enable the E-Tax portal to exchange information and services securely with third party
software.

Web services are the fundamental building blocks in the move to distributed computing
on the internet. Open standards and the focus on communication and collaboration among
people and applications have created an environment in which web services are becoming
the platform for application integration. Applications are constructed using multiple web
services from various sources that work together regardless of where they reside or how
they were implemented.

Web services are based on XML, a generic, standards-based language that facilitates
interoperability across heterogeneous environments. XML was designed to enable the
internet to be used for exchanging business messages. By focusing on content and
business context, the use of XML enables systems in remote locations to exchange and
interpret documents without human intervention.
.
A primary advantage of the XML web services architecture is that it allows programs
written in different languages on different platforms to communicate with each other in a


standards-based way. So, for example, in the future, while preparing a tax return on the
revenue agency E-Tax portal, a taxpayer might be offered an option to use an H&R Block
supplied tax calculation and filing routine that uses data, such as estimated tax payments,
that is recorded in the revenue agency system. Or, using TurboTax to prepare the filing,
the program may have direct access to investment income data from a broker that
supports web services.

There certain to be many potential uses for the Web Services paradigm, and, so it is
critical that revenue agencies begin to employ XML standards and to address the security
and other infrastructure requirements that will be needed to support future developments
in this area.

3.3. Forms Subsystem
3.3.1. Overview
The tax portal has a large number of online forms. Every tax type has its own unique tax
forms and may vary from year to year. Because of the variety and complexity of tax
forms, the E-Tax Administration Framework has a dedicated forms subsystem. The
forms subsystem provides tools that make it fast and easy to create and manage forms.
The forms subsystem is a service that is tightly integrated with the rest of the E-Tax
portal architecture.

Many types of online forms use an associated interview questionnaire, while others use
table-like forms with a series of text directions guiding the user to complete the form.
Interview style is often more user friendly than the standard forms-based approach.
Interviews are interactive, with follow-on questions and based on those answers to
previous questions. Users only answer that are applicable. Many popular income tax
software packages like TurboTax and TaxCut effectively combine both the interview
style and forms style.

Whether working with forms or interviews, data is captured logical sets that are displayed
on separate web pages. During the process of filling out the sections, the interim results
are saved by the forms subsystem. After all sections are complete, the user typically is
asked to submit the form. The forms engine provides a validation step to ensure that all
of the required sections are complete. Form submission is a formal step that commits the
filer to the action. A digital signature may be an optional service (part of the Security +
Profile subsystem) that is provided to ensure that the user signed the form prior to
submission.

Most forms have built-in business logic like summation columns, default values and
required fields. For some complex forms or interviews there will be sections of the form
that are visible or hidden depending on business rules and previous user input. The forms
engine dynamically determines what is displayed based on prior other user input.


Forms data is saved in XML format. The XML data conforms to an XML Schema
defined for each form type. The schema does not include any of the business logic in it,
but it does include placeholders for calculated amounts. Because the form data is
incrementally saved as the user fills in each section, the user can close their browser at
any time, and when they return to the portal, they can continue where they left off.

E-Tax solutions must offer the ability for revenue agencies to enable manage existing
repositories of forms and to build new forms quickly and easily, without having to use
software developers to custom build each form individually. The Forms subsystem
provides tools to accomplish this requirement.

3.4. Content +Search Subsystem
3.4.1. Overview
The E-Tax Content + Search Subsystem is an integral part of the E-Tax solution. This
subsystem makes tax policy information, instructions, forms, and all other relevant
electronic content easy to capture, prepare, store and display through the E-Tax portal.
Similarly, it offers tools to facilitate immediate access over the internet to this content by
taxpayers, revenue agency employees, other authorized government officials and tax
practitioners. The subsystem provides searching capability to public documents which
include: current and historical rulings, responses to tax appeals, tax regulations, tax code
and similar documents to anyone with Internet access. This service benefits both internal
agency users as well as the general public in researching and resolving tax questions and
issues.

The Content + Search Subsystem applies a structured approach to managing a vast
amount of online content. It employs a content management tool that provides many
benefits, such as:

Empower content owners - increase productivity by giving non-technical
content owners tools they need and can use, without detailed knowledge of the
underlying technologies, to create and publish their own web content.
Leverage technical staff reduce the level of effort required by technical web
developers in the content design, creation and display process.
Increase content quality - ensure content accuracy and appropriateness with an
automated and flexible approval process.
Re-usable content - store and manage content separately from web site structure
and design to enable re-use and re-purposing of content
Multi-lingual content - manage content in any of the world's major languages.
Efficient Site Management and Deployment - manage re-usable templates and
media file objects centrally to ensure adherence to agency-established publishing
policies and standards.
Tightly Integrated - built to work seamlessly with existing technologies right
out-of-the-box.


All of this content has to be managed and tagged with metadata (i.e., data about data)
such that it can be easily retrieved using the portal search tool.
3.4.2. Content Management
Web content management procedures enable the design, authoring, review, approval,
conversion, storage, testing, and deployment of all web site content by non-technical content
owners. Once in service, content must be maintained, monitored, upgraded, and eventually
retired and archived. Comprehensive end-to-end content management also consists of
sophisticated reporting and analysis components.
Effective content management requires clearly defined roles and documented workflow for all
forms of content. It includes review and approval processes and clearly delineated
responsibilities for each tax type, information source, business process, etc.
Key content management functions include:
Design - The first step in the process is where the content sources are selected and
display standards defined
Authoring - This role is performed by graphic artists, videotape production crews,
photographers, technical writers, public relations and marketing staff, application
developers, Web page developers, lawyers, taxpayer education unit employees, and
anyone else that produces original material for the web site. Authored content is often
put under version control through the use of the content management system.
Review - A review process is typically required for all web site content. Reviewer
responsibilities should be well established and integrated into the flow of the content
creation and deployment cycle.
Approval - The normally multi-departmental nature of web content management
requires well-defined approval processes. Formal approvals should be required from
the early stages of content creation through final deployment.
Conversion - Most conversion takes place when the creative contentsuch as
images, multimedia, and text documentsis given to the web development staff.
Ideally, technical staff is not required to create or convert web content. Instead, the
content authors create content using templates that ensure that the format is correct for
the web site. If conversion is needed, it might includes modifying bitmapped images
to load faster on the web, changing image formats, and modifying database elements.
Web developers build templates and content authors add their content directly into the
templates. This approach drastically reduces the effort required of web developers,
who formerly had to manually create web pages out of content that they obtained from
content authors.
Storage - Content is stored in the content repository. The repository is organized
hierarchically. The content hierarchy is used for web site navigation and for
determining where content is shown on the portal.


Testing - Examples of testing include identifying broken or missing links; identifying
slow-loading pages; load testing; component testing; database access; script testing;
and comprehensive integration testing just prior to deployment.
Staging - Large sites sometimes differentiate between testing and staging servers. If
this is the case, the staging servers are used to assemble all content after it has been
thoroughly tested and before it is replicated to the production system.
Deployment - Deployment involves replication to the live system.
Maintenance and Updates - The content management process does not end when
content completes its journey to the web site. Old and out-of-date content does not
project a positive image and, accuracy of information is crucial to the credibility of
revenue agencies. Monitoring the content and updating it when necessary are critical
to ongoing usefulness of the E-Tax portal.
Retirement and Archival Out-of date or under-used pages must be removed and
archived.
Reporting and Analysis Overall site use patterns and portal user analysis are
integral to the continuous improvement and long-term success of the E-Tax portal. For
example, a pattern of frequent use of help for a particular tax form or instruction
might indicate a need for better instructions on the site or even for a taxpayer
education campaign.
As the E-Tax portal increasing becomes a primary point of contact with taxpayers, revenue
agency resources and staff focus will naturally shift to these critical activities.
3.4.3. Search
Content searching is an important E-Tax Portal function that enables all users to quickly
and easily find the tax content that they want. The search function has a number of
characteristics:

Full Text Search - The portal provides a full-text search option to search content
and any associated properties for user-entered keywords. The subsystem looks for
all content that match the search terms and returns a list of results sorted by
relevancy ranking. For a more focused search, the advanced search option allows
users to add properties to search criteria. In addition to searching content stored in
the content repository, information stored outside the portal server can be
searched when the users specify other content sources.
Content Sources The E-Tax portal improves search efficiency by enabling
searches across multiple information sources at the same time. Information may
be located in a variety of data stores such as other Web sites, file systems, and
databases. Data from each content source is scanned for users to search and view
on the E-Tax portal. The portal then becomes the consolidated source for the
information that the user needs, regardless of its location or format.


Categories - Categories are used to group similar data items, such as documents
or forms. The use of categories provides the ability to browse through information
using a category hierarchy. Categories help users easily find content that they
need. A single item of content may appear in several different categories in the
portal.
Category Assistant - Although categories are an excellent way to organize
content, with a large number of data items, specifying and maintaining categories
can be quite time consuming. The E-Tax portal provides an automated
categorization tool called the Category Assistant to assist with this task. After site
developers manually categorize a small sample of representative documents or
forms, the Category Assistant uses the sample as a training guide. The Category
Assistant compares the training examples to the uncategorized documents and
forms to select the best category matches. This capability enables the revenue
agency to organize and maintain a useful category structure for the E-Tax portal
quickly and cost-effectively.
Best Bets - Best Bets enhance search efficiency by directing users to the most
appropriate information for specified search terms. A Best Bet is a content item
that a content author selected as the best match for a specific category or
keyword. Best Bets are displayed at the top of a search results list and are
identified with a special icon.
Subscriptions The E-Tax Portal enables users to receive ongoing updates on a
regular basis through subscriptions. Users are able to subscribe to a specific piece
of content, all content in a folder, an entire category, or a set of search results.
Subscription notifications can be sent when the content is modified or discussed,
or if a new document matches user-specified subscription criteria. The portal
offers a subscriptions page to enable users to view subscription notifications, or
users can choose to receive notifications by e-mail.
3.4.4. Multilingual Content
Many E-Government portals require versions of the portal for Spanish speaking citizens
and/or other foreign language speakers. The goal of the E-Tax portal is to enable a
revenue agency to add other language versions of the portal without adding significant
overhead. Therefore it is important that the portal framework and the content
management solution facilitate building a multilingual portal.

The E-Tax portal offers users a language drop-down control on the top of the home
page. That drop-down box shows a list of all languages supported by the portal, such as
English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese. The user is able to change their default
language by selecting the appropriate choice.

It is important to note that the language setting affects the entire site including:

Site Navigation The site channel hierarchy is shown using the users selected
language.


Content The content repository includes different language versions of some
content. If there is only an English version of a document, then the Spanish
speaking user would optionally be able to see the English version.
Search The search facility searches based on the language setting.
Forms If there are different language versions of forms, the appropriate
language version is to the user.
3.5. Security +Profile Subsystem
The Security + Profile subsystem maintains profiles of users and organizations who
access the system. It provides authentication and access control to the portal, as well as
other security services like identity verifications, registration, and digital signature
service. This subsystem is a service that is used by the presentation layer services
(portal, content + search, etc.) for authentication and access control.

3.5.1. Registration
Registration is the process by which a user or business gains access to the advanced
features of the E-Tax portal. In order for a user to have access to the portal, they are
required to register first.

There are essentially five categories of users of the portal:

Unregistered Guests These users may search the content repository and browse
the site, but do not have access to the advanced E-Tax services such as viewing
their account and online filing.
Individual Taxpayers Individual taxpayers are registered users who have full
access to all E-Tax services for individual taxpayers.
Businesses Taxpayers The E-Tax portal registers the business. A business can
have one or more individuals who can use E-Tax services on behalf of the
business.
Practitioners Practitioners include CPAs, Public Accountants, Bookkeepers
and other tax preparers. These users access the E-Tax portal to perform online
services for other individuals and businesses. Practitioners must register with the
system. An individual or business user can grant access to E-Tax services to a
registered practitioner.
Other Government Agency Users This class includes other departments
outside the revenue agency, within a single government, or other governments
that require access to tax information, such as a local government accessing
information within a state government.

Every person who accesses the portal has an associated login. Every login, regardless
of user category (individual, business, practitioner) has a username, password, and
includes some basic information like name, address, email address, etc. The login has an
associated user category. The user categories are Individual, Business, Practitioner, or
Other Government User.


The registration process allows the revenue agency to create a login without associating
the login with a particular user category. This is useful for cases where, for example, a
prospective business user is registering a new business. In this case the user creates a
login that is used to access the Register New Business E-Tax service.

An Individual is the simplest of the user categories. The individual taxpayer is associated
with a taxpayer id.

The Business taxpayer category is more complex. A business can have many logins to
access the business account and use E-Tax portal services. During the initial user
registration process, the business is linked to a login. This linkage is called the primary
login. One function of the Security + Profile subsystem is to enable the primary login to
create additional logins (called secondary logins) for other users who will have access to
the business through the portal. The primary login can assign privileges to the secondary
logins. They can also assign other logins as additional primary logins, giving them full
access to all portal functions.
3.5.2. Identity Verification
The E-Tax portal offers access to large volumes of very sensitive financial information.
This information has always been kept safely and securely inside the revenue agency.
One of the benefits and risks of the E-Tax Administration Framework is that this data is
now being offered over the Internet. Therefore it is critical that before access to that
information is supplied, that the system ensures that the individual who is requesting
access is, in fact, the individual or business user authorized for access.

While the most secure way to verify user identity for E-Tax access is to require a visit the
revenue agency, this approach is not feasible in practice. One alternative that has been
used successfully is an electronic approach based on verifying identify through the
exchange of a shared secret that only the revenue agency and the individual or business
knows. For example, users can be asked to provide some piece of information from last
years tax return, such as their adjusted gross income. By requiring multiple pieces of
secret information, revenue agencies can reasonably assure that the person supplying
the information is indeed the authorized individual.

Another option or one that may be combined with the shared secret approach is to pre-
create accounts and then to mail the login and initial password to the individual or
business. Since the tax agency has the address of the person, they can be reasonably
assured of their identity. This could be combined with a shared secret when the user logs
in for the first time, further ensuring the overall security.
3.5.3. Authentication
The authentication services is provided by the Security + Profile subsystem. Its purpose
is to verify user login. It is called by the portal subsystem when a user logs in. Web
services, telephony interfaces and multi-channel devices may all leverage this centralized
authentication services.


The authentication service provides a forgot password function which allows a user to
retrieve their password if they have forgotten it. When requested, it will email their
password to the registered email address. The login id is never sent with the password.
This action is tracked in an audit log.
3.5.4. Access Control
The access control service is provided by the Security + Profile subsystem. It is used by
all of the other subsystems.

The access control service verifies that the connected user has right to access or use other
E-Tax portal services. When a logged in user tries to access a service, the service calls
the authentication service of the Security + Profile subsystem. This service cross
references the user login with its database of services to determine if the user has access.

This service can optionally include an audit function which can be used to track failed
authentication and/or access violations. The auditing information can be used internally
by site administrators or presented (in modified form) to users. For example, when a user
accesses the portal they might be told that there were six previous failed login attempts.
3.5.5. Taxpayer Profiles
The taxpayer profile service is a reusable service of the Security + Profile subsystem.
The profile is a term used to describe common properties of a logged in user. The profile
is used by other services for personalization of the user interface and accessing elements
of the user such as their user type (business, individual, practitioner, etc. ), current
mailing address, email address, taxpayer id. The profile may also store user preferences
such as their preferred language, tax types etc.

The profile has two main parts the user specific profile, and the account (taxpayer)
profile. The user profile is common to every user. It includes name, email address,
mailing address, user id, password, and preferences. The account profile contains
information about an individual taxpayer. The service links the login profile to the
account profile.

The profile subsystem is the service layer interface to retrieve and update the user profile
information. From a presentation layer perspective, this service provides web pages to
enable the user to update their profile.
3.5.6. Tax Practitioners
Tax practitioners include CPAs, Public Accountants, bookkeepers, attorneys and other
tax preparers who use the E-Tax portal to file, pay or report on behalf of individuals and
businesses. The practitioner registers and gets a login on the portal so that they can assist
their clients with services offered on the portal. During the registration process they
select the option stating that they are a tax practitioner. The E-Tax portal shows the
practitioner a list of their clients. From that list they can choose the client and gain access
to the authorized functions for that client.


Once a practitioner has registered with the system, the business or individual taxpayers
can provide them with access to their individual account. The individual or business user
has an option to Add Preparer for filing or Add Representative for audit or appeals.
This is a registration function that walks taxpayers through assigning the practitoner
access to E-Tax functions and/or their online account. The user is required to know the
user id of the preparer. This information must be provided to the user by the practitioner.
The user can also set a duration for how long the practitioner will have access to the
users account and can submit filings for them. Note that a preparer can not complete the
filing for a user. The preparer can create the filing online, but the user is required to
review the filing and submit it to the revenue agency.
3.5.7. Digital Signatures
Digital Signatures are the electronic version of the signature line on paper forms. One
way that it is better than a paper signature is that a digital signature can be use to validate
that the data has not been changed since it was signed. With a paper form, the
information can be modified after the form is signed. A digital signature effectively takes
all of the data on the form and puts a signature around it, setting it in stone. If the data
were to be changed later, the signature could be determined to be invalid. Thus digital
signatures are an appealing feature of E-Tax solutions because both the taxpayer and the
revenue agency can ensure that the agency only processes the official signed version of a
tax filing, and they can ensure that it hasnt been tampered with. For the revenue agency,
the digital signature provides a way to prove that the filing is exactly what the taxpayer
submitted and has not been modified. In E-Government solutions within the US, a digital
signature is increasingly being accepted as having the same legal stature as a paper
signature.

The digital signature service can be used by any E-Tax service. The E-Tax
Administration Framework approach is unique because there is no code or X.509 (digital
certificate) certificate needed on the client PC to enable signatures. The recommended
approach uses an X.509 certificate, where the private key is encrypted and stored
securely on a centralized server, in such a way to ensure non-repudiation. Only the user
who was issued the certificate can sign documents using that certificate.

Because it is server-based, the E-Tax services digital signature engine avoids many of the
pitfalls of client-side signing approaches. Other approaches store the certificate on the
client PC. This approach fails when clients want to sign from more than one computer
(e.g., they may need to sign both from their home and office computers). The client-
based approach must handle the management challenge of maintaining individual
certificates on individual machines. This challenge is especially complicated because of
the wide variety of operating systems and web browsers that are available to clients.
Applications that require signing from a diverse population like E-Tax applications
cannot dictate the operating system, virtual machine, or web browser of the user.


3.6. E-Tax Services
3.6.1. Overview
This subsystem is composed of web services that provide tax specific functions. The
primary functions are grouped around displaying and managing taxpayer accounts,
making filings, and providing online payment services. There are a number of other
services grouped together in the miscellaneous category.
3.6.2. Services
The services in this layer are reusable components that provide important E-Tax
Administration Framework functions. These functions are grouped into a few categories:

Account Services - Account services provide access to the taxpayer account
information. The account is the place where all of the historical information is
maintained including the current account balance, payments, filings etc.
Payment Services This is a reusable service for processing payments.
Payments may be credit card, automatic account withdrawal etc.
Filing Services Filing Services process tax filings for each tax type. They are
used to create a filing, manage the filing while it is being worked on by the user,
and ultimately to submit the filing to the tax agency.
Miscellaneous Services The E-Tax Administration Framework includes a
number of functions such as request appeal, establish a power of attorney, register
a new business, etc. Each of these functions has a service layer component(s) to
support the processing of the service.
3.6.3. XML and Web Services
The E-Tax Administration Framework uses XML as the standard data format for
communication between layers. The functions in the services layer are web services, i.e.,
can be accessed and executed dynamically over the internet..
3.6.3.1. XML
Data exchange between computer systems is not a new concept. However, formerly,
most data exchange formats were ad-hoc or created using binary data formats. Such
approaches create problems related to the differences between how data is stored and
represented on different systems. To address this problem, the W3C developed
Extensible Markup Language (XML) in 1996-97 and officially released version 1.0 in
February 1998. XML was designed to enable the Internet to be used for exchanging
business messages.

XML is a generic markup language, meaning that it defines a message or document but
not how the content is displayed or printed. By focusing on content and business context,
XML enables systems in remote locations to exchange and interpret documents without
human intervention.


There is an important standard work taking place within the Oasis standards body
(http://www.oasis-open.org) to define some common tax-related XML standards. Their
work is called Tax XML. The products of Tax XML will include a vocabulary of terms,
a repository of artifacts including XML templates, documents exchanged for tax
compliance, best practices, guidelines and recommendations for practical
implementation. It will focus on developing a common vocabulary that will allow
participants to unambiguously identify the tax related information exchanged within a
particular business context. This work is still in early stages, but may someday become a
viable body of knowledge and work that the services layer would be able to employ.
3.6.3.2. Web Services
Web services are the fundamental building blocks in the move to distributed computing
on the internet. Open standards and the focus on communication and collaboration among
people and applications have created an environment in which web services are becoming
the platform for application integration. Applications are constructed using multiple web
services from various sources that work together regardless of where they reside or how
they were implemented.

Web services definitions:

Web services expose useful functionality to web users through a standard web
protocol. In most cases, the protocol used is simple object access protocol
(SOAP).
Web services provide a way to describe their interfaces in enough detail to allow a
user to build a client application to communicate with the service. This
description is usually provided in an XML document called a web services
description language (WSDL) document.
Web services are registered so that potential users can find them easily. This is
done with universal discovery description and integration (UDDI).
A primary advantage of the XML web services architecture is that it allows programs
written in different languages on different platforms to communicate with each other in a
standards-based way. The other significant advantage over previous efforts is that XML
web services work with standard Web protocolsXML, HTTP, and TCP/IP. A
significant number of organizations already have a web infrastructure and people with
knowledge and experience in maintaining it, so the cost of entry for XML web services is
significantly less than that of previous technologies.

The E-Tax Administration Framework employs a web services model to ensure
maximum reusability and interoperability. A common fabric of services that facilitates
information sharing is woven together to deliver the necessary data and services between
the layers in the E-Tax architecture. This services fabric is made up of internet-based
standards including XML and SOAP, agreements between layers on data schemas, a
robust security model, and a centralized service registry to locate and look up web
services.


3.7. Tax Administration Integration
A crucial requirement of the E-Tax solution is exchanging information between the
backend revenue agency core processing systems and the E-Tax Administration system.
There is a wide range of backend systems that E-Tax services may need to communicate
with so it is important that the E-Tax Administration Framework have a flexible solution
for integration and information exchange. By having a flexible integration subsystem,
the E-Tax solution can be much more quickly and easily integrated with the existing
agency systems. New services can be rapidly added with minimal impact on existing
backend systems.

This subsystem has services to convert data between legacy data formats and XML. It
can use a variety of transport protocols like FTP, SMTP, and message queues. It has
advanced process orchestration capabilities enabling it to interoperate with agency
systems in complex, long running, multi-step processes.

An example is helpful to explain the concept of advanced process orchestration. When
an E-Tax service performs an action like making a tax payment, a series of steps are
executed. First, the payment information is submitted to the integration subsystem,
which will forward the payment to the appropriate core processing tax system. The
payment data will be converted from XML used by the E-Tax payment service to the
preferred data format of the agency core processing system. At the same time the E-Tax
account data for the taxpayer is updated to reflect the payment. The payment is recorded
in the account as having originated in the E-Tax system. Also the account totals are
updated in the E-Tax database to reflect the payment. Thus, when the user looks at their
account, their payment is shown in their account. During the next batch update cycle
from the agency, the official payment is transferred back to the account. The integration
subsystem reconciles payment recorded in the account with the official agency record.

Using our payment example, we need to handle the failure case where the payment was
not accepted. If the supplied account information for an ACH payment is invalid a series
of steps are needed. In this situation, the integration subsystem is notified by an error
code produced by the core processing system. The integration system responds by rolling
back and suspending the payment transaction and sending an email notification to the
taxpayer.

Continuing the example, if the payment status isnt returned from the core processing
system after a specified period, regularly scheduled systems assurance logic is called to
address the problem. For example, the user may have decided to pay by check through
old process. This would trigger an update, if necessary, to E-Tax data. Or, if there is no
user or agency staff action the assurance process would highlight the suspended
transaction for investigation.

This payment example demonstrates a complex business process that involves the E-Tax
solution and the backend agency core processing tax systems. The process orchestration
is not hard-coded into the E-Tax solution. Instead it maintains business rules in a format


that is easy to use and modify by business analysts who work with developers on both
systems to build the correct business rules and processing steps.

Another key requirement of this layer is that flexibility is required to convert data
between data formats. The core processing systems may use comma delimited, flat files
or a wide variety of other file formats to exchange data. The E-Tax Administration
Framework uses XML for its internal format for all data. Therefore the integration
subsystem needs to do the conversion between whatever the required core processing
application file format is and the XML schemas used by E-Tax. Generally speaking,
manual coding of data conversion is arduous and error prone. Therefore it is crucial that
this subsystem use a data mapping tool to automate the conversion between data formats.

This subsystem will support a variety of standard file transfer protocols including FTP,
SMTP, HTTP, and MSMQ (message queue) ensuring the widest compatibility to
exchange data with backend systems.

3.8. E-Tax Data Subsystem

As described throughout this document, the E-Tax Administration Framework is
designed to capture, validate, maintain, store and archive a wide range of data, from
images and document repositories to detailed taxpayer account financial data. The
expectation of the Framework is that the financial books of record and significant internal
processing will continue to reside in the revenue agency core processing systems, even
though in the future significant portions of this data will come through E-Tax services
and significant new information will be captured and maintained outside of the legacy
core processing systems.

The E-Tax Administration Framework also anticipates the evolutionary development of
these applications and data relationships, so that for some taxes the E-Tax services might
completely replace processing and taxpayer books of record financial data, as a core
processing system component is replaced. Wherever official tax data or other agency data
are maintained, the E-Tax data subsystem rigorously controls data flows among
applications to ensure data quality, data integrity, data reconciliation between redundant
data stores, and, perhaps most importantly, data security and access control.

The most sensitive data that the E-Tax data subsystem will access is the financial and
other confidential tax data maintained for each taxpayer account.. Depending on the
specific capabilities and performance characteristics of the core processing systems, the
E-Tax data subsystem may simply access core system data to support processing or may
maintain a snapshot of that data is on the portal for use by E-Tax services. Where data
systematic data redundancy is required, the data subsystem includes rigorous back-up and
reconciliation routines. Even without redundant data stores, data synchronization
problems can arise when processing flows are interrupted through various normal and
abnormal circumstances. Systems assurance routines identify these conditions for
subsequent monitoring and resolution. Finally, as described in Section 3.5, above, the


Security and Profile system will enforce secure access control around all confidential
taxpayer data, as well as control over the integrity of information maintained on the E-
Tax portal.


4. E-Tax Technology Architecture
4.1. Overview
This section on the E-Tax Technology Architecture briefly provides an overview of
Microsofts platform and tools for building, deploying, operating, and managing an E-
Tax solution. Microsoft products and technologies can be used to build a complete E-
Tax solution. Microsoft products are based on industry standards and all leverage XML

and web services to facilitate interoperability with existing software and system
infrastructures. This section describes the solution using the Microsoft .NET Platform

The Technology Architecture includes the three tiers Presentation, Services, and
Integration and Data from the Conceptual Architecture. As depicted in the graphic
Microsoft Solution For
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representation of the architecture, above, Microsoft technologies and servers can be
deployed to provide the full range of required functionality. In addition to the three tiers,
the diagram shows that the architecture is based on the Microsoft .NET Framework and
Windows Server 2003. On the right side of the diagram we show Developer Tools, Data
Center, and Operations and Management. These three areas that are particularly
important to the IT organization that will build, deploy, and manage the operational E-
Tax solution.

The diagram above presents the full range of tools and technologies required to
implement the complete framework. These tools establish new benchmarks for price
performance and, at the same time enable IT organizations to deliver complex, integrated
services quickly and without an overwhelming investment in new technology and related
technical training.

Additionally, it is important to note that many practical implementation scenarios can be
accommodated that encompass partial implementation, phased implementation or both to
the address various revenue agency priorities. Additionally, in organizations that have
investments in existing products and the cost of conversion is a problem, individual
components of the Microsoft offerings can often be implemented in conjunction with
these existing components. Any real-life tax processing environment will have
complexities and unique requirements that must be addressed as a part of an overall
strategic planning exercise to ensure agency business and technical priorities are aligned.
4.1.1. What is .NET?
Microsoft .NET on microsoft.com
Before delving into the specific details of the E-Tax architecture, it is important to
explain Microsoft .NET, because it is a fundamental element of the platform. Microsoft
.NET is a set of Microsoft software technologies for connecting the world of information,
people, systems, and devices. It enables an unprecedented level of software integration
through the use of XML Web services: discrete, building-block applications that connect
to each otheras well as to other, larger applicationsvia the Internet.
Infused into the products that make up the Microsoft platform, .NET provides the ability
to quickly and reliably build, host, deploy, and use secure and connected solutions
through XML web services. The Microsoft platform provides a suite of developer tools,
client applications, XML Web services, and servers necessary to participate in this
connected world.

These XML Web services provide reusable components built on industry standards that
invoke capabilities from other applications independent of the way the applications were
built, their operating system or platform, or the devices used to access them. With XML
web services, the revenue agency can integrate applications and across network
boundaries with other agencies, businesses and citizens. This advance in computing
opening the door to federated collaboration and more efficient government-to-
government, government-to-business and government-to-taxpayer servicescan create
significant gains in efficiency and effectiveness.


With the momentum behind XML Web services growing among developers, Microsoft is
building a platform to help them write, deploy, and manage these services. Microsoft
.NET is that platform. It contains both products and services developers need to build and
run XML web services, and enables some of the user experiences that demonstrate the
integration of XML web services with the universe of computers, smart devices, and
consumer oriented web-based services.

XML web services should be built on a next generation infrastructure that offers
developers the benefits of modular architecture, economical and linear scaling, security,
reliability, manageability, and high availability. The .NET Enterprise Servers and the
Windows 2003 Server family make up the Microsoft .NET server infrastructure for
deploying, managing, and orchestrating XML web services. Designed with mission-
critical performance in mind, they provide enterprises with the agility they need to
integrate their systems, applications, and partners through XML web services, and the
flexibility to adapt to changing business requirements.

The Windows 2003 Server family is Microsofts secure, scalable foundation for running
the .NET Enterprise Servers and the next generation of business applications.

The .NET Enterprise Servers are:
Application Center 2000 - to deploy and manage highly available and scalable
Web applications;
BizTalk Server 2002 - to build XML-based business processes across
applications and organizations;
Commerce Server 2002 - for quickly building scalable e-commerce solutions;
Content Management Server 2002 to manage content for dynamic e-business
Web sites;
Host Integration Server 2000 - for bridging data and applications on legacy
systems;
Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000 - or secure, fast Internet
connectivity;
Mobile Information 2001 Server - to enable application support by mobile
devices like cell phones; and,
SQL Server 2000 - to store, retrieve, and analyze structured XML data.

4.2. Platform Technology Layer
The platform technology is the foundation upon which the E-Tax solution is built. It
provides the server operating system and associated services, and the execution
environment for all of the E-Tax software and Web Services. There are two major
components of the E-Tax platform Microsoft Windows 2003 Server and Microsoft
.NET Framework.


4.2.1. Windows Server 2003
Windows 2003 product overview
Whats New in Windows Server 2003

Windows 2003 Server is the base operating system for all of the other Microsoft .NET
Servers used in this architecture. It is the platform upon which the rest of the E-Tax
solution is based.

Windows 2003 Server includes many services right out of the box that are critical to the
E-Tax architecture including:
Internet Information Services (IIS) Integrated Web services that enable users to
easily host and manage Web sites, create Web-based applications, and extend file,
print, media, and communication services to the Web.
Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) Enables guaranteed communication across
networks and systems regardless of the current state of the communicating
applications and systems.
Network Load Balancing Provides scalability and high availability by balancing
incoming IP traffic among multi-node clusters.
Active Directory Services Centralizes administrative information about users,
applications, and devices.
Enterprise UDDI services - A dynamic and flexible infrastructure for XML Web
Services. This standards-based solution enables organizations to run their own internal
UDDI service for intranet or extranet use. Developers can easily and quickly find and
re-use the Web services available within the organization. IT administrators can
catalog and manage the programmable resources in their network. With Enterprise
UDDI services, companies can build and deploy smarter, more reliable applications.

Certificate Server - The Certificate Server is a critical part of a public key
infrastructure that allows customers to issue their own x.509 certificates to their
users for PKI functionality such as certificate-based authentication, IPSEC and
email security. Integration with Active Directory and Web-based enrollment tools
simplifies user enrollment.

Integrated .NET Framework The .NET Framework Version 1.1 is integrated
with the operating system. The .NET Framework provides a fully managed,
protected, and feature-rich application execution environment.

4.2.2. Microsoft .NET Framework
Introducing .NET


.NET Basics
Learn about the .NET Framework

The .NET Framework is a high-productivity, standards-based, multi-language application
execution environment that handles essential plumbing chores and eases deployment. It
provides an application execution environment that manages memory, addresses
versioning issues, and improves the reliability, scalability, and security of the application
environment. The .NET Framework consists of several parts, including the Common
Language Runtime, a rich set of class libraries or building XML Web services, and
ASP.NET, the next generation of Active Server Pages.

Microsoft .NET is optimized for XML and XML web services, but it is by no means the
only choice of development platform. Because XML is an open standard, created and
managed by the World Wide Web Consortium with the input of many computer-industry
companies, the products and services within Microsoft .NET will interoperate with a
broad set of XML and XML web services enabled infrastructure and developer tools
from other vendors.

The .NET Framework consists of three major areas. The first is the common language
runtime, which assumes responsibility for executing the application. The common
language runtime ensures that all application dependencies are met, manages memory,
and handles such issues as security and language integration. The common language
runtime supplies many services that help simplify code development and application
deployment while improving application reliability. The bulk of this work is handled
transparently, simplifying the tasks of developers and administrators.

The second area is the unified core classes. These classes provide all the facilities that a
developer requires to build a modern application, including XML support, networking,
and data access. Having these unified classes means that a developer building any type of
application, whether Windows-based or Web-based, uses the same classes. This
consistency results in improved developer productivity and code reuse.

The third and final area involves the presentation classes, which include ASP.NET for the
development of Web applications, as well as XML Web Services and Windows Forms
for the development of Windows-based, or "smart client," applications. It also includes
the .NET Compact Framework and Mobile Web Controls for building user interfaces for
mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones.
4.3. Presentation Layer
The presentation layer of the Technology Architecture provides the front-end services
that the citizen and business use to access the E-Tax portal. It provides all of the
capabilities defined in the Conceptual Architecture Portal, Content + Search and Forms
subsystem.


The presentation layer is based on the platform layer including ASP.NET and the .NET
Framework running on Windows Server 2003. It uses additional Microsoft servers and
solutions to provide pre-built components and services that further simplify the solution.

The core portal is built on the Microsoft Solution for Internet Business (MSIB). MSIB is
an umbrella solution that leverages many parts of several other Microsoft .NET Servers
including Content Management Server 2002, Commerce Server 2002, and Microsoft
SharePoint Server 2001 Search Engine. It provides a starter site that is already enabled as
multi-lingual portal with full content management capabilities. The starting portal is
easily customizable and can be enhanced using Visual Studio.NET 2003 and ASP.NET.

The Forms subsystem is a key component of the E-Tax Conceptual Architecture.
Development of this capability is described below and includes discussion of various
approaches for building the forms engine portion of the solution.

Finally, this section addresses telephony support and tools for ensuring compliance with
Section 508.
4.3.1. Microsoft Solution for Internet Business
MSIB product overview
MSIB Component Products

Microsoft Internet Business solutions provide functionality that can fundamentally
transform the way the revenue agencies conduct business on the web by integrating
content, commerce, and collaboration into a single seamless offering.
Features include:

User profiling - Capture detailed data about taxpayer and other portal user needs
and preferences as the starting point for delivering targeted one-to-one
information that is the hallmark of successful e-government portals.
Customer profiling and personalization - Translate user profile data into
relevant content and deliver it on demand.
Multi-lingual Content Easily support government requirements to deliver
content in many languages. The portal allows the user to choose their preferred
language (which can be stored in their user profile). The content and site
navigation is in their preferred language. Optionally, the solution allows access to
English content where content is not available in the alternate language.
Business and site analytics - Extract the full value all of the information captured
to support tax processing with tools for data mining, reporting, and taxpayer
segmentation. This information enables continuous improvement for users and
smarter decisions for site management.
Business user content creation and publishing - Enable revenue agency
employees without specialized technical skills to use familiar tools such as
Microsoft Word to create and publish Web content.
Publishing workflow management - Streamline and automate the task of
managing content from creation to editing to approval and publishing.


Content scheduling and archiving - Enable administrators to track and automate
when content is posted and how long it is accessible, while preserving it for reuse
as appropriate.
Document management - Increase productivity with easy-to-use tools that
empower employees to create, publishing, and manage Web content of all kinds.
Search - Make it easy for individual and business users to locate the information
they are looking for with robust, intuitive search tools.
Web site development tools - Take advantage of pre-defined site templates,
prescriptive architecture guidance, and integration with Visual Studio .NET for
rapid site deployment.
Web services - XML Web services provide the foundation for the next generation
of e-business opportunities. Tight integration of XML standards as part of the
development platform means Microsoft Internet Business solutions offer the
ability to quickly build and deploy XML Web services.
Application integration - Automate business processes between platforms,
systems, and applications, both within the revenue agency and across IT
boundaries.
Integration with key technology partners - Take advantage of additional
capabilities such as automated imaging; payment; digital asset management; and
more.
4.3.2. Content Management Server 2002
Content Management Server 2002 on microsoft.com
Content Management Server 2002 is a key component of the MSIB Portal. It is shown
separately here so that we can highlight some of its key features and benefits.
4.3.2.1. Content Creation, Publishing, and Storage
Content Management Server 2002 provides employees with easy-to-use tools that enable
them to create and publish rich, personalized content directly to Web sites. The role-
based distributed publishing model incorporates an approval workflow with multiple
levels, automatic content scheduling and archiving, and content indexing. Developers can
create centrally-managed page templates and publishing processes that ensure
consistency across the site, making it easy to ensure adherence to publishing standards
and branding without diminishing the flexibility of the publishing environment.

Two tools in Content Management Server 2002 ensure that non-technical managers of all
technical abilities can manage web content:

Web Author Client - Create, edit, and publish content directly within an Internet
browser by using the Web Author Client. When employees need to add or edit
web content, they can browse to the location on the site. Once they have been
authenticated as a content author in the Content Management Server 2002
workflow tool, they can select "Switch to Edit Site" in the browser and begin
editing content or they can select a pre-built page template to create new content.
Web pages can be previewed before they are submitted for review.


Authoring Connector for Microsoft Office. Create and publish content directly
within Microsoft Word by using the Authoring Connector for Microsoft Office.
The Authoring Connector provides employees with the ability to define
publishing tasks, schedule content refreshes, index content, select templates,
preview Web pages, and define whether the content should be converted to
HTML and published as a Web page or simply published as a Word document.

Content Management Server 2002 stores all content in XML, HTML, and binary content
objects for maximum flexibility. Objects are stored in a Microsoft SQL Server repository
and managed separately from the Web site templates or design elements. Web pages can
be built and served dynamically. This enables content to be personalized based on user
profile or behavior, browsing device, or language preference. By managing the objects
separately, content can easily be re-purposed across a variety of applications within the
organization and with external partners.

4.3.2.2. Web Site Development
By tightly integrating with Visual Studio .NET, Content Management Server 2002
provides developers with the richest possible Web development experience. The Content
Management Server 2002 development environment includes:

Projects - Developing a new Web site or creating a new SOAPbased XML Web
service with Content Management Server 2002 can be accomplished by using the
File menu in Visual Studio .NET to create a new Content Management Server
project.
Templates - Through the Template Explorer, developers can create and manage
their template galleries and template objects in Visual Studio .NET.
Server Controls - The Content Management Server controls menu in the Visual
Studio .NET Toolbox provides developers with access to drag-and-drop controls
that connect their Web Forms directly to the Content Management Server
repository. Database controls can be configured to connect to a SQL Server
database through GUI properties dialog boxes. Content Management Server
controls can be configured to connect to content schemas through their properties
dialog boxes. This removes the need to write low-level data-access plumbing code
so that developers can focus their efforts on higher-level business logic and design
elements.
Managed APIs - Content Management Server functionality and content
repositories are available to developers through managed COM+ application
programming interfaces (APIs). This allows for maximum flexibility in building
powerful Web sites and XML web services.
Management of code and content - Most content management systems store
source content in the content repository as if it were content. While this may
simplify storage, it results in a poor experience for developers who have to
manage source code on complex web projects. Content Management Server


provides users and developers the best possible integrated experience. Developers
are free to use the source code management system of their choice to manage their
code. Content Management Server 2002 integrates the code into the Web site
dynamically through Template Objects.
Extensibility - Being able to extend the E-Tax services to evolve with your
changing tax laws and integrate with other systems is critical to any revenue
agency infrastructure. Content Management Server offers extensible interfaces
through workflow controls, Web Author Client, deployment, object properties,
and more.

4.3.2.3. Web Site Deployment
Content Management Server 2002 provides a flexible and extensible mechanism for
deploying Web sites and content from one server to another. The Site Deployment
Manager provides an easy-to-use mechanism for packaging content objects using XML,
exporting them from one computer running Content Management Server 2002 and
importing them into another computer running Content Management Server 2002. By
providing tight integration with Microsoft Application Center, developers and network
administrators have everything they need to perform manual, automated, incremental,
and transactional site deployments.

4.3.2.4. Scalability and Reliability
Content Management Server 2002 has been tested to serve over 100 million dynamic
pages per day. By adding processors to a computer, Content Management Server 2002
scales up to continue to provide superior performance with high Web site traffic
demands. By adding additional computers running Content Management Server 2002
into a load balanced environment, Content Management Server 2002 scales out to meet
the highest traffic demands and provide failover support, ensuring maximum uptime.
4.3.3. Search Engine
SharePoint Portal Sever on microsoft.com

The Search Engine is the product that enables full-text searching of all of the E-Tax
content. Microsofts premier search engine is called SharePoint Portal Server Search
(SPS-Search).

The first step of searching is to define the catalog. The catalog is a searchable unit of
information. It is defined by where that information is originally stored, what subset of
the entire information is indexed, and how often the information is re-crawled. Meta-
tags embedded in the web content can be used to provide additional searchable fields that
the search engine uses to categorize the content. Meta-tag examples that are frequently
used are keywords, title, subject, author, etc.


The content that is searched can be stored in the file system, other external web sites,
Exchange or Notes email systems and application databases. The search engine can be
extended using IFilters to crawl other storage systems such as Adobe PDF. In the E-Tax
Administration Framework, we are searching the policy library, instructions, and other
content that is managed and stored in Content Management Server. The MSIB solution
integrates the SPS-Search engine with the CMS content repository.

The SPS-Search engine uses advanced probabilistic ranking algorithm based on
information retrieval expertise from Microsofts research organization. The search
engine provides a Best Bets to help direct the user to specific content based on
common searches. It also has property searches, and auto-categorization of crawled
content.
4.3.4. ASP.NET Forms Engine
ASP.NET Technical Information
Official ASP.NET Home Page
ASP.NET is a set of technologies in the Microsoft .NET Framework for building Web
applications and XML Web Services. ASP.NET pages execute on the server and generate
markup such as HTML, WML or XML that is sent to a desktop or mobile browser.
ASP.NET pages use a compiled, event-driven programming model that improves
performance and enables the separation of application logic and user interface. ASP.NET
pages and ASP.NET XML Web Services files contain server-side logic (as opposed to
client side logic) written in Visual Basic .NET, C# .NET, or any .NET compatible
language. Web applications and XML Web Services take advantage of the features of the
common language runtime, such as type safety, inheritance, language interoperability,
versioning, and integrated security.

ASP.NET combines unprecedented developer productivity with performance, reliability,
and deployment.
4.3.4.1. Developer Productivity
ASP.NET helps you deliver real world Web applications in record time.

Easy Programming Model - ASP.NET makes building real world Web
applications dramatically easier. ASP.NET server controls enable an HTML-like
style of declarative programming that let you build great pages with far less code
than with classic ASP and JSP. Displaying data, validating user input, and
uploading files are all amazingly easy. Best of all, ASP.NET pages work in all
browsers -- including Netscape, Opera, AOL, and Internet Explorer.
Flexible Language Options - ASP.NET easily leverages current programming
language skills. ASP.NET now supports more than 25 .NET languages (including
built-in support for VB.NET, C#, and JScript.NET -- no tool required), giving
developers unprecedented flexibility in choice of language.
Great Tool Support - Developers can harness the full power of ASP.NET using
any text editor. But Visual Studio.NET adds the productivity of Visual Basic-
style development to the Web. Now developers can visually design ASP.NET


Web Forms using familiar drag-drop-doubleclick techniques, and enjoy full-
fledged code support including statement completion and color-coding. VS.NET
also provides integrated support for debugging and deploying ASP.NET Web
applications.
Rich Class Framework - Application features that used to be hard to implement,
or required a 3
rd
-party component, can now be added in just a few lines of code
using the .NET Framework. The .NET Framework offers over 4500 classes that
encapsulate rich functionality like XML, data access, file upload, regular
expressions, image generation, performance monitoring and logging, transactions,
message queuing, SMTP mail, and much more.
4.3.4.2. Improved Performance and Scalability
ASP.NET enables IT organizations to serve more users with the same hardware.

Compiled execution - ASP.NET is much faster than classic ASP, while
preserving the "just hit save" update model of ASP. However, no explicit
compile step is required! ASP.NET will automatically detect any changes,
dynamically compile the files if needed, and store the compiled results to reuse
for subsequent requests. Dynamic compilation ensures that the application is
always up to date, and compiled execution makes it fast. Most applications
migrated from classic ASP see a 3x to 5x increase in pages served.
Rich output caching - ASP.NET output caching can dramatically improve the
performance and scalability of applications. When output caching is enabled on a
page, ASP.NET executes the page just once, and saves the result in memory in
addition to sending it to the user. When another user requests the same page,
ASP.NET serves the cached result from memory without re-executing the page.
Output caching is configurable, and can be used to cache individual regions or an
entire page. Output caching can dramatically improve the performance of data-
driven pages by eliminating the need to query the database on every request.
Web-Farm Session State - ASP.NET session state enables sharing of session
data user-specific state values across all machines in a Web farm. Now a user can
hit different servers in the web farm over multiple requests and still have full
access to the session. And since business components created with the .NET
Framework are free-threaded, developers no longer need to worry about thread
affinity.
Microsoft .NET Outperforms J2EE - In a head-to-head comparison of
performance and scalability between Sun's Java Pet Store J2EE blueprint
application and the ASP.NET implementation, Microsoft .NET significantly
outperformed J2EE. The bottom line: the ASP.NET implementation required
only 1/4
th
as many lines of code, was 28x faster (that's 2700%), and supported
7.6x as many concurrent users as J2EE, with only 1/6
th
as much processor
utilization.
4.3.4.3. Enhanced Reliability
ASP.NET ensures that the E-Tax solution is always available to users.


Memory Leak, DeadLock and Crash Protection - ASP.NET automatically
detects and recovers from errors like deadlocks and memory leaks to ensure the
application is always available to users.

For example, if your application has a small memory leak, and that after a week
the leak has tied up a significant percentage of the server's virtual memory,
ASP.NET will detect this condition, automatically start up another copy of the
ASP.NET worker process, and direct all new requests to the new process. Once
the old process has finished processing its pending requests, it is gracefully
disposed and the leaked memory is released. Automatically, without
administrator intervention or any interruption of service, ASP.NET has recovered
from the error.
4.3.4.4. Easy Deployment
ASP.NET takes the pain out of deploying server applications.

"No touch" application deployment - ASP.NET dramatically simplifies
installation of applications. With ASP.NET, IT organizations can deploy an
entire application as easily as an HTML page: just copy it to the server. No
Configuration settings are stored in an XML file within the application.
Dynamic update of running application - ASP.NET now lets developers update
compiled components without restarting the web server. With ASP.NET,
developers simply copy the component over the existing DLL -- ASP.NET will
automatically detect the change and start using the new code.
Easy Migration Path - Developers don't have to migrate existing applications to
start using ASP.NET. ASP.NET runs on IIS side-by-side with classic ASP on
Windows 2000 and Windows XP platforms. Developers can migrate application
by application, or single pages.
4.3.4.5. New Application Models
ASP.NET extend your application's reach.

XML Web Services - XML Web services allow applications to communicate
and share data over the Internet, regardless of operating system or programming
language. ASP.NET makes exposing and calling XML Web Services simple.
Any class can be converted into an XML Web Service with just a few lines of
code, and can be called by any SOAP client. Likewise, ASP.NET makes it
incredibly easy to call XML Web Services from your application. No knowledge
of networking, XML, or SOAP is required.
Mobile Web Device Support - ASP.NET Mobile Controls lets developers easily
target cell phones, PDAs -- over 80 mobile Web devices -- using ASP.NET.
Write the application just once, and the mobile controls automatically generate
WAP/WML, HTML, or iMode as required by the requesting device.


4.3.5. Real-Time Collaboration and Communication
There is a revolution coming in how people work together and communicate with each
other: real-time communication over the Web. Whether via instant messaging (IM), video
conferencing, or online collaboration applications, today's workforce is communicating
on the Web in myriad ways. These tools are making it that much easier for information
workers to efficiently and effectively collaborate and communicate with each other.
To expand the utility of IM and presence-based solutions for enterprises, Microsoft has
developed a real-time communications (RTC) strategy, and plans to release a new real-
time communications platform, codenamed "Greenwich," in mid-2003. The first major
step in its RTC strategy is the release of MSN Messenger Connect for Enterprises. The
service will help organizations effectively manage and extend MSN Messenger and
Windows Messenger beyond the internal firewall to customers and consumers.
The "Greenwich" platform will not only provide a standards-based corporate IM solution,
but will support next generation RTC experiences that bring together the worlds of IM,
audio and video conferencing, telephony, and collaboration applications.
The overarching goal of the RTC strategy is to make communications as easy and
intuitive as possible to help maximize employee productivity. With "Greenwich,"
Microsoft focuses on providing a platform that lets people work, communicate, and
collaborate from a central environment. At the same time, one of the goals of
"Greenwich" is to make real-time communication and collaboration a part of every
application, with one method being smooth integration with all of the Microsoft Office
applications.
"Greenwich" is all about industry standards. It will interoperate in a standards-based
environment with MSN Messenger via MSN Messenger Connect, Windows Messenger
and any other communications application. This also makes it easier for third parties to
extend communications capabilities with an independently developed, interoperable
application. This approach will meet our ultimate objective: helping our enterprise
customers use real-time communication to increase productivity by integrating
communication and collaboration for information workers.
Greenwich brings many advantages to the organization over existing IM solutions:
IM Encryption
Active Directory Integration and Searching
Logging and Archiving IM
Easy to use and familiar IM Client
Server-side contact lists
Extending Voice, Video, and Data Collaboration
4.3.6. Telephony
Microsoft Speech on microsoft.com


.NET Speech SDK
Microsoft is working on a .NET Speech family of products which put it closer to its goal
of making speech technology mainstream in the enterprise and providing a solution that
makes it faster, easier and more economical for enterprises to build and deploy speech-
enabled applications. Microsoft has made available the beta 2 release of the Microsoft
.NET Speech Software Development Kit (SDK), as well as a technical preview of the
Microsoft .NET Speech platform. Microsoft has announced strategic alliances with
SpeechWorks, Intervoice Inc. and Intel Corp. that will offer customers solutions and
leading hardware and software components that integrate with the Microsoft .NET
Speech platform.

The beta 2 of the Microsoft .NET Speech SDK includes a complete tool set for the
creation and testing of Speech Application Language Tags (SALT)-based voice-only
telephony applications. It also supports the development of multimodal speech
applications on clients such as desktop PCs or Tablet PCs using Internet Explorer
browser software. The .NET Speech SDK 1.0 beta 2 offers new enhancements to
grammar and prompt creation and editing tools, and debugging tools for both telephony
and multimodal applications. New features, such as World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
standards-compatible formats for grammar authoring, a pre-built library of reusable
speech telephony and application controls, and grammar libraries, will provide Web and
speech developers with the tools they need to build and test robust speech applications
that will soon be viable for enterprise deployments.

The Microsoft .NET Speech platform is a SALT-based telephony and multimodal-
enabled solution for developing Web-based speech applications that will span multiple
clients such as PCs, telephones, wireless connected Pocket PCs and next-generation
laptop computers such as the Tablet PC. Incorporating telephony and speech recognition
technologies, the Microsoft platform represents a superior infrastructure for building,
deploying and operating speech-enabled Web applications and services. A broad beta
release of the Microsoft .NET Speech platform is slated to be released midyear 2003.

Among its many features, the Microsoft platform will offer world-class speech
recognition functionality developed by Microsoft and support both traditional telephones
and multimodal devices. For telephony applications, the platform will contain SALT
interpreter software that will support speech-only access through normal telephones and
cellular phones. To enable multimodal access and effectively provide both speech and
visual input and output, a SALT-based speech interpreter may be added to smart clients
such as the Tablet PC and Pocket PC, and potentially a wide range of other clients such
as GUI cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Speech-enabled Web
applications running on the platform may be developed using extensions to Microsoft
Visual Studio .NET, consisting of SALT-enabled ASP.NET controls for speech
programming as well as sophisticated grammar and prompt editing tools for speech
application creation.
4.3.7. Section 508
Microsoft and Section 508


MSDN Accessibility Information for Developers
HiSoftware information for Government

Microsoft provides the tools and server products to build web-based portals. Although
these products enable developers to build solutions that conform to Section 508, they do
not force the developers to adhere to the standards. In fact, frequently developers are not
aware of many of the issues that can make their web pages not accessible. It is not
difficult to build accessible sites or to fix a site that does not follow the guidelines. What
are needed are tools to help guide the developers to build their applications the correct
way, and for monitoring and reporting tools that can identify section 508 issues on the
site.

The E-Tax Administration Framework includes products called AccMonitor and
AccVerify from HiSoftware. HiSoftwares Product line includes a combination of user-
driven interactive desktop solutions that allow developers to test their content for
conformance with standards, and server side remote applications that allow for automated
and remote testing.

AccMonitor's Integration for Microsoft Content Management Server verifies that content
is accessible, usable, searchable content that complies with global privacy and intellectual
property policies and recognized guidelines in MicrosoftContent Management
Channels. HiSoftware tracking technology allows AccMonitor ensure compliance with
Section 508 and W3C accessibility standards/Guidelines.

AccVerify's Integration for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET is used to verify content and
web based applications or services for accessibility and usability including section 508. It
allows organizations to easily integrate section 508 testing into their enterprise
performance tuning and functional testing architecture.
4.4. Services Layer
As was discussed in the Conceptual Architecture, the services layer provides tax specific
business rules processing and security services to the presentation layer. The E-Tax
Technical Architecture relies heavily on XML web services implemented with .NET.

The user profile and security services are maintained in Microsoft Active Directory. The
directory safely and securely stores the information about all users, including individuals,
businesses, practitioners and other government organization employees. Information
maintained includes basic profile information used for secure logon to the portal and
personalization of the E-Tax portal. Each individual and organization is assigned a
digital certificate, which is stored in the Active Directory. CryptoAPI and Active
Directory APIs are provided as part of the Windows 2003 Server. These APIs enable
developers to programmatically read and update the profile store and perform
cryptographic functions, such as digital signatures and encryption.
4.4.1. Windows 2003 Active Directory
Active Directory Technical Overview


The Microsoft Active Directory service is a central component of the Windows platform,
providing the means to manage the identities and relationships that make up network
environments. Active Directory stores information about objects on the network and
makes this information easy for administrators and users to find and use. Active
Directory uses a structured data store as the basis for a logical, hierarchical organization
of directory information.

This data store is often simply referred to as the directory. The directory contains
information about objects such as users, groups, computers, domains, organizational units
(OUs), and security policies. This information can be published for use by users and
administrators. The Active Directory is compliant with the LDAP standard.

Security is deeply integrated into Windows 2003. Windows 2003 supports multiple
authentication mechanisms for proving the identities of users as they access the E-Tax
portal. These mechanisms are especially important because the E-Tax solution extends
outside of the revenue agency network to individuals and businesses that use the portal.

Security is integrated with Active Directory through logon authentication and access
control to objects in the directory. With a single network logon, administrators can
manage directory data and organization throughout their network, and authorized
network users can access resources anywhere on the network. Policy-based
administration eases the management of even the most complex network.

When a user enters the portal, he or she needs to provide authentication information so
the security system can verify the users identity before determining what access, if any,
that user is permitted. The Kerberos authentication protocol is used to authenticate
Windows 2003 users within the revenue agency. As systems are extended to citizens,
businesses, and tax practitioners over the Internet, the agency must support multiple ways
for these users prove their identity.

To help meet this need, Windows 2003 supports a number of industry-standard
authentication mechanisms, including X.509 certificates, smart cards, and the Kerberos
protocol. In addition, Windows 2003 supports the NTLM protocol used for years in
Windows. Windows 2003 provides interfaces for vendors to implement biometric
authentication mechanisms.

Using Group Policy in Active Directory, the agency can assign a specific authentication
mechanism to an individual user or group of users based on their roles and specific security
needs. For example, executive staff may be required to authenticate with smart cards to
provide an extra element of security when proving their identities; for Internet customers,
authentication with X.509 certificates that can be used with any browser may be appropriate;
and for internal employees, NTLM username/password authentication. Regardless of the
method used, Windows 2003 consistently uses Active Directory to look up the identity
presented by the authentication mechanism.


Windows 2003 implements access control by letting administrators assign security descriptors
to objects, such as files, printers, and services. An objects security descriptor includes an
access control list (ACL), which defines which users (either by individual or by group) have
permission to perform particular actions with that object. An objects security descriptor also
specifies the various access events to be audited for that object, such as all write activities to a
secured file. By managing properties on objects, administrators can set permissions, assign
ownership, and monitor user access.
4.4.2. Certificate Server
Windows 2003s integrated PKI support provides the framework of services, technology,
protocols, and standards necessary to deploy and manage a strong information security system
based on public key technology. The PKI capability in Windows 2003 supports public-key
cryptography by letting applications and users easily locate and use certificates without
needing to know where they are stored or how they work. Moreover, Windows 2003 PKI is
fully integrated with Active Directory and with the operating systems distributed security
services.
To allow implementation PKI without depending on an external CA, Windows 2003 includes
a component called Certificate Services to create and manage CAs. Certificate Services is
integrated with Active Directory and distributed security services.
A separate component of Certificate Services is the CA web enrollment pages. These web
pages are installed by default when you set up a CA and allow certificate requesters to submit
certificate requests using a web browser. The CA web pages can also be installed on Windows
2003based servers that do not already have a CA. In this case, the web pages are used to
direct certificate requests to a CA that, for whatever reason, requesters should not be allowed
to access directly. Where custom Web pages are created to access a CA, the Web pages
provided in Windows 2003 can be used as samples.
To make it easy to deploy public key security, enrolling for the certificates used by
computers is automated within Windows 2003. While using Active Directory, server
computers are aware that they can obtain a certificate and automatically obtain one when
needed. This means the server administrator doesnt have to go to each server and
manually enroll for server certificates.
4.4.3. CryptoAPI and Active Directory API
CryptoAPI Reference
ADSI Reference

Microsoft provides APIs for encryption, digital signatures CryptoAPI - and for
searching and modifying the contents of the Active Directory - ADSI. These APIs are
used by the E-Tax Administration Framework to manage the Active Directory and
provide digital signatures and encryption services.

CryptoAPI provides APIs for creating digital certificates, signing data and documents
with them, and for encryption. It has a rich set of APIs that programmers can use to


quickly and easily build solutions that support these advanced security functions in their
applications.

Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) is a set of interfaces used to access the
features of directory services from different network providers in a distributed computing
environment to present a single set of directory service interfaces for managing network
resources. Administrators and developers can use ADSI services to enumerate and
manage the resources in a directory service, no matter which network environment
contains the resource.

ADSI enables common administrative tasks, such as adding new users, managing groups
and organizational units, and locating resources in a distributed computing environment.
4.4.4. XML Web Services
Bill Gates on Why Web Services
Understanding Web Services
The E-Tax Administration Framework relies heavily on middle tier service components
that implement the business logic of the solution. These components are developed as
.NET based XML Web Services. Using .NET, it is easy to create software components
as interoperable web services.

The .NET Framework provides the developer with the ability to easily build web
services. The developer does not need to work with the low level SOAP, WSDL or XML
Schema. The developer builds a web service by writing a class (in their preferred
language Java, C#, VB etc.). The class that they build implements the E-Tax
Administration Framework business logic. They then add [WebMethod] to the
functions that they want to expose as web services. Visual Studio .NET and the .NET
Framework does the rest. It builds the classes that wrap the object as a web service. The
framework will intercept the SOAP message from the client, instantiate the business
object and call the method, passing the proper parameters. When the function returns, the
.NET Framework again intercepts the processing and marshals the return parameters into
the proper SOAP envelop and returns it to the caller.

.NET provides additional tools and ways that the programmer can control the processing
of the XML, SOAP, and WSDL used to process the web service execution. For instance,
if the developer desires, he can easily add required and optional parameters to the SOAP
header. This approach can then be used to provide web services security.
4.4.5. UDDI
A UDDI Service is a registry for Web Services. Windows Server 2003 includes a robust
stand-alone UDDI Server as a native part of the operating system. It is a central
repository for technical specifications for the search and discovery of web services.

The UDDI Server in Windows Server 2003 is built on SQL Server 2000 technology and
the .NET Framework. It currently supports UDDI standards based specifications for web
services description and discovery.


The UDDI Server fulfills the role as the central repository of all E-Tax web services
within the architecture.

A fundamental architectural philosophy of the Technical Architecture is that the
Presentation Layer does not directly access the Integration and Data Layer. Instead, all
access is through a common layer that encapsulates the business logic. These business
services are all exposed as web services. UDDI Services is the central repository for all
of these web services. The server contains information about each service and including
the endpoint address and the critical technical information needed to call the service.
4.5. Integration and Data Layer
The Integration and Data Layer of the Technology Architecture provides back end
services used by the other layers of the E-Tax Architecture. This layer is able to
communicate with the revenue agency core tax processing systems to retrieve data. It has
its own database for storing cached account information and E-Tax specific information.

Like the rest of the E-Tax Architecture, the Integration and Data Layer is based on the
platform layer including ASP.NET and the .NET Framework running on Windows
Server 2003. It uses additional Microsoft servers which provide pre-built components
and services that further simplify the development of the custom solution.

4.5.1. Biztalk Server 2002
Biztalk Server 2002 on microsoft.com
Biztalk Server 2002 product overview

Biztalk plays a critical role in the E-Tax Architecture. It is used as the data integration
engine to enable rapid development of data sharing between the revenue agency core
processing systems and the E-Tax services. Each revenue agency has different backend
systems where they house their tax data. Biztalk is an agile tool that simplifies the
process of getting data from and sending it to these agency systems.

BizTalk Server enables application integration through five key processes: document
transport and routing, data transformation, application integration, process automation,
and scalability and manageability services. Each process is achieved through receive
functions, channels, ports, schedules, and tools.


Receive functions are the starting point for documents submitted to BizTalk
Server.
Channels modify the structure of these documents as well as manage encryption,
digital signatures, and logging.
Messaging ports send documents to schedules or to external organizations and
trading partners.
Schedules orchestrate business processes.
BizTalk Server 2002 tools enable the receive functions, channels, messaging
ports, and schedules to run.
4.5.1.1. Receive Functions
BizTalk Server is capable of receiving
documents submitted through a wide
variety of media, including Internet
standard technologies such as HTTP,
SMTP and SOAP, as e-mail
attachments, through the message bus,
programmatically through exposed
APIs, and through adapter
components. BizTalk Server receive
functions monitor HTTP, MSMQ
message queues, and file locations for
incoming business documents. They
are responsible for submitting the
received documents on to a channel,
the second step in the process. BizTalk Server Administration components are used to
configure receive functions. It also exposes a Component Object Model (COM) interface,
IInterchange, which enables any COMcompatible application, such as ASP .NET, the
.NET Framework, Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server or Microsoft Exchange Server, to
submit business documents directly to a channel. Through the freely downloadable
BizTalk Adaptor for web services, developers can create web services that provide
synchronous access to BizTalk Server applications without writing code.


4.5.1.2. Channels
Once an incoming document is
received into the system, it often
needs to be transformed to meet
specific business or application
formats. Channels can perform a
number of operations, including
document transformation and
logging. A BizTalk Server
channel is set up to receive
incoming documents that
conform to a specific document
definition, which defines the
ordering of the business data
within the document. When the
document arrives through a
receive function, a channel can
log the whole document or any
portion of it to the BizTalk Document Tracking database for later analysis, or transform
the document to conform to the schema of the target application. BizTalk Messaging
Manager is used to manage channels in a graphical user interface (GUI). In addition, two
other BizTalk Server applications can be used to set up the artifacts used in BizTalk
Server channels:

BizTalk Editor - Creates document definitions as an XML representation of
business documents originally defined as flat files, XML, or Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI).
BizTalk Mapper - Graphically creates the transformation between two business
documents and saves it in an Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations
(XSLT) map.

4.5.1.3. Messaging Ports


After documents are received and mapped
to the format of the target application,
they need to be delivered either directly to
that application or to a business process
that manages delivery to multiple target
applications. BizTalk Adapters enable
BizTalk Server to integrate with many
standard technologies as well as third-
party applications without additional
development work. Messaging ports also
push documents to schedules, which
manage business processes that target a
number of applications. There is a many-
to-one relationship between channels and
ports. Dozens of channels can send
documents to a single messaging port, which is particularly useful when business
documents are sent from a variety of applications to a single target application.
4.5.2. Schedules
BizTalk Server
schedules
orchestrate the
automation of
business
processes by
receiving
documents from
a messaging
port then calling
COM components, other BizTalk Server messaging channels, or XML Web services (this
capability is provided in the BizTalk Server 2002 Toolkit for Microsoft .NET). BizTalk
Server schedules are created in a graphical environment called BizTalk Orchestration
Designer, which is based on Microsoft Visio. The BizTalk Orchestration Designer
consists of two panels on the design surface, the business analyst panel, and the developer
panel. This enables organizations to separate process from implementation. It also
facilitates the rapid creation and alteration of business processes.
Within a schedule, a business analyst can draw a business process that consists of
decisions, loops, and actions, such as receiving a tax payment, sending a completed tax
form to a backend system, and so on. In addition, by sending its output to another
BizTalk Server messaging channel a schedule may deliver its document to other
schedules. This enables complex business processes to be segmented into manageable
processes that can be maintained separately.
4.5.2.1. Tools
BizTalk Server provides a set of sophisticated graphical tools that businesses can use to
build, transform, manage, track, and analyze business documents. The BizTalk Server


tools were designed to simplify the common tasks required to integrate applications and
business systems, and ensure the desired functionality is achieved.
BizTalk Server includes the following graphical tools:

BizTalk Orchestration Designer - enables users to visually define and build
robust, distributed business processes.
BizTalk Editor - enables users to define schema for XML, EDI, and flat files.
BizTalk Mapper - enables users to link disparate schemas and define steps for
successful document transformations.
BizTalk Messaging Manager - a wizard-based tool that enables users to manage
the details of business-process transactions.
BizTalk Server Administration - enables administrators to perform common
administrative tasks such as adding and removing servers.
BizTalk Document Tracking - enables users to track documents as they move
through various stages of the business process.
BizTalk SEED Wizard - enables rapid partner enablement through the creation
and use of SEED packages.
4.5.3. Host Integration Server 2000
Host Integration Server on microsoft.com
Host Integration Server product overview

Host Integration Sever 2000 (HIS) is a Microsoft product that provides comprehensive
bi-directional services for integrating Windows with legacy systems. HIS can be used by
organizations that have core tax processing systems on mainframes. HIS is used to create
web services interfaces to mainframe applications. Biztalk Server communicates with
these web service interfaces as its primary means for exchanging data between the E-
Tax services and revenue agency core processing systems.

HIS provides the ability to connect, integrate, and to Web-enable both mainframe and
AS/400 heterogeneous legacy applications, data, and transaction environments. It
extends Windows to other platforms by offering interoperability via application, data, and
networking service and components. HIS supports both synchronous and asynchronous
application integration with its component transaction integrator (COM-TI) and its
messaging architecture MSMQ-MQSERIES Bridge. Its data integration services enable
interaction with host data sources via OLE DB providers for AS/400, VSAM and DB2.
Further, HIS supports file transfer and ODBC protocols. IT can communicate over TCP
and SNA.

HIS is designed to help facilitate web-enabling existing legacy applications and data,
component based development and code reuse. It integrates Microsofts COM+ with
IBMs CICS and IMS transaction environments, making it easy to expose CICS/IMS
transactions as web services. It is important to note that when using HIS COM-TI
Component Builder wizard and the Microsoft SOAP toolkit, developers can wrap legacy
components as web services.


4.5.4. SQL Server 2000
SQL Server on microsoft.com
SQL Server product overview

SQL Server 2000 is a complete database and analysis tool that delivers the next
generation of scalable e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.
SQL Server 2000 is fully web-enabled, is highly scalable and reliable, and delivers fast
time-to-market.
4.5.4.1. Fully Web-Enabled
SQL Server team has provides extensive support for XML and Web technologies:
Rich XML and Internet standard support - Enabling the generation and
consumption of XML data in SQL Server; allowing inserts, updates, and deletes to be
performed with XML; providing a simple XML model (no complex programming)
for both database and Web developers so they can use their current respective
development skills while leveraging the power of XML; supporting the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C) and emerging standards.
Easy and secure access to data via the web - Allowing access and querying from
URLs via HTTP; extending high-performance full-text search to formatted documents
through an extensible filter mechanism; simplifying development and deployment of
English Query (natural language query) web solutions.
Powerful, flexible web-based analysis - Enabling existing Online Analytical
Processing (OLAP) cubes to be linked and analyzed, even over the web; delivering
data mining tools and algorithms for web data analysis; integrating with Commerce
Server 2000 to support complete clickstream and web data analysis.
Secure application hosting - Supporting multiple, isolated installations of SQL
Server on a single machine; offering cloning and distribution of disk images for
efficient and consistent database creation.
4.5.4.2. Highly Scalable and Reliable
SQL Server 2000 delivers a broad range of scalability and reliability features.
Scalability for E-Commerce Solutions - SQL Server 2000 allows workload
partitioning across multiple installations; provides automatic query optimization and
support for queries across multiple servers in a SQL Server distributed database
configuration; and takes full advantage of SMP hardware.
Scalability for Line-of-Business Solutions - It increases SMP support to take full
advantage of new Windows 2003 capacity; supports direct access to high-performance
server-to-server interconnections; partners with key Independent Solutions Vendors
(ISVs) to ensure high application performance; and supports up to 32 CPUs and 64
GB of RAM.


Scalability for Data Warehousing Solutions - SQL Server 2000 improves
performance in the most complex reporting scenarios; supports the analysis of
extremely large data sets with limited reprocessing; allows dimensions with tens of
millions of members; and scales out cubes through transparent remote partitioning to
server farms.
Maximized Uptime and Reliability - It simplifies failover cluster configuration and
management; allows the database to remain online during most operations; enables
differential and server-less snapshot backups; and integrates log shipping
configuration and management.
4.5.4.3. Fastest Time to Implementation
SQL Server has long been considered the fastest way to build, deploy, and manage e-
commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions. SQL Server 2000 offers users
the greatest ease of use and the fastest time to market for their applications by providing the
following features.
Integrated and Extensible Analysis Services - SQL Server 2000 provides the most
complete, integrated, and web-enabled analysis (OLAP) offering, including data
mining capabilities; allows analysis results to drive applications automatically; and
provides custom roll-up capability.
Simplified Management and Tuning - It enables management of databases centrally
from the Windows 2003 Active Directory service; automates management and tuning
activities; and simplifies movement of databases.
Enhanced and Simplified T-SQL Development and Debugging - It delivers an
integrated T-SQL debugger; simplifies development with T-SQL templates; and
allows server-side statement tracing and client-side statistics.
Flexible and Extensible Data Transformation Services (DTS) - SQL Server 2000
provides integration with MSMQ; enables access to data over the Internet via FTP;
and delivers enhanced support for integration with other databases, and improved error
handling/recoverability.
4.6. Infrastructure and Management and Tools
The previous sections of this Technical Architecture addressed the server products and
technologies that provide the core functions of the E-Tax solution. This section addresses
other operations and developer-oriented components that are necessary to build and
maintain a successful web-based solution:
Data Center The E-Tax solution runs in a data center. The architecture of the
data center, including firewalls, routers, load balancing, clustering, networking,
partitioning, security etc. Microsoft has a pre-built architecture and design for
building an Internet data center called the Microsoft System Architecture for
Internet Data Center (MSA-IDC).


Management and Operations Operating the data center and ensuring its
continued operations is a crucial part of any mission critical web-based system.
Microsoft has three server products that each play critical role in managing and
operating the data center.
o Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 (MOM) Performs event collection,
performance monitoring, and reporting tools for the full range of
Microsoft server products.
o Application Center 2000 Provides simple management, scalability and
high availability for applications running in a distributed environment via
clustering, replication and monitoring.
o Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000 (ISA) An enterprise
firewall and web caching server designed to meet the scalability needs of
high-volume Internet traffic environments.
Developer Tools Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect is a
powerful suite of development tools for architecting and building ASP.NET based
applications and XML Web Services.
4.6.1. Data Center
MSA on microsoft.com
IDC solution overview

The Microsoft Systems Architecture Internet Data Center guidance presents a reference
architecture that allows customers to build a scalable, reliable, available, secure, and
manageable environment by using a recommended set of tools, technologies, and
processes. By following the recommendations in the Internet Data Center documentation,
an organization can quickly and efficiently build Internet applications that are suitable for
its long-term Internet business needs.

The prescriptive guides that make up the Internet Data Center documentation provide
hardware and software configuration recommendations required to build this
infrastructure in a production environment. Several configurations employing this
architecture have been tested and validated using hardware from different vendors to
assure that the required performance, scaling, availability, manageability, and security
goals are met.

The Service Model addresses the complete lifecycle of an Internet Data Center. It defines
the envisioning, planning, building and deploying a standardized Internet Data Center
Infrastructure in a reliable, consistent manner and with known cost that meets the
business, application and IT requirements of the organization. The model defines the key
operational procedures for smoothly running the Data Center throughout its operational
life.

The Conceptual Architecture emphasizes the importance of keeping the infrastructure
design and day-to-day operations structure as simple and as flexible as possible. This
allows the Internet Data Center architecture to support a wide range of application
architectures and still provide ease of management.


The key architectural goals for the Internet Data Center include:

Scalability - All components of the architecture must support scaling to provide
continuous growth to meet user demand and business requirements.
Availability - Components of the architecture must provide redundancy or
functional specialization to contain faults.
Security - The architecture must provide an end-to-end security model that
protects data and the infrastructure from malicious attacks or theft.
Manageability - Ease of configuration, ongoing health monitoring, and failure
detection are vital to our goals of availability, scalability, and security and must
be able to match the growth of the environment.
Supportability - The Infrastructure is designed to minimize the support cost by
reducing the time to troubleshoot problems.

All components of the Internet Data Center architecture have been designed with these
design goals in mind. In addition, the solution must provide business value by achieving
these goals as efficiently as possible. Wherever possible, without compromising the
above design goals, devices used in the Internet Data Center architecture are chosen for
cost effectiveness and simplicity. The use of such devices provides the benefit of
redundancy without requiring fully redundant equipment. For example, the network
switches are configured in such a way as to have all the network traffic balanced across
them but they still provide for failover of network traffic.
4.6.2. Management and Operations
Operating the data center and ensuring its continued future operations is a crucial part of
any mission critical web-based system. Microsoft has server products that each play
critical roles in managing and operating your data center.
4.6.2.1. Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2000
Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 on microsoft.com
Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 product overview

MOM monitors, manages, and secures a wide range of resources including computers,
applications, server farms, e-commerce sites, and enterprise servers. MOM provides
proactive real-time system monitoring for Windows-based servers and computers
throughout the data center.

MOM provides operations monitoring, scaleable solutions, sustainable RIO, security
policy enforcement and auditing capabilities, improved system availability and
performance tracking, open, extensible standards-based architecture and unlimited ways
to view and report data.
4.6.2.2. Microsoft Application Center 2000
Application Center 2000 on microsoft.com


Application Center 2000 product overview

Application Center 2000 is Microsoft's deployment and management tool for high-
availability Web applications built on the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system.
Application Center 2000 makes managing groups of servers as simple as managing a
single computer.
Simplified Application Management
Application Center 2000 empowers developers and Web site administrators to deploy
applications quickly and easily while minimizing the in-depth application knowledge
requirements. This in turn reduces the complexity and cost of operating a scalable,
highly-available application.

Reduces application management complexity - Today's applications consist of
many bits and pieces. Using Application Center 2000, administrators can quickly
construct logical groupings including the contents, components, and configuration
of applications. These groupings can be easily managed throughout the cluster,
reducing application complexity.
Manages many servers as one - When changes are made to a server, Application
Center can automatically apply those changes to the other servers in the cluster,
allowing web site administrators to focus their attention on more valuable work.
Streamlines application deployment - Application Center simplifies the task of
migrating applications through the development cycle (from development to
testing to production). It helps ensure consistency between the developed
application, the tested application, and the production application. By automating
deployment of applications from one server to another, Application Center speeds
up the transfer time, eliminates manual errors, and improves the quality of
releases.
Software Scaling
Software scaling increases the capacity of an application by adding servers. While
hardware scaling requires expensive, specialized servers, software scaling can be
achieved using standard off-the-shelf servers. In addition, with software scaling, the
relationship of cost to added capacity is close to linear.

Application Center 2000 simplifies software scaling using clustering. Although many
different technologies have been developed that have been described as clustering, the
fundamental idea is a simple one: a group of servers used as a single, unified resource. By
bringing the servers together into a cluster, many servers can be managed as easily as
one.

In the past, software scaling was a time-consuming and resource-intensive operation.
With Application Center 2000, creating and running a group of servers is designed to be
as simple as operating a single server. Application Center 2000 makes scaling easy
enough that applications can achieve on-demand scalability. Using Application Center,


applications can handle increases and decreases in their capacity requirements by easily
adding or removing servers.
Mission-Critical Availability
Application Center 2000 is designed so that any server may be brought down without
affecting the availability of the application. There is no single point of failure. This means
applications can have the necessary mission-critical availability using off-the-shelf
hardware. Application Center 2000:

Insures Availability - Allows web sites to withstand software and hardware
failures at any point in the system without disrupting application service.
Actively monitors performance and health - Provides tools that monitor the
cluster and its servers. It also includes powerful features that enable viewing of
performance and event-log data for one server or the entire cluster. Administrators
can monitor applications remotely using a browser-based console.
Automates event responses - Monitor server and application health and can take
action in response to particular events and conditions. With automated responses,
operational costs will be reduced through the elimination of manual tasks.
Automated responses also can provide higher application availability.
4.6.2.3. Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server
2000
ISA Server 2000 on microsoft.com
ISA Server 2000 product overview

Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000 is an extensible,
multilayer enterprise firewall and web cache that helps provide secure, fast, and
manageable internet connectivity. ISA Server is an integrated solution optimized for
application-layer defense, networking on a virtual private network (VPN), stateful packet
inspection, and secure publishing to help protect customer installations. ISA Server also
provides a sophisticated, scalable, high-performance web proxy and cache that improves
performance and saves network bandwidth resources.

4.6.3. Developer Tools Visual Studio.NET
Visual Studio .NET on microsoft.com
A productive set of tools is critical to developer success on a new platform like .NET.
Visual Studio.NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework supply a complete solution for
building, deploying, and running XML Web services.

.NET tools help maximize the performance, reliability, and security of your E-Tax
solution, Visual Studio.NET is the next generation of Microsofts popular multi-language
development tool, built especially for .NET. Visual Studio.NET helps developers
quickly build XML Web services and applications that scale easily, using the language of
their choice.


Visual Studio.NET comes in three versions:

Visual Studio .NET Professional - Offers a visionary yet practical development
tool for creating the next generation of applications. Developers can use Visual
Studio .NET Professional to:
o Build the next-generation Internet - Developers can employ XML and
built-in Microsoft ADO.NET tools to build high-performance, data-driven
applications that target a variety of platforms.
o Develop powerful applications quickly - With an integrated
development environment (IDE) for all languages, developers can take
advantage of a common toolbox, debugger, and task window, greatly
reducing the developer learning curve.
o Create solutions that span any device and integrate with any platform
- Visual Studio .NET Professional gives developers the tools for
integrating solutions across operating systems and languages.
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer (VSED) builds on the power of
Visual Studio .NET Professional by including additional capabilities for
enterprise development teams building mission-critical applications that target
any internet device and integrate with any platform. Visual Studio .NET
Enterprise Developer offers developers:
o A collaborative team development for the web - Developers can
securely version and share their source code, as well as share best
practices with their team.
o Powerful tools for building XML web services - Developers can choose
from a wide range of third-party tools and technologies.
o A comprehensive life-cycle platform - Developers can use new
enterprise template projects that contain built-in architectural guidance for
creating distributed applications.
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect (VSEA) - Builds on the power of
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer by including additional capabilities for
designing, specifying, and communicating application architecture and
functionality. Developers using Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect will
benefit from the ability to:
o Visually design XML Web services - Clearly define application
functionality and architecture for XML Web services and applications.
o Create and deliver architectural guidance - Take advantage of
application modeling based on Unified Modeling Language (UML), which
ensures that architecture and functionality are clearly documented and
communicated prior to coding.
o Utilize a comprehensive open tools platform for building XML Web
services - Use enterprise templates to create development guidelines and
policies, share the knowledge of senior developers and architects with less
experienced team members, and create reusable application frameworks
for projects.


With over 5 million developers skilled on Microsoft technology, the development
community is poised to begin mass delivery of XML Web services. As such, revenue
agencies can be assured of access to the technical resources needed to develop and
maintain a robust, E-Tax Administration environment and they can rely on the
continuous improvement in return on investment from a comprehensive, standards-based
application architecture and technical infrastructure.

For further information contact:

Karla Pierce
Executive Director of State and Local Tax Sales
5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20015

202-895-2003


Authors
Karla J. Pierce
Microsoft Corporation
State and Local Government
Executive Director for Tax Sales
Karla J. Pierce is Executive Director for Tax Sales for Microsoft Corporation's State and Local Government. She is
responsible for the groups solution strategy for government tax, revenue, labor, financial and human resource
applications.
As former Kansas Cabinet Secretary of Revenue, Pierce was responsible for the administration of Taxation, Motor
Vehicle and Alcohol Beverage Control statutes. During her tenure as Secretary, she led Project 2000, a major business
and technology initiative, to improve the service delivery and operations. The results were order of magnitude
improvements in customer satisfaction, voluntary compliance, collections of accounts receivable and tax return
processing. Project 2000 received numerous awards, including the Federation of Tax Administrators Awards for
Innovative Management Initiative 1998, Best Use of Technology 1999, Best Training Program 2000 and National
Association of State Chief Information Officers Best Customer Focused Business Application of Technology 2000.
The Department was also recognized by the Center for Digital Government as the best in the nation in e-Taxation in
2000. Prior to being appointed as Cabinet Secretary, Pierce held multiple management positions within the Kansas
Department of Revenue including Director of Taxation, Director of Transition and Project 2000, Business Tax Bureau
Chief and Quality Control Bureau Chief. She participated in the start-up of the Kansas Lottery and the State-wide Total
Quality Management Program.
Before joining Microsoft, Pierce was the Director of Business Transformation for Computer Sciences Corporation. She
served as the program director for business architecture and organizational transition for the IRS Business Systems
Modernization Program.
Pierce served on the Board of Directors of Information Network of Kansas, Information Technology Council for
Kansas and the Multi-state Tax Commission Executive Committee. She served as a consultant to other states and was a
regular speaker at industry conferences on the topics of customer focused taxation and risk-based tax enforcement.
Pierce was elected to her local School Board where she was President 1991-1993. She served as a Board Member of
the Special Education Cooperative. Pierce holds an Accounting Degree from Kansas University. In 1998, Pierce was
recognized by her peers when she was awarded the Federation of Tax Administrators Award of Leadership and
Service.

David P McDonald
Microsoft Corporation
MCS Public Sector
Principal Consultant
David McDonald is a Principal Consultant for Microsoft Consulting Services Public Sector Practice. He consults for
Microsofts Government and Education customers helping them architect and build solutions using Microsofts suite of
.NET Servers and technologies.
McDonald has been with Microsoft Consulting Services for over nine years. In that time he has worked with a wide
range of customers in Federal and State and Local Government helping to architect, build and deploy mission critical
solutions. Some of his important customers include agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, Office of
Homeland Security, State of Pennsylvania, and the US Army. McDonald is a thought leader in Microsoft Government.
He is the author of the Microsoft Government Portal Framework and the Office of Homeland Security
Interoperability Framework.
Prior to joining Microsoft, he was a Technical Manager for a large government contractor in the Washington DC area.
In that capacity he managed several important government projects. Most notably he was one of the lead architects for
the EDGAR System for the SEC.
McDonald holds a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland College Park and a
Masters Degree in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. He holds Microsoft Developer Certifications -
MCSD and MCAD.NET.


2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this document represents the
current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as
of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to
changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a
commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot
guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the
date of publication.
This white paper is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT
MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
DOCUMENT.
Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the
trademarks of their respective owners.
Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA
98052-6399 USA0x9

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