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CompleteTax Pro^TM From CCH Offers Firms Two Ways To Profit From Do-It-Yourselfers

(TORRANCE, CALIF., November 5, 2002) – CompleteTax Pro^TM, the online do-it-yourself tax prep affiliate program designed to build business for tax professionals, now comes in two versions offering different levels of customization. Developed by CCH Tax Compliance, a leading provider of professional tax software and services, CompleteTax Pro^TM is a turnkey solution that can open a new revenue stream, build a firm’s practice and enhance its web presence. (For additional information, call 1-800-841-8453 or visit tax.cchgroup.com/completetaxpro.)

"With CompleteTax Pro, we’ve shown that professional tax firms don’t have to watch from the sidelines as more and more people do their own tax returns using consumer-oriented software," said Kevin Robert, president and CEO of CCH Tax Compliance.

"Now we’re giving firms a choice over how much commitment they want to make and how they fit CompleteTax Pro into their total professional services lineup and marketing strategy," Robert added.

CompleteTax Pro is CCH’s professional affiliate program built around CCH’s proven CompleteTax.com online individual tax preparation system. First developed in 1999, the easy-to-use CompleteTax system handles federal and all state returns.

Next year, CompleteTax Pro will be available in two versions for 2002 tax year returns: Standard and Private Label.

Under the CompleteTax Pro Standard model, firms simply provide a link from their web sites to a secure CCH server and customize the program by adding their own name and logo to selected pages via the CompleteTax Toolkit. Requirements for a firm’s involvement and commitment are minimal.

All paying customers who take advantage of a firm’s CompleteTax Pro Standard program are charged $24.95 to prepare and process their returns. CCH handles all the processing and provides complete back-office product support, including program and data hosting on secure servers, automatic program updates and maintenance, electronic transmission of e-filed returns, technical support and all e-commerce functionality, including credit card processing and revenue-sharing distributions.

"The new CompleteTax Pro Standard model is the perfect choice for firms that are looking to simply build their business and increase revenue streams," said Mike Sabbatis, vice president of sales and marketing for CCH Tax Compliance. "It requires very little time and effort on a firm’s part, which is very attractive to many professionals."

With the CompleteTax Pro Private Label option, firms can create their own private brand for the do-it-yourself tax preparation product, with several web site and price customization features.

A firm’s Private Label version of CompleteTax Pro is truly that. The firm creates its own unique brand name for the program and chooses from six color schemes for the look and feel it prefers. Firms choosing the Private Label option also have the ability to customize pricing, with price points ranging from $17.95 to $49.95, providing the flexibility to offer discounted or premium priced returns.

CompleteTax Pro Standard and Private Label are both designed so that firms can encourage or seek out a greater level of involvement with their self-preparing customers. One way to do this is to enable the "Ask a Professional" option which allows users to seek help from the firm’s professionals. Firms can also take advantage of the "Ask a Professional" feature by using the CompleteTax Toolkit to set parameters that will flag returns meeting certain criteria, such as entries on forms that indicate an opportunity to offer additional planning services.

"These features provide firms with a logical way to show how their individualized services can deliver value to this do-it-yourself audience," Robert noted.

Whether firms or their clients initiate the contact, professionals can readily import data collected from CompleteTax Pro into their ProSystem fx Tax system, speeding the resolution of questions and the setting up of client files.

With either version, firms can also selectively offer CompleteTax free of charge as a promotional program or as a goodwill gesture for select accommodation returns, such as dependents and students.

In addition to placing links on their own web sites, firms can also place links to either the Standard or Private Label versions of CompleteTax on the sites of their business or organizational clients. The sub-account can be branded with the firm’s or client’s logo, which allows the firm to reach through its clients to the customers, members or employees using the site.

End-users of either version have access to a comprehensive online help system including "Frequently Asked Questions," CCH technical support via e-mail and optional Internet text chat support. For help with substantive tax issues, users have the online CCH Tax Guide for CompleteTax, containing over 500 pages of thorough, easy-to-understand tax explanations, tips, worksheets and other helpful tools.

"No matter which model they choose, firms will know that they are supplying a high-quality product with lots of valuable tools and content from a trusted source," Sabbatis said.

For more information on the CompleteTax Pro affiliate program, call 1-800-841-8453 or visit tax.cchgroup.com/completetaxpro. A nominal set-up and maintenance fee of $195 is required when an order for CompleteTax Pro Standard is processed. The set-up and maintenance fee for CompleteTax Pro Private Label is $995.

Headquartered in Torrance, CA, CCH Tax Compliance is a leading supplier of software for tax and accounting professionals. It offers The ProSystem fx Office a powerful, integrated suite that includes modules for tax compliance, tax planning, trial balance, fixed assets, practice management, paperless tax and audit engagements, and web site development.

About CCH INCORPORATED

CCH INCORPORATED, headquartered in Riverwoods, Ill., was founded in 1913 and has served four generations of business professionals and their clients. The company produces more than 700 electronic and print products for the tax, legal, securities, insurance, human resources, health care and small business markets. CCH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer North America. The CCH web site can be accessed at cch.com. The CCH tax and accounting web site can be accessed at http://tax.cchgroup.com.

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