On Jan. 31, 2013, California pulled the plug on a long overdue modernization of its Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) IT systems. Originally scheduled to be completed that March, the state and its prime contractor had only managed to finish one portion of the $208 million system overhaul.

But California was not the only state to stumble. From coast to coast, DMVs struggled to drag their IT systems into the 21st century. Instead of creating new efficiencies for driver’s licensing and motor vehicle registrations, states were reporting false starts, failures and lawsuits. Meanwhile, as Americans were growing used to oneclick, online orders for retail purchases, they found themselves still heading down to the local DMV office to stand in line, where wait times were lengthening while IT upgrades languished.

Fast Enterprises (FAST), a leading provider of software and consulting services to governments, has received 2017 and 2018 best-workplace awards that recognize the company’s ongoing commitment to employee morale and diversity.

The awards, which include FAST’s fifth consecutive award as a “best place to work” by online jobs and career community Glassdoor®, also consist of awards from consulting and research firm Great Place to Work®. FAST was recognized in multiple categories as a best workplace for diversity, millennials, and the technology sector.

Fast Enterprises, LLC (FAST), a leading provider of software and consulting services to governments, has hired John Vecchiarelli, the former senior director of taxation for the Colorado Department of Revenue, to serve as the company’s user group executive administrator.

“John is an expert in tax administration,” said Martin Rankin, the FAST managing partner. “He has many years of experience serving the state of Colorado and multiple government associations, and his new role with FAST will add an important dimension to the support we provide to our government clients.”

Finance and the Public Service State Minister Fayval Williams has lauded Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) for imple-menting reforms that have significantly improved the agency’s operations and service delivery and taxpayers’ compliance in filing statutory returns. Notable among these initiatives, she says, are the Revenue Administration Information System e-services platform; the creation of a single-payment window for filing National Insurance Scheme, National Housing Trust and Education Tax returns; and the establishment of customer-care centres tailored to enhance the client experience.

Williams said that consequent on these, tax compliance has improved significantly within recent years.

Despite major data breaches such as the one at Equifax, tax agencies — including the Georgia Department of Revenue — are reporting increasing success in the war to stop fraudulent returns from turning into big money for crooks. Department of Revenue Commissioner Lynne Riley said the state has blocked $108 million worth of fraudulent returns so far this year. That’s up dramatically from two years ago, when only $19 million worth was stopped by the agency.

“It is encouraging to see everyone involved in the filing process working together to combat fraud,” Riley said. “It appears the collaborative effort has led to remarkable strides in both deterring and detecting tax fraud.”

As Oregon works toward complying with the Real ID Act, the state is also modernizing its computer systems at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The 2005 Real ID Act established new security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and ID cards related to data, documentation, verification and sharing. It also prohibits federal agencies from accepting licenses and ID cards from states that do not meet these standards. That means ID from non-compliant states will not be accepted for entrance to military bases and federal facilities as well as at airport security checkpoints.

Although Oregon’s DMV could use its existing mainframe computer software, created in the mid-1960s and ’70s, to implement a Real ID-compliant identification card, it would be costly and time consuming, Lauren Mulligan, a spokesperson for the department’s Service Transformation Program, said in an email.