For all the taxpayers out there who are planning to spend this weekend slaving over a last-minute return, and for all the business leaders fretting over President Obama's corporate tax plans, here's some cold comfort: It could be worse. Forbes has released its annual Tax Misery and Reform Index. France took the unenviable top spot while the U.S. came in at 48th place.

Opposition to President Obama's campaign to reform the foreign-income deferral and to address what the administration describes as "tax haven abuses" has been subdued to this point. But it's starting to heat up. Last week, Procter & Gamble chairman and CEO A.G. Lafley came out with guns blazing, arguing that the administration's proposals would have a disastrous effect on corporate growth and job creation in the United States.

Tax-free Internet purchases may soon be a thing of the past. States are hurting for money and are looking at sales tax income from Internet transactions as a potential stream of revenue.

Earlier this year, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger eased taxes for movie and television companies operating within his state as part of the economic stimulus package contained in the state's budget bill. Now actor Alec Baldwin is demanding that tax breaks for movie and TV production in New York continue.

Last month, the House passed a bill imposing a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid to any employee whose family income is more than $250,000 and who works for a company that has received $5 billion or more in TARP funds. Can this even be constitutional? Turns out it can, according to Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe.

The 6th Annual BPM Summit, Generating Value Through Visibility, brought together some of the business world's foremost practitioners to explore the transformational role of finance in the enterprise. If you missed the live event, you can still enjoy unlimited access to the audio and slide shows from the keynote speaker presentations at our on-demand archive.