Calling President Clinton's proposed tax on nonprofit organizations "crippling," association leaders descended on Congress in March to voice their vehement opposition. Under the provision in the Administration's fiscal year 2000 budget, taxes would be assessed on the income associations receive from interest, dividends, rents, and royalties. That means associations would pay about an additional $1.4 billion over the next five years, according to the American Society of Association Executives. While the proposed tax hit does not specifically involve meeting revenue, it will affect organizations' overall operating budgets, and that can certainly impact conferences and other educational activities.

METCON Deleted Three strikes you're out? Well, in the case of METCON, the Meetings & Exhibition Technology Conference, it only took two strikes. The third annual

METCON, co-sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives and the Professional Convention Management Association, has been canceled because of low registration.

Based on pre-registration figures, organizers estimated about 300 attendees would show up--while the last two years drew more than 400.

But that's a kind of planned obsolescence, says Gary A. LaBranche, CAE, vice president, professional development, ASAE. When METCON was launched, the great need for technology education justified a stand-alone meeting. Now, that education has been integrated into both organizations' meetings, which was the idea, LaBranche says. "METCON really helped to accelerate the use of technology within our community."