Finance

The Congressional Budget Office is seeing a $400 billion reduction in the federal government’s budget deficit for the current fiscal year, thanks to increased tax revenues due largely to the expiration of the payroll tax cut.

Forty percent of Americans are spending more money on health care compared to a year ago, according to a new report by Bankrate.com, which found that only 8 percent are spending less.

Awareness of the implications of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, also known as FATCA, is growing.

A new program allowing Swiss banks to cooperate with U.S. tax authorities means that the days of U.S. citizens successfully keeping their numbered Swiss bank accounts hidden from the prying eyes of the IRS could be coming to an end.

The leaders of Congress’s two tax-writing committees have continued their tax reform road show tour with a stop in Memphis, Tenn.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued proposed regulations to implement the information reporting requirements for insurers and certain employers under the Affordable Care Act.

The Supreme Court’s recent DOMA decision raised a number of questions regarding its tax implications.

The American Institute of CPAs is asking Congress to provide the Internal Revenue Service with “sufficient” funds to perform its duties.

Swiss banks will reach final settlements over tax disputes with the U.S. by 2015, according to Patrick Odier, chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association.

Seeing signs of movement on changing the Tax Code

The Swiss government is urging banks to cooperate with a new program it has set up with U.S. authorities, even though it will require significant financial penalties and information sharing from banks that aided secret account holders.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes.

Switzerland is paving the way for its banks to settle a dispute with the U.S. over tax evasion, approving a plan after years of diplomatic wrangling.

A pair of Democratic lawmakers in Congress announced they are introducing legislation to curb gun violence by increasing federal taxes on firearms and ammunition.

Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, has written to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Acting IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, urging them to quickly resolve and clarify the tax implications for legally married same-sex couples and those in civil unions.

Democratic U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen sued the Internal Revenue Service to force the agency to adopt regulations that mirror federal law on determining whether a group should be given tax-exempt status.

The ranking Democrat on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee ranking member, Sander Levin, D-Mich., released new information Tuesday from the Internal Revenue Service to provide further evidence that progressive groups were singled out for scrutiny as were conservative groups.

The leaders of Congress’s two main tax committees met with taxpayers and businesses in Silicon Valley on Tuesday to elicit feedback on various tax reform proposals.

Ahead of an expected showdown in Congress over budget and tax issues after lawmakers return from their August recess, groups in 16 states are holding 28 events this week to demand that Congress end corporate tax breaks to avoid deeper cuts to spending programs.

The American Institute of CPAs has written to the heads of Congress’s main tax-writing committee expressing its opposition to a proposed limitation on the use of the cash method of accounting for partnerships, S corporations, personal service corporations and farmers.