Finance

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign stepped up its attacks on Republican rival Mitt Romney’s tax history with a new negative ad highlighting Romney’s tenure as head of the audit committee of Marriott International during a period when the committee used a tax shelter that has since been ruled illegal.

Tax credits and deductions for education are too complicated and so confusing that most taxpayers cannot determine which provisions are best for them, the American Institute of CPAs said in written testimony to the Senate Finance Committee.

Every year, it seems that the tax profession is faced with year-end legislation, late forms and radical changes that add to the complexity and headache of preparing a return. Despite all of the above, most practitioners realize that it’s the complexity and confusion that drives new clients their way.

Half a dozen accounting firms have been selected to help oversee compliance by the five banks that agreed to a mammoth national mortgage settlement.

With record-setting temperatures across the country this summer reminding people that the weather has been getting pretty hot lately, it was only a matter of time before the notion of imposing carbon taxes would return to the heads of policy makers.

A group of 10 Republican senators have written a letter to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman urging him to resist changing regulations for tax-exempt organizations organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the Tax Code.

The House approved legislation last week that would allow federal employees with seriously delinquent tax debts to be terminated.

President Barack Obama criticized Republican rival Mitt Romney’s tax reform plans during a campaign appearance, referring to them as “Robin Hood in reverse” and “Romney Hood.”

The House has approved legislation to increase the criminal penalties against identity thieves who steal taxpayer information to file fraudulent returns.

An independent study of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board commissioned by its parent organization finds opinions divided on what GASB’s responsibilities should include as a standard-setter for state and local government accounting.

Republicans, including Senator Lindsey Graham, accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of lying by saying Mitt Romney hasn’t paid taxes for 10 years.

Newly introduced legislation would cut business taxes by more than half for companies that manufacture patented products in the U.S.

Approximately 7,000 Medicaid providers in three selected states—Florida, New York, and Texas—had an estimated $791 million in unpaid federal taxes from 2009 or earlier, but nonetheless received about $6.6 billion in Medicaid reimbursements that year, according to a new study by the Government Accountability Office.

Employers added 163,000 jobs last month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, but the unemployment rate nevertheless increased a tenth of a percentage point to 8.3 percent.

The House passed Republican-sponsored legislation Thursday to streamline congressional procedures and pass comprehensive tax reform next year.

The Senate Finance Committee approved legislation Thursday extending dozens of tax cuts known as tax extenders, including the alternative minimum tax patch, which have either expired or are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, while paring back approximately 25 percent of the traditional tax breaks in the name of tax reform.

Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has introduced legislation to exempt U.S. Olympic medal winners from paying taxes on the medals that they win.

The House voted Wednesday to approve a Republican-sponsored bill to extend the current tax rates for all income levels for an additional year, rejecting the Democratic alternative passed by the Senate last week that would have only extended the tax cuts for household incomes under $250,000 a year.

A Senate committee held a hearing Wednesday to discuss legislation requiring Internet retailers to charge their out-of-state customers sales taxes.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Wednesday on tax reform and the tax treatment of different business entities such as pass-through S corporations and C corporations.