Finance

A bill requiring federal agencies to place new controls on government charge cards and enforce more stringent penalties for violations by federal employees is on its way to President Obama for his signature, following final passage by Congress over the weekend.

Mitt Romney released his 2011 tax return this afternoon, which revealed that the Republic presidential candidate paid taxes of $1,935,708 on $13.7 million in income, mostly from investments, giving him an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing on offshore profit shifting and the U.S. tax code, examining in particular the practices of Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, while questioning an Ernst & Young tax partner who services HP.

Congress’s two tax-writing committees, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, held a joint hearing Thursday to discuss capital gains taxes and how they might be reformed.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law Thursday allowing CPAs from outside California to practice across state lines without needing additional licenses.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid predicted that Congress will reach a deal after the Nov. 6 election to avert hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff” set to begin in January.

Eleven years ago, eliminating income taxes for low-income Americans was an applause line for a Republican president. Mitt Romney in 2012 sees the number of people paying nothing as a political problem.

Politicians and policy makers always seem to be talking about “broadening the tax base” and “eliminating tax loopholes,” but rarely do we hear specifics.

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, and U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, have called on New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to halt all exploratory efforts involving the activities of several businesses and nonprofit 501(c)(4) organizations.

With the presidential candidates arguing over lowering taxes and cutting spending, the Congressional Research Service has weighed in with a historical analysis that claims that reducing tax rates for the highest-income taxpayers does not promote growth.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Friday that it has signed a bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom to implement information reporting and withholding tax provisions under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, allowing the two governments to share information about taxpayers from the U.S. and U.K.

Mitt Romney says he can lower income tax rates by 20 percent without costing the U.S. government revenue and without making the middle class carry a bigger share of the tax load.

The House held a hearing Thursday to discuss small business perspectives on the tax cliff, hearing testimony from a representative of the American Institute of CPAs and other witnesses.

A high-ranking Internal Revenue Service official told a congressional panel that the agency is not planning to use tactics like tax liens and levies to make sure taxpayers are properly complying with the new health care reform law.

CCH has published a special report comparing the tax policies and proposals of President Barack Obama with his Republican rival Mitt Romney.

Financial Executives International has begun scoring members of Congress on how well their votes match FEI’s legislative priorities.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney cited a group of economic studies to show that his tax-cut plan won’t increase the U.S. budget deficit or shift the tax burden to middle-income taxpayers.

President Barack Obama critiqued his rival Mitt Romney's tax reform plans during his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, comparing Republican proposals to a doctor's standard prescription.

PricewaterhouseCoopers said it is working with the U.S. Secret Service after allegations that the tax returns of client Mitt Romney were stolen.

Former President Bill Clinton delivered a scathing indictment of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s economic and tax plans to an enthusiastic crowd at the Democratic National Convention, exhorting the crowd to re-elect President Barack Obama.