Finance

It’s been said that you can’t tell the players without a scorecard. Where I need a scorecard is to figure out which tax provisions expired at the end of 2011, and those slated to give up the ghost at the end of 2012. Luckily, the Joint Economic Committee has a Web site that lists all of the expiring provisions of recent memory, together with the dates they expired or will expire.

The House has approved Republican-backed legislation to provide a tax cut of up to 20 percent for one year to companies with fewer than 500 employees.

Internal Revenue Service and Treasury officials faced questions from Congress on Thursday over how well the IRS is responding to taxpayer identity theft concerns and efforts to close the growing tax gap.

The large differences in excise tax rates for various smoking products are prompting consumers with a tobacco habit to shift their smoking habits to pipes and larger cigars, according to a new government study.

With Democrats and Republicans in Congress battling over competing tax legislation this week, one new bill should be able to attract bipartisan support.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing Tuesday on tax reform and tax-favored retirement accounts as it sought to find ways to use tax policy to encourage more Americans to save for retirement.

Senate Republicans blocked a bill promoted by the Obama administration that would impose a minimum tax on millionaires.

President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans square off this week over tax hikes for millionaires and tax cuts for businesses, with both sides seen as more interested in scoring political points than in fixing the tax code or shrinking the deficit.

While every state offers tax incentives to attract, retain and expand businesses and jobs, few states actually provide good evidence that the tax breaks deliver an effective return on investment, according to a new report.

Just a few days ahead of the tax-filing deadline, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden released their 2011 tax returns on Friday.

I had the unexpected surprise yesterday of lunching with Karl Rove, known as the architect of President George W. Bush’s election campaigns.

President Obama told a crowd of students and supporters that Congress should vote to approve his plan to ensure that millionaires don’t pay lower tax rates than the middle class.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., talked about how tax policies need to emphasize economic growth during a speech Tuesday, in which he also took aim at President Obama’s budget.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie talked about his budget battles with New Jersey lawmakers during an entertaining speech in New York on Tuesday.

Former President George W. Bush said Tuesday that he wished the Bush tax cuts were not named for him.

President Obama signed into law on Thursday the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, also known as the JOBS Act, which lowers the regulatory and auditing barriers for companies to seek funding and enter the capital markets.

President Obama lashed out at the Republican budget plan passed last week by the House and endorsed by Mitt Romney.

States are cracking down on software and devices that help businesses cheat on taxes at the cash register.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board has released an exposure draft on financial discussion and analysis for public sector entities, proposing minimum required content.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued two new accounting statements, one covering items previously reported as assets and liabilities, which clarified the appropriate reporting of deferred outflows and inflows of resources, and another statement containing technical corrections to resolve conflicting guidance.