Finance

Lawmakers negotiating over the payroll tax cut extension said they have agreed on a deal to extend the 2 percentage point cut in Social Security and Medicare withholding taxes through the rest of the year, along with unemployment benefits and the “doc fix” to prevent Medicare reimbursements to physicians from being cut.

U.S. lawmakers reached a tentative deal on Tuesday on legislation aimed at boosting the economy by extending a payroll tax cut for 160 million workers through this year and continuing long-term jobless benefits, congressional aides said.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told a Senate panel that the Obama administration plans to introduce a series of proposals to reform the corporate tax laws.

After months of wrangling, congressional leaders appear to be close to a deal on extending the payroll tax cut, unemployment benefits, and the so-called “doc fix” for Medicare physician reimbursements through the end of the year.

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., the ranking Democratic member on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday to tax the carried interest earned by hedge fund managers, private equity firm partners, venture capitalists and others at the same tax rates as ordinary income.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has further extended the filing deadline for filing foreign bank account reports for certain financial professionals who have only signature authority over the accounts.

President Barack Obama's 2013 election-year budget took investors by surprise with a call for significantly higher taxes on dividends, a major change from his earlier tax proposals and one that will raise the ire of dividend-paying companies.

The Obama administration has increased its budget request for the Internal Revenue Service for fiscal year 2013 to approximately $12.8 billion to make up for recent budget cuts.

The Treasury Department has released its “greenbook” outlining the tax proposals in the Obama administration’s fiscal 2013 budget.

President Obama called for tax reform measures Monday to cut the budget deficit by $1.5 trillion in his fiscal year 2013 budget.

The Internal Revenue Service said Monday it is extending the time period for commenting on guidance it has issued pertaining to the application of the general welfare exclusion to Indian tribal government programs.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the interaction of tax and financial accounting rules on tax reform.

A pair of Democratic senators who chair influential committees have introduced legislation aimed at closing a variety of tax loopholes to reduce the budget deficit.

A pair of Republican members of Congress have introduced a bill to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from implementing a new tax-reporting requirement for small businesses to reconcile their 1099-K reports from outside providers such as credit card companies with their own internal records.

During his recent State of the Contradiction address before a joint session of Congress, the President in typically impressive oratory tried his carnival barker best not to allow anyone to examine the fine print.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Jeanette M. Franzel, a managing director of the Government Accountability Office, as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

The economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent, providing some measure of comfort for President Barack Obama who faces re-election in November.

Sometimes it’s possible to predict a legislative outcome by comparing opening statements and testimonies of committee witnesses.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has introduced legislation to implement President Obama’s proposal in his State of the Union speech that millionaires should pay at least a minimum 30 percent income tax rate.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Tuesday to examine the growing number of tax extenders in the Tax Code that need to be renewed every year or two, and how there could be greater predictability with overall tax reform.