Finance

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the federal budget deficit for 2010 will exceed $1.3 trillion—$71 billion below last year's total and $27 billion lower than the amount that CBO projected in March 2010, when it issued its previous estimate, but that projection is predicated on the Bush tax cuts and other tax breaks expiring.

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., has introduced legislation that would provide additional assistance for workers who have exhausted their unemployment insurance and are living in states like Nevada with elevated unemployment rates.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has proposed a set of tax breaks to encourage investment in the commercial space industry as a way to cushion the blow from recent cutbacks in the space program.

Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., introduced a bill earlier this month that would cut taxes for businesses that hire new workers who have been looking for work the longest and provide emergency assistance for struggling families looking for work by creating an additional tier of benefits for those who have exhausted their unemployment insurance benefits.

Russell W. Hinton of Atlanta and Peter Hughes of Orange County, Calif., are the 2010 recipients of the American Institute of CPAs’ Outstanding CPA in Government Award.

A group of Democratic senators has written to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission urging the SEC to require more complete and accurate corporate accounting disclosures, especially of off-balance sheet transactions.

Political fundraisers in the accounting profession began shifting their largesse toward congressional Democrats after they won control over both the House and the Senate four years ago.

Henny Youngman, the aptly-named "King of the OneLiners," used to joke that his accountant recently had reviewed hisfinances and assured him that he had invested enough money to live comfortablyfor the rest of his life.

The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act of 2010 is basically a bailout for states that are living beyond their means and have problems meeting their payrolls.

Dan Rostenkowski, the former chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, has died at the age of 82.

In the midst of their August recess, House lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill to vote to approve legislation to provide $26 billion in aid to states to avoid teacher layoffs and Medicaid cuts, paid for in part by clamping down on foreign tax credits.

Thirty-one members of the House have signed a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner urging changes in the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed plan to regulate paid income tax return preparers.

The Senate has revised the Small Business Jobs Act tax relief and lending bill with amendments scaling back controversial new requirements for 1099 reporting of business transactions.

The Treasury Department has released a new state-by-state report on the number of newly hired workers whose employers are eligible to claim tax credits under the HIRE Act, increasing the estimate from 4.5 million to 5.6 million workers.

House Democrats blasted Republicans for blocking a bill with tax breaks for small businesses and the removal of a controversial 1099 information reporting requirement after the bill failed to garner the two-thirds margin needed for passage.

A new bill in Congress would provide a one-time $250 payment to senior citizens, veterans and the disabled in the event that no Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is payable in 2011.

Senate Republicans united in blocking a vote on legislation to provide tax breaks to small businesses along with a $30 billion lending fund.

The House ethics committee laid out a series of charges against Congressman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., on Thursday, including his failure to pay taxes on rental income he earned from a vacation villa he owns in the Dominican Republic.

The House Committee on Financial Services voted to approve Internet gambling legislation, a critical step in making online gambling legal in the U.S.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has launched a mobile version of its Web site that will allow users to more easily access GAO reports on their BlackBerries, iPhones, Droids, and other small-screen mobile devices.