Finance

Senators Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., have introduced a proposal to reform the federal estate tax, which temporarily expired this year but is slated to increase to up to 55 percent next year for estates over $1 million.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Wednesday to discuss the soon-to-expire 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and how to extend any of them without increasing the budget deficit or hurting economic growth.

A group of Democratic senators has written to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman expressing concerns about new requirements for expanded 1099 reporting.

Businesses will be able to claim up to $8.5 billion in tax exemptions and credits for 4.5 million recently hired employees under the HIRE Act, according to a new Treasury Department report.

A group of small businesses has written an open letter to the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee requesting changes in the expanded 1099 reporting requirements in the health care reform law.

Before departing on its holiday break, the Senate left a number of important issues unresolved, including the fate of the unemployment extension and tax extenders legislation, not to mention the financial reform bill.

Eligible taxpayers who contracted to buy a home, qualifying for the First-Time Homebuyer Credit before the end of April, now have until Sept. 30, 2010 to close the deal, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The House has passed legislation to extend unemployment benefits through the end of November.

The Senate failed to pass a bill on Wednesday night to extend unemployment benefits and the closing date for home purchases that could qualify for the Homebuyer Tax Credit, although it later managed to pass the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing date extension separately.

The House passed the financial regulatory reform bill that emerged from a House-Senate conference committee by a 237-192 margin.

Over 300 small business owners attended an Obama administration small business forum at the U.S. Department of Commerce on Monday.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has launched an investigation into the tax practices of Transocean Ltd., the owner of the offshore drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico this past April, leading to the disastrous oil spill.

The Senate has introduced a bill aimed at helping small businesses access credit and capital and create jobs.

The House voted Tuesday to extend the closing deadline for taxpayers seeking the Homebuyer Tax Credit.

After the Senate failed three times last week to pass the mammoth tax extenders and unemployment benefits extension bill last week, the House and Senate have introduced stand-alone bills to extend unemployment benefits.

Senate Democrats may be forced to set aside tax extenders and unemployment benefits legislation after they were unable to overcome a Republican-led filibuster for the third time.

A House and Senate conference committee has put the finishing touches to the financial regulatory reform bill.

Senate Democrats have introduced the latest version of their mammoth tax extenders and unemployment benefits extension legislation, further modifying provisions such as the taxation of carried interest of hedge fund managers and private equity firm partners and reducing the cost to under $110 billion in part by scaling back Medicaid aid to states.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has sent a letter to Congress in support of reinstating lapsed tax provisions that require polluters to pay for the Superfund for environmental cleanup.

Peter Orszag, the White House Budget Director and one of the driving forces behind the passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus package, will step down from his post.