Finance

The House passed legislation to incentivize community banks to increase their small-business lending.

Corporations that issued stock options to their executives claimed tax deductions that were collectively $52 billion larger than the expenses shown on their books in 2008, according to newly released data.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has scaled back the carried interest and S corporation tax provisions, in addition to several others, after the tax extenders and unemployment legislation hit a speed bump in the Senate.

The upper and lower houses of the Swiss Parliament have ratified a deal between the Swiss and U.S. governments to share information on approximately 4,450 U.S.-based customers of Swiss bank UBS with the U.S. government.

The Senate has approved an amendment to extend the closing deadline for homebuyers who qualified for the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

The tax extender and unemployment benefits bill failed to clear a 60-vote hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday.

The American Institute of CPAs and the National Society of Accountants are voicing their opposition to a provision in the tax extenders and unemployment legislation that could increase the self-employment taxes paid by some professional services firms organized as S corporations.

The House approved the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010 on Tuesday by a bipartisan majority of 247-170.

A new report finds that the majority of financial institutions and companies that received funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program have resolved the unpaid federal taxes they had owed.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has introduced an amendment to the tax extenders bill that would extend the transaction closing date for the First-Time Homebuyer Credit from June 30 to Sept. 30.

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While no new formal proposals are in the books, the prospect of implementing a value-added tax has elicited both support and opposition across the political spectrum.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wants to put a stop to U.S. companies that transfer customer service calls halfway around the world.

The Federal Trade Commission has further delayed enforcement of the so-called “Red Flags” Rule for identity theft prevention until Dec. 31, while Congress considers legislation that would affect the scope of entities covered by the rule.

The House approved a bill to extend many expiring and expired tax breaks through the end of the year, as well as extend unemployment insurance benefits through the end of November.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said he anticipates an exemption for small and midsized public companies from Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404(b) requirements for independent audits of their internal controls to remain in the final version of the financial regulatory reform bill.

The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have introduced legislation to create job opportunities for veterans returning home from war by providing tax credits for businesses that hire them.

CCH has published a pair of special briefing papers on the financial reform bill that passed in the Senate last week and the tax extenders bill introduced last week in the House and Senate.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., plans to convene a hearing to consider White House proposals for reducing waste and overpayments in the unemployment insurance program.