Finance

The House has approved a bill to help taxpayers enter into payment agreements with the IRS, relax the record-keeping requirements on cell phones, and improve IRS services for low-income taxpayers.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing Wednesday on ways to provide energy-related tax incentives to encourage more “green” jobs.

The House Ways and Means Committee has introduced legislation to help taxpayers enter into payment agreements with the IRS, relax the record-keeping requirements on cell phones, and improve IRS services for low-income taxpayers.

IBM has introduced software to help governments around the world collect delinquent tax debt.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission held three days of hearings this week to investigate some of the causes behind the financial crisis, grilling former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and various executives.

Tea Party activists are planning an Online Tax Revolt that will send an army of avatars on a virtual march on Washington on Tax Day, April 15.

The Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget have opened a new office that will focus on improving financial management processes across the federal government.

Fifteen of the largest U.S. states have forecast gains intax revenue for 2011, ending a two-year slide in tax collections, while all 50states expect to hike collections by about 3.5 percent.

The Senate has temporarily extended two provisionsenacted in the Recovery Act that increase government guarantees and eliminatefees on small-business loans through April 30.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who has temporarily stepped aside as chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee amid ethics investigations of unpaid taxes and other matters, is now facing criticism for a recent mailing to constituents offering tax advice.

The Senate voted 56-43 on Thursday to approve a set of improvements to the sweeping health care reform bill that was passed by the House on Sunday night, but it needed to send the bill back to the House after two provisions were changed in the student lending part of the bill.

The House has approved legislation to provide tax cuts to small businesses and extend the Build America Bonds program to spur job creation.

The Internal Revenue Service has launched a Web-based tool that allows taxpayers to check to see if they received an Economic Recovery Payment last year.

Keith S. Fimian and Pat Herrity are part of a growing trend this year: CPAs running for a seat in Congress.

President Obama signed historic legislation reforming health care insurance, providing tax credits to individuals and small businesses to help them buy insurance through state-based exchanges.

The Senate Banking Committee voted along party lines to approve the financial regulatory reform bill introduced last week by Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said lawmakers should reject amendments designed to weaken the financial regulatory reform bill.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has asked the Justice Department to investigate the activities of Lehman Brothers and other companies that may have engaged in similar accounting manipulations, as well as to prosecute those who broke the law.

The House has approved health care reform legislation after a tense series of negotiations that left the vote in doubt until a group of pro-life Democrats agreed to support the bill after receiving assurances that President Obama would issue an executive order prohibiting federal funding of abortions.

California Secretary of State Deborah Bowen, the state’s top elected Democrat, has rejected Republican congressional candidate Phil Liberatore’s ballot designation, alleging that Liberatore’s description as "IRS Problem Solver," is overly broad and associated with an entity or organization.