Finance

The House narrowly passed a jobs bill aimed at reducing unemployment, but the legislation’s prospects are uncertain in the Senate.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to require companies to disclose more information about their compensation practices and the background of their board members.

CCH has issued a Special Tax Briefing on the Tax Extenders Act of 2009 that was approved this month by the House.

Washington, D.C. - A measure by the House Financial Services Committee that would exempt small and midsized companies from Sarbanes-Oxley audit requirements has drawn fire from a number of organizations, including the American Institute of CPAs, the Center for Audit Quality and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

The House has approved a comprehensive financial reform bill, albeit with a number of key provisions weakened in recent days.

The House approved the Tax Extenders Act of 2009, with extensions of a number of tax breaks that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, including the R&D credit.

President Obama described a series of proposals aimed at encouraging companies to add more jobs, including tax cuts for small businesses.

Large corporations have dominated the use of the research tax credit, with 549 corporations with receipts of $1 billion or more claiming over half of the $6 billion of net credits in 2005, the most recent year available, according to a new study by the Government Accountability Office.

The White House convened a jobs summit in which President Obama heard from business and union leaders about various proposals for reducing unemployment, including tax incentives for job creation.

The House voted to set the inheritance tax at 45 percent permanently for estates larger than $3.5 million.

The House Financial Services Committee has approved legislation aimed at preventing the failure of large financial institutions from turning into a systemwide crisis.

The tax subcommittee of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board has decided to postpone its report outlining tax reform plans for the White House after being inundated with suggestions.

A group of Democratic lawmakers has introduced a bill that would impose a temporary war surtax beginning in 2011 to pay for the war in Afghanistan.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board has published a paper questioning how financial statements can provide more information about the long-term sustainability of current government programs.

The American Institute of CPAs has written to the leaders of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee opposing language in a proposed law that could expose more accountants to fraud lawsuits.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., introduced the Senate’s version of the health care reform bill, which includes a new 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery.

President Obama has established an interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force that will work with state and local authorities to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes.

A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate and House would reduce the penalties assessed by the IRS on tax shelter investments by small businesses to put them in proportion with the tax benefits received.

President Barack Obama said Thursday he plans to hold a forum in December at the White House on jobs and economic growth.

A measure approved last week by the House Financial Services Committee to change Sarbanes-Oxley audit rules would lead to a higher incidence of fraud and an increase in the amount of fraud losses, said the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.