Finance

The Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing on how foreign investors dodge taxes on U.S. stock dividends with the help of U.S. banks and investment houses.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., refused to resign his chairmanship of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee after revelations that he failed to pay taxes on rental income from a vacation villa in the Dominican Islands.

The Congressional Budget Office sees the deficit growing to $407 billion for the year ending Sept. 30 and ballooning to $438 billion next year, with the takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae threatening to send it far higher.

In the first-ever visit to Congress by the American Institute of CPAs’ Major Firms Group, CPA executive leaders from 81 of the nation’s top 100 accounting firms visited Capitol Hill just prior to summer recess.The firms, representing more than 54,000 employees and their clients, discussed with lawmakers those legislative issues that are important to the accounting profession, including tax patents and uniform non-resident tax standards.

Congressman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, never reported rental income from a vacation property he has owned in the Dominican Republic since 1988.

U.S. and foreign tax rules increasingly influence where multinational companies are reporting their income is being earned, according to a new report that may influence tax legislation in Congress.

Congressional tax reformers are taking aim at one of the most cherished tax breaks available to working Americans — employer-paid health insurance coverage.During the latest round of tax reform hearings before the Senate Finance Committee, experts in both taxation and health care presented their case for eliminating — or at least sharply reducing — the federal tax subsidies given for employer-provided health insurance, which now provide the average U.S. taxpayer with nearly $3,000 a year in benefits.

Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said he planned to co-sponsor a bill that will update the deductible cost of operating a vehicle for charitable purposes.

In response to a letter from several members of Congress, the Internal Revenue Service will stop trying to enforce collection of alternative minimum taxes due on incentive stock options for the rest of the month.

The Democratic Party approved its platform at its national convention in Denver, including a number of planks related to taxes.

Congressional auditors have uncovered a series of security breaches at the Internal Revenue Service that may jeopardize taxpayer funds, the privacy of IRS records, and the physical safety of employees at the tax service.In a report to Congress, auditors from the U.S. Government Accountability Office revealed a series of troubling practices, including the failure of managers at many Taxpayer Assistance Centers to adequately guard against internal theft by larcenous IRS employees.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson’s list of objectives — detailed in the first of her two annual required reports to Congress — zeroes in on the problems that she intends to focus on during the fiscal year ahead.At least one of the objectives — which focuses on the liabilities of incentive stock options under the Alternative Minimum Tax — has a good chance of being resolved, according to Tim Carlson, president of the Coalition for Tax Fairness and pro bono attorney for a number of victims of the anomaly. “Pending legislation will fix it, and it has support from both sides of the aisle,” he said.

Two senators criticized the nonpayment of federal taxes by many U.S. companies and foreign companies doing business in the U.S. after a report was issued this week.

Troubled housing lender Freddie Mac posted its fourth consecutive quarterly loss and performed even worse than expected by analysts.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., accused the Internal Revenue Service of falling short on efforts to combat taxpayer identity theft.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called for an "emergency energy rebate" of $1,000 to be offered to families this fall, along with a $50 billion stimulus package to help jump-start job creation.

Whether John McCain or Barack Obama becomes the country’s next chief executive, they will need to look not only at tax reform, but international tax reform early in their administration.“We may find it wise to get to [international] tax reform very early,” advised Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, during recent Capitol Hill hearings on the issue.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on incentives for providing health benefits in the Tax Code.

President Bush has signed into law a bill that will help homeowners facing foreclosure and shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Senate has passed a housing rescue plan by a vote of 72-13 aimed at stemming the tide of foreclosures and shoring up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.