Coronavirus

The Internal Revenue Service needs to take action to avoid processing delays this filing season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new government report.

Senate Democrats are jettisoning a proposal to penalize corporations that don’t raise the minimum wage for their lowest-paid workers in an effort to keep President Biden’s broader stimulus plan on track.

A fresh initiative in the U.S. Senate to put a tax penalty on big companies as a way of forcing higher minimum wages prompted a skeptical reaction among economists including a top adviser to former President Barack Obama.

The House passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief plan, spanning $1,400 stimulus checks, enhanced jobless benefits and fresh funding for vaccines and testing. Also included: a minimum-wage measure with no prospects of passing in the Senate.

The uncertainties in the year ahead are making it difficult for corporate tax executives to decide exactly what to do, given the challenges surrounding COVID-19.

Two Senate committee chiefs are looking at ways to raise taxes on companies paying workers less than $15 an hour, as part of a new strategy to include President Joe Biden’s push to boost the minimum wage to that level in his COVID-19 aid bill.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is weighing adding a provision to the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan that would put a penalty tax on big companies that don’t pay workers at least $15 an hour, a Democratic aide said on condition of anonymity.

Even after the coronavirus, the accounting profession will need to keep changing and adapting at a rapid pace.

Auditing costs have been increasing in recent years, thanks to new accounting standards and corporate acquisitions, according to a study released Thursday.

To best serve your clients, and your own firm, these are the top items to closely monitor in the year ahead.