Cincinnati, Baltimore and Cleveland ranked highest among large cities in their tax favorability for businesses, according to a new study by KPMG, with New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., leading the way among smaller cities.

RedGear Technologies, developer of TaxWorks professional tax software, and marketer Business Owners Advandage have launched an affiliate program for tax professionals to offer Deductr -- automated expense tracking tool for taxpayers.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing on offshore profit shifting and the U.S. tax code, examining in particular the practices of Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, while questioning an Ernst & Young tax partner who services HP.

Congress’s two tax-writing committees, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, held a joint hearing Thursday to discuss capital gains taxes and how they might be reformed.

Government debt hit a record $16 trillion last week, accompanied by the usual calls for tax increases to help plug the gap between revenue and expenditures. But for those who believe that the way out of our deficit includes raising taxes, there’s a cautionary study that suggests otherwise.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid predicted that Congress will reach a deal after the Nov. 6 election to avert hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff” set to begin in January.

Tax business owners, as well as small businesses in general, are focusing more on such Internet marketing techniques as e-commerce and social media even while relying on such traditional methods as networking and targeted advertising to attract new clients, according to Chuck McCabe, CEO of The Income Tax School Inc.