Tax

The next time a client complains about the complexity of our tax system, tell them about the proposed financial transactions tax, or FTT. The European Union is moving close to agreeing on an FTT that at the beginning will apply to 11 member states, including France and Italy.

The two leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have offered to take a “blank slate” approach as a starting point for tax reform, in which there would be virtually no tax breaks available, and called on their Senate colleagues to provide suggestions on which tax provisions need to be added back and improved in a reformed tax code.

Investors have a bit more to ponder as the administration rolls out its tax program, designed to both address the federal budget deficit and promote economic development.

The inability of cities and local jurisdictions to collect existing sales taxes on Internet sales translates into billions of dollars in lost revenue, according to a new report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, that found New York City, Phoenix and Chicago as the top money-losing cities.

The Swiss parliament rejected a bill designed to resolve a dispute over undeclared bank accounts held by U.S. citizens, potentially setting the stage for American prosecution of the country’s banks

A new study jointly conducted by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the bill currently under debate in the Senate would save nearly $1 trillion over the next two decades, largely because more than 10 million additional people would be paying taxes.

World leaders at the G8 Summit meeting in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, issued a declaration Tuesday calling for countries to share tax information and increase transparency to discourage tax evasion, and President Obama released an action plan for identifying actual company ownership.

Congressman Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, has introduced legislation that would direct the Treasury Department to issue a legislative proposal to Congress concerning the viability of replacing the current income tax with a consumption tax.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to develop more guidance and training materials to inform taxpayers and tax preparers of the tax compliance risks associated with using virtual currencies like Bitcoin and “Linden dollars.”

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists created a database of users of international tax havens over the weekend, and the group reported Monday that database received 2 million page views in its first 24 hours of operation.