Tax

Senate Republicans’ proposal to replace Obamacare would provide an additional $50 billion over four years to stabilize insurance exchanges, relying on a mechanism Republicans have criticized in the past as a way to keep insurers in the marketplace.

The measure would eliminate Obamacare’s tax increases, including a 3.8 percent net investment income tax, a 2.3 percent levy on medical device sales, a 0.9 percent Medicare surtax and a 10 percent indoor tanning tax. But a tax on expensive “Cadillac” employer-provided plans would be delayed, as in the House measure.

Senate Republicans are beginning to learn the details of the health-care bill they may be asked to vote on next week, with senators saying the measure envisions a more gradual transition away from Obamacare than the House-passed version.

The solution provides guidance on tax inquiries input by practitioners who need more information on localized laws.

The Internal Revenue Service reopened its Preparer Tax Identification Number system Wednesday after closing it earlier this month because it lost a lawsuit over registration and renewal fees. 

Madoff victims still wait; suing the IRS anonymously; where tax dollars go; other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

The House passed legislation Tuesday to simplify state income tax rules for employees who travel across state lines.

Avalara, a provider of cloud-based tax compliance automation business software, has teamed up with the publisher John Wiley & Sons to produce “Customs Duty & Import Tax for Dummies,” an e-book that’s part of Wiley’s “for Dummies” line of instruction guides.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a memorandum for its field examiners instructing them that frequently asked questions and other items posted on the agency’s IRS.gov site that have not been published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin are not considered to be legal authority.

Four days before the one-year anniversary of the release of his tax blueprint, House Speaker Paul Ryan delivered a pep-talk seeking to assuage growing doubts about the prospects for a major tax overhaul.