Tax Strategies

The chairmen of Congress’s two main tax-writing committees in the House and Senate plan to begin a tour across the country visiting with taxpayers and businesses as they plan a major tax reform overhaul.

Profitable U.S. corporations paid only about 13 to 17 percent of their pretax worldwide income in U.S. federal income taxes, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office based on data from the actual tax returns filed by the corporations.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the core of the Defense of Marriage Act will narrow the financial gap between gay and straight couples.

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.