White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says the Obama administration hopes the top House Republican was serious in expressing support for renewing tax cuts for the middle class, adding that GOP hopes to also extend reductions for the rich lack common sense.
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Chicago’s AA credit rating slipping away
From Bloomberg News | With a 2011 budget deficit projected at more than $650 million, the City of Chicago’s credit rating is in danger of sinking further. In fact, it already paid a premium in an August bond offering for schools.
“They’re a AA rated borrower that is trading as if it was rated A,” said Richard Saperstein, managing director at Hightower Advisors Treasury Partners in Chicago told Bloomberg. “This means they’re in line for a downgrade. The market is telling you something.” Get the full story >>
Baucus reported ready to flip on private-equity tax
U.S. private-equity kingpins are likely to be hit with a second giant tax increase next year, the New York Post reported Thursday.
It looks like the bosses will have to dig deeper because a key ally on Capitol Hill — a lawmaker who has blocked three attempts to raise the income tax paid by buyout firms — was set to favor the so-called Enterprise Value Tax. It would more than double the tax bite when moguls cash out of their private equity firms, several sources told the Post. Get the full story »
GOP leader urges 2-year freeze on tax rates
U.S. House of Representatives Republican leader John Boehner called Wednesday for a two-year freeze on all current U.S. tax rates, including Bush-era tax cuts for the rich set to expire at the end of this year. Get the full story »
Sources: Taxpayers may face initial loss on GM IPO
The U.S. government is likely to take a loss on General Motors Co. in the first offering of the automaker’s stock, six people familiar with preparations for the landmark IPO said. Get the full story »
Ex-Obama aide: Extend all tax cuts for 2 years
U.S. tax cuts should be extended for all Americans to help spur the economy, but even the middle-class cuts should end in two years, former U.S. budget director Peter Orszag said Tuesday.
Orszag’s views differed from those of his former boss, President Barack Obama. Get the full story »
IRS: Tax refunds on debit cards
A new Treasury Department program program would issue tax refunds on debit cards to those without bank accounts, in a move to get Americans their refunds quickly and saving the government the cost of printing and mailing checks.
Obama makes small-business tax cuts Job 1
President Barack Obama says Congress should make passing a long-languishing aid package to small business its first order of business when it gets back from summer vacation.
He said in remarks in the Rose Garden Monday that he’ll also have other specific ideas on the nation’s teetering economy in the days and weeks ahead. Get the full story »
Politics, job rates shake millionaires’ confidence
The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index fell to its lowest level in more than a year in August as wealthy U.S. investors worried about politics and unemployment, according to Spectrem Group.
The index fell 11 points in August to -18, its lowest level since June 2009, when it fell a record 18 points to -20 shortly after the S&P 500 index hit a 12-year low. Get the full story »
IRS to clarify rules for tax professionals
The Internal Revenue Service is trying to make the rules clearer for attorneys, certified public accountants and other tax professionals who practice before the agency.
The tax authority on Thursday proposed changes to the rulebooks for tax professionals, a set of Treasury standards known as Circular 230. A goal is to better define what tax advisers can and cannot do and to establish new rules on preparing tax returns. Get the full story »
