Government taxation and revenue
Highlights from around the Capitol
Gov. Rick Perry wouldn't say Friday whether there is too much unfinished business at the Texas Legislature to adjourn next week as scheduled. His record the last 13 years says lawmakers aren't going anywhere. The regular 140-day session ends Monday. But with only the Memorial Day weekend left to work ...
Furlough Friday: Unpaid day off for many in gov't
No one answered the tax-help hotline at the IRS on Friday. And you could forget about getting advice on avoiding foreclosures at the 80 Housing and Urban Development field offices nationwide. It was "furlough Friday." Roughly 5 percent of the federal workforce — 115,000 people at six major agencies — ...
Ohio senator demands answers in IRS targeting
Ohio's Republican U.S. senator is demanding to know if any disciplinary action has been taken against Internal Revenue Service employees at the agency's Cincinnati office for targeting conservative groups and whether they were acting under orders from their supervisors. Sen. Rob Portman, who has been a vocal critic of the ...
Taconite tax will help pay for Iron Range schools
A Minnesota taconite iron ore tax increase will be used to rebuild and retool Iron Range schools. The 10 cent-a-ton tax increase was included in the state Legislature's final omnibus tax bill signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton Thursday. The per-ton tax increases to $2.56. The funding for school ...
Tax break weekend in Texas for Energy Star items
Texas shoppers can get a tax break this Memorial Day holiday weekend when buying certain power-saving appliances. The state comptroller's office says the Energy Star sales tax holiday begins Saturday and runs through Monday. Qualifying products display the Energy Star logo. Sales tax breaks are available for items including refrigerators ...
Top Swiss negotiator in tax disputes steps down
Switzerland's top negotiator in talks to resolve disputes over tax evasion with Europe and the U.S. is stepping down. The Finance Ministry said Friday that Michael Ambuehl will leave his post at the end of August and go into academia. The move comes at a crucial time for Switzerland, which ...
Mary J. Blige faces $3.4M federal tax lien in NJ
Mary J. Blige and her husband have been hit with a $3.4 million tax lien in New Jersey. Court documents show the Internal Revenue Service filed a notice of a lien on the nine-time Grammy Award winner Feb. 7. That was two days before the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul was ...
Iowa lawmakers close to ending legislative session
The Iowa Senate adjourned the 2013 legislative session late Wednesday night, but the House was set to return Thursday for more votes. Lawmakers seemed to be moving to conclusion Wednesday after reaching deals to cut property taxes, revise education policy and provide health care for low-income residents. But while the ...
Broke no laws, IRS official says - then takes 5th
At the center of a political storm, an Internal Revenue Service supervisor whose agents targeted conservative groups swore Wednesday she did nothing wrong, broke no laws and never lied to Congress. Then she refused to answer lawmakers' further questions, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself. In one ...
Senate Democrats offer slew of Ohio budget changes
Democrats in the Ohio Senate suggested Wednesday that budget writers take millions of dollars from a proposed income tax cut for higher wage earners and direct it to schools instead, as work intensified on the state's spending plan. The idea is among roughly 200 amendments that Democratic senators are offering ...
Cuomo: Create tax-free zones around SUNY campuses
High-tech businesses from other states and abroad that move onto or next to college campuses in New York would operate free of all business, property and personal income taxes for 10 years under a proposal released Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo said the plan would create jobs in a ...
Board OKs petition form for abortion proposal
An anti-abortion group seeking to ban Michigan health insurance plans from covering abortions without a supplemental policy cleared an early hurdle Wednesday in its effort to take the proposal to voters, even without Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's approval. Snyder vetoed similar legislation last year, citing concerns about government overreach in ...
Cleveland fair-housing advocate facing tax counts
A fair-housing advocate in Cleveland has been charged with tax fraud for allegedly trying to avoid taxes on $500,000 in income and keeping $80,000 in federal taxes withheld from employees. U.S. Attorney Steve Dettelbach (DEHT'-ehl-bahk) said 62-year-old Edward Kramer was charged Wednesday with 10 counts in a court filing which ...
Most NY school district budgets OK'd by voters
New Yorkers voting on school budgets for next year have approved nearly all of the proposals containing tax increases within state-imposed taxing limits. Budgets that proposed bigger tax increases mostly failed. More than 630 school budgets, about 96 percent, were approved around the state, a preliminary analysis by the New ...
Arizona Senate advances bills for religious groups
A little religion could soon go a long way in avoiding unpopular government mandates. The Arizona Senate passed a trio of bills Wednesday that seek to lower property taxes for religious institutions and make it easier for some people to sue over the First Amendment, much to the chagrin of ...
EU steps up fight against tax evasion by end 2013
The European Union's leaders took a major step in tackling tax-dodgers Wednesday by pushing to end bank secrecy across the bloc's 27 members by the end of the year. German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the agreement to set up an automatic exchange of bank information among the EU's tax authorities ...
GOP questions IRS scrutiny of anti-abortion groups
When a small anti-abortion group in Iowa sought nonprofit status, the Internal Revenue Service asked its board to promise not to organize protests outside Planned Parenthood and demanded to know how its prayer meetings and protest signs were educational. Although the Coalition for Life of Iowa's application was ultimately approved ...
Republican divisions may hinder party's momentum
A string of unrelated events is highlighting divisions among Republicans just when they'd like to show a united front and take full advantage of President Barack Obama's latest political problems. Tensions between libertarian-leaning and more mainstream Republicans were on vivid display Tuesday as Sens. Rand Paul and John McCain clashed ...
Apple case seen as possible spur to tax action
Now that tech darling Apple Inc. has been dragged front and center into the debate over the U.S. tax code, lawmakers are hoping that the spotlight on such a high-profile company could be the catalyst for Congress to take action to close loopholes or reform the law. At a hearing ...
Gov. Snyder, GOP lawmakers agree to budget targets
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and leaders of the GOP majority in the Legislature reached a budget agreement Tuesday for next fiscal year that doesn't include an expansion of government health insurance for low income-adults and puts Michigan's unexpected surplus toward funding roads and K-12 education. Lawmakers have an extra $700 ...
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