Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Congressional News
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President Obama Signs Small Business Tax Bill
President Obama today signed H.R. 5297, the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010. Here is the White House summary of the tax provisions: Eight New Small Business Tax Cuts – Effective Today, Providing Immediate Incentives to Invest: The President had already signed into law eight small business tax cuts, and on Monday, he is
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GOP Senators Seek TIGTA Probe of White House Access to, and Disclosure of, Confidential Taxpayer Data
Following up on last week's post, Barack Milhous Obama — Did White House Reveal Confidential Tax Information About Political Enemy? (Sept. 21, 2010): Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley and six other committee Republicans have sent this letter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, seeking an investigation of whether Obama Administration officials illegally
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on Lessons from the Tax Reform Act of 1986
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on Tax Reform: Lessons from the Tax Reform Act of 1986 today at 10:00 a.m. EST: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will convene a hearing [today] to examine the lessons from the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and look at ideas for tax reform that will make the
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Senate Holds Hearing Today on Tax Policy and the Military and Veterans
The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on Tax and Fiscal Policy: Effects on the Military and Veterans Community today at 10:00 a.m. EST. Here are the witnesses scheduled to testify: Captain Marshall Hanson USNR (Retired) (Director of Legislative and Military Policy, Reserve Officers Association of the United States) Staff Sergeant Michael Noyce-Merino (Montana National Guard) Specialist
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Bills to Force Members of Congress, Government Employees to Pay Their Taxes
Washington Post, Bill Would Force U.S. Lawmakers to Disclose Owed Taxes, Have Wages Garnished: As senators debate tax legislation this month, Sen. Tom Coburn wants to make sure that senators themselves are paying taxes. Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced legislation Wednesday night that would require U.S. lawmakers to disclose any money they owe in delinquent taxes and
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Senate Rejects Bills to Repeal ObamaCare’s 1099 Reporting Requirements
The Senate yesterday rejected attempts to repeal or reform the 1099 reporting requirements from ObamaCare. The Senate defeated (52-46) an amendment by Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) to repeal the requirement that businesses report all transactions in excess of $600 to the IRS. The Senate defeated (61-37) an amendment by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) to raise the reporting requirement to $5,000
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Boehner Blinks
Wall Street Journal editorial, Boehner’s Tax Bungle: The House GOP Leader Steps Into Obama’s Trap: President Obama has made House Minority Leader John Boehner his campaign bogeyman, and maybe the criticism is getting to the Ohio Republican. How else to explain Mr. Boehner’s weekend blundering into the tax trap the President set for him only
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Treasury: Estates May be Given Choice Between 2009 & 2010 Estate Tax Law
Wall Street Journal, Estate Tax Choice May Be In Works For 2010 — Treasury Official, by Martin Vaughan: The estates of those who died this year might be allowed to be taxed as if they died in 2009, in order to resolve a problem created by the repeal of the estate tax, a Treasury Department official
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Over 280,000 Federal Workers Owe $3.3 Billion in Back Taxes
Over 280,000 federal workers and retirees owed more than $3.3 billion in back income taxes in 2009 (up from $3.0 billion in 2008 and $2.7 billion in 2007). The cabinet departments with the largest percentages of employee/retiree tax deadbeats are: Housing & Urban Development: 4.40% Veterans Affairs: 4.04% Education: 3.86% Army: 3.69% Health & Human Services: 3.58% Defense: 3.20% Commerce: 3.15%
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Obama Opposes Bipartisan Push to Repeal Tax Provision in Health Care Law
New York Times, Many Push for Repeal of Tax Provision in Health Law: Many Democrats have joined Republicans in pushing for the repeal of a tax provision in the new health care law that imposes a huge information-reporting burden on small businesses. To improve compliance, the law requires businesses to file a 1099 tax form
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CRS Report on Tax Extenders
BNA has made available yesterday's Congressional Research Service report, Certain Temporary Tax Provisions Scheduled to Expire in 2009 (“Extenders”) (RL32367), by James M. Bickley. Here is the Summary: Numerous temporary tax provisions expired on December 31, 2009. Often referred to as “extenders,” these provisions were originally enacted with expiration dates that have subsequently been extended, in some
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NY Times: Congressional ‘Charities’ Rake in Millions from Business
New York Times, Congressional Charities Pulling In Corporate Cash, by Eric Lipton: A review by The New York Times of federal tax records and House and Senate disclosure reports found at least two dozen charities that lawmakers or their families helped create or run that routinely accept donations from businesses seeking to influence them. The
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CRS: BP’s Tax Deductions from the Gulf Oil Spill
The Congressional Research Service has issued Tax Deductible Expenses: The BP Case (R41365), by Molly F. Sherlock: Following the release of BP’s second quarter earning statement, which showed a $10 billion reduction in tax liability for oil-spill-related cleanup and expenses, media headlines have generated public concern, and in some cases outrage, over these tax savings. Further,
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NY Times: Will Congress Ease 1099 Requirements in Health Care Bill?
New York Times, Will Congress Ease 1099 Requirements in Health Care Bill?: In their last week of summer legislating, Republicans and Democrats alike — on both ends of Capitol Hill — made gestures toward repealing a new tax-reporting requirement, raising hopes among small-business advocates who have lobbied fiercely against the measure. But with each side
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CRS: Official Scores Underestimate Revenues from Planned Capital Gains Tax Hikes
The Congressional Research Service has issued Capital Gains Tax Options: Behavioral Responses and Revenues (R41364), by Jane G. Gravelle. From BNA: Among the expiring Bush tax cut provisions is a lower 15% rate for long-term capital gains and dividends, with a 0% rate for taxpayers with ordinary tax rates of 15% or less. With no change,
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President Obama Signs $10b of International Tax Increases
President Obama yesterday signed H.R. 1586, which creates a $10 billion fund to prevent teacher layoffs and provide a temporary increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, funded with corporate international tax changes. Bill White House Statement Joint Committee on Taxation, Technical Explanation of the Revenue Provisions of the Senate Amendment to the House Amendment to the Senate
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It Costs $286k to Raise a Child (Before College!); Parent-Friendly Tax Laws Are Needed
Washington Post, America's Parent Trap, by Robert J. Samuelson: Among the government's most interesting reports is one — published by the Agriculture Department — that estimates what parents spend on their children. The latest version finds, not surprisingly, that the costs are steep. For a middle-class husband-wife family (average pretax income in 2009: $76,250), spending
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CRS: Form 1099 Reporting Requirements as Modified by ObamaCare
The Congressional Research Service has issued Form 1099 Information Reporting Requirements as Modified by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (R41359): Under § 6041, persons engaged in a trade or business who make payments totaling at least $600 to another person in a single year are required to file an information return (typically a
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WSJ: The Blue State Blues — Taxing the Rich, Except in My District
Wall Street Journal editorial, The Blue State Blues: Taxing the Rich, Except in My District: One irony of the tax increase that arrives on January 1 is that the it will hit residents of high-income, Democratic-leaning states like California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York the hardest. This is a problem for pro-tax Democrats. Enter
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Dems, GOP Vie to be First to Repeal ObamaCare’s 1099 Small Business Reporting Rule
Politico, Dems, GOP Maneuver on Repeal: House Democrats proposed repealing a piece of the health care overhaul Friday, a move designed to thwart Republican efforts to do the same thing and declare an early victory in their efforts to repeal the whole law. Democrats proposed repealing new IRS reporting requirements that small business has warned
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House Ethics Subcommittee Charges Rep. Rangel With 13 Counts
A subcommittee of the House Ethics Committee today adopted 13 counts against former Ways & Means Chair Charles Rangel (D-NY): Subcommittee Statement of Alleged Violation (41 pages) Statement of Charles Rangel in Response (32 pages) Press and blogosphere coverage: Associated Press Blog of Legal Times Bloomberg New York Daily News New York Times Politico The Hill USA
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Sanders: No to Oligarchy, Yes to Retroactive Estate Tax
The Nation, No To Oligarchy, by Bernie Sanders (I-VT): [N]ot content with huge tax breaks on their income; not content with massive corporate tax loopholes; not content with trade laws enabling them to outsource the jobs of millions of American workers to low-wage countries and not content with tax havens around the world, the ruling
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Senate Rejects Measure to Permanently Abolish Estate Tax
The Senate yesterday rejected a proposal by Jim DeMint (R-SC) to permanently abolish the estate tax, 39-59. Two Democrats (Blanche Lincoln (AR), Ben Nelson (NE)) supported the bill; three Republicans (Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe (ME), George Voinovich (OH)) opposed it. Don't Mess With Taxes Dow Jones Future of the Estate Tax Wall Street Journal Washington Independent
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House Holds Hearing Today on Transfer Pricing
The House Ways & Means Committee holds a hearing today on Transfer Pricing Issues. From the hearing announcement: The United States has a global system of taxation such that domestic corporations are taxed on their worldwide income, although the foreign tax credit prevents double taxation. Active foreign business income can be eligible for deferral from current taxation,
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CRS: Tax Issues and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
The Congressional Research Service has released Tax Issues and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Legal Analysis of Payments and Tax Relief Policy Options (R41323) (July 15, 2010), Here is the abstract: Legislation has been introduced in the House and is being discussed in the Senate that would provide tax relief to the Gulf Coast