taxes

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Smokers Gasp at Highest Tax Hike Ever

They're hit twice as companies boost their profits, too

(Newser) - Smokers are feeling pinched by today's 62-cent hike in the federal cigarette tax, the biggest ever. Federal taxes now top $1 per pack, CNN reports. At the same time, manufacturers and retailers have raised prices to boost dwindling profits. "They're picking on smokers," an 83-year-old said of the...

HHS Nominee Sebelius Pays $7K in Back Taxes

She's latest Cabinet pick with IRS trouble

(Newser) - See if this sounds familiar: Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius has corrected three years worth of tax returns after finding "unintentional errors." In a letter to senators, Sebelius said the changes involved charitable contributions, the sale of a home, and business expenses. She and her husband...

Cash-Strapped IRS Slashes Evasion Penalty

(Newser) - In an effort to increase revenue, the Internal Revenue Service is relaxing penalties on offshore tax evaders in hopes they will come forward, the New York Times reports. A penalty that was 50% of offshore holdings will drop as low as 5%. “They need to get money back into...

Jade's Funeral Date Set
 Jade's Funeral Date Set 
GOSSIP ROUNDUP
Mar 24, 2009 10:28 AM CDT

Jade's Funeral Date Set

Plus, Rihanna house hunts, and more

(Newser) - The funeral for Jade Goody, the British reality star who died of cervical cancer, will be held April 4, the BBC reports. A funeral procession will go from her house to a nearby church. Elsewhere:
  • Rihanna was spotted house-hunting yesterday in the Hollywood Hills, the Sun reports.
  • Struggling-for-cash Lindsay Lohan
...

AIG Bonus Tax Is Stalled, Likely to Die in Senate

Lawmakers likely to let special tax die, with the nod from Obama

(Newser) - With populist outrage cooling and the White House even cooler, the 90% AIG bonus tax that sailed through the House last week is stalled in the Senate, where it's likely to die, reports Bloomberg. Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday this week will be devoted to debating national service and...

5 Tax Scams: Do They Work?
 5 Tax Scams: 
 Do They Work? 
Mar 20, 2009 6:34 PM CDT

5 Tax Scams: Do They Work?

(Newser) - Cheating the IRS is illegal and dumb. That said, Details asked attorney Kelly Phillips Erb—who keeps a blog that welcomes cheaters—to evaluate a few of the more popular scams. "I find their logic interesting," Erb says.
  • Hide Your Gambling Winnings: Doable, but a score of
...

Madoff, Stanford Victims Can Get Break From IRS

Taxpayers may deduct up to 95% of Ponzi losses: commissioner

(Newser) - Victims of Ponzi schemes—including those perpetrated by Bernard Madoff and R. Allen Stanford—can claim big deductions on their taxes, the IRA commissioner told lawmakers today. The matter, unclear in the tax code, had been a concern for victims, the New York Times reports. The IRS “is issuing...

Angry Congress Threatens Big Taxes on AIG Bonuses

(Newser) - Outraged lawmakers threatened today to impose new taxes to recoup at least some of the $165 million in bonuses that insurance giant AIG awarded executives and traders after getting billions in federal bailout money. "What is the highest excise tax we can impose that will stand up in court?"...

AIG Used Bailout Cash to Pay Wall Street Debt

$75B went to banks, municipalities

(Newser) - More details are emerging after AIG unexpectedly revealed where it channeled bailout funds, the Washington Post reports. More than $34 billion went to AIG Financial Products, whose toxic derivatives brought the parent organization to near collapse last year. The subsidiary used part of that money to pay banks that started...

Obama to Reach Out to Small Business
Obama to Reach Out to Small Business
Mar 15, 2009 12:33 PM CDT

Obama to Reach Out to Small Business

Prez to unveil a $730M effort after GOP backlash on spending

(Newser) - Amid misgivings over his spending blueprint, President Barack Obama will provide billions of dollars in federal lending aid aimed at struggling small business owners, the AP reports. The package, to be announced tomorrow, includes $730 million from the stimulus plan that will immediately reduce small-business lending fees and increase the...

Utah Considers Caffeine Tax
 Utah Considers Caffeine Tax 
Mar 13, 2009 12:17 PM CDT

Utah Considers Caffeine Tax

Legislators consider tithing both soda and coffee

(Newser) - After seeing multiple proposals to raise the tax on cigarettes fail, one Utah legislator has set his sights on another addictive substance: caffeine. Rep. Craig Frank has initiated a yearlong study on the impact of such a tax, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. If it can fly anywhere, Utah might...

Ponzi Victims Will Be Tax Nightmare for IRS

Service expects to refund $7-$10 billion in taxes paid on fake income

(Newser) - The work of fraudsters such as Bernie Madoff and R. Allen Stanford will complicate the IRS’ job as tens of the thousands of victims attempt to reclaim taxes paid on income that went up in smoke, Time reports. The IRS estimates that refunds due victims to Madoff alone could total...

NY Topless Bizman Blows Lid Over Taxes

He claims 'mammary meccas' are protected by First Amendment

(Newser) - The owner of a Manhattan topless joint has hired a civil rights attorney to block proposed taxes aimed at establishments like his by arguing that the raunchy dances are protected as free speech. A Bronx lawmaker is proposing to impose a $10 tax on patrons of the city's hundreds of...

Liechtenstein to Open Tax Books; Pressure's on Swiss

International pressure bends EU nation, but Switzerland is the prize

(Newser) - Liechtenstein, bowing to international pressure, said today it would adopt international standards on transparency in tax matters, turning the screws on other tax havens like Switzerland, the New York Times reports. Yesterday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development added Switzerland, Luxembourg, and others to a list of tax havens...

Obama Can't Blame Bush for His Economic Recklessness

President has raised taxes when business needs a break

(Newser) - Everyone loves a scapegoat. The American people have Wall Street fat cats, and President Obama has George W. Bush, writes David Harsanyi for the Denver Post. While Obama, "in a superbly eloquent and inspirational pitch, always reminds us that nothing is his fault," Harsanyi gripes, "nearly every...

Tax Hike Raises Ire of Small Manufacturers

Obama plan hits hard, business owners who reinvest profits say

(Newser) - Small-business owners aren’t big fans of President Obama’s plan to let the Bush tax cuts expire in 2011, and they’re making themselves heard on Capitol Hill, Politico reports. Many small businesses file taxes as individuals, and they fall well beyond the $250,000 income threshold. The White...

Dems Balk at Obama Tax on Rich

Increased burden on high-tax states to fund health reform, claims admin

(Newser) - President Obama is about to get into his first tax battle and, surprisingly, it might be with Democrats. Politico reports that Obama’s proposal to limit the federal tax deduction of state and local taxes for the wealthy is running into opposition from officials from high-tax, largely Democratic states. Obama’...

Obama's 'All-In' Budget Presents Huge Risks
Obama's 'All-In' Budget Presents Huge Risks
ANALYSIS
Feb 27, 2009 7:06 AM CST

Obama's 'All-In' Budget Presents Huge Risks

President banks his future on an ambitious economic reinvention

(Newser) - With his first budget, Barack Obama has presented a program of stunning cost and complexity that underlines his ambition to transform the United States, writes Dan Balz in the Washington Post. Its $600-billion-plus health package, taxes on the wealthy that exceed campaign rhetoric, and shocking $1.75 trillion deficit show...

Obama Trying to Shift Burden to the Rich
Obama Trying to Shift
Burden to the Rich
analysis
Feb 25, 2009 7:46 PM CST

Obama Trying to Shift Burden to the Rich

(Newser) - As details trickle out about President Obama's budget, one clear picture is emerging—he is dead-set on making the rich pay more, write Jackie Calmes and Robert Pear in the New York Times. In the latest example, he plans to fund half of his health-care reform through tax increases on...

Crisis Cripples Obama Vows on Taxes, Trade

Businesses gird for battle; hike on wealthy may have to wait

(Newser) - Some of President Obama’s best campaign applause lines will likely be silenced by economic reality, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the recession raging, Obama probably won't roll back the Bush tax cuts as promised, and his pledge to eliminate tax loopholes for corporations that shift jobs overseas is...

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