Tax strategies

The Senate voted Thursday to approve an amendment to repeal a tax credit for ethanol blenders.

The Senate vote Tuesday on repealing the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit failed, but it could be a sign of things to come as the tax reform debate heats up in the midst of talks to raise the debt limit.

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty outlined his tax cut proposals during a speech in which he called for lower tax rates than other Republican presidential candidates have suggested so far.

A funny thing has been happening with the $7,500 plug-in electric vehicle tax credits that GM has been dangling before prospective buyers of its Chevrolet Volt: In many cases dealers rather than customers have been getting the tax breaks.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have proposed a set of changes to the New Markets Tax Credit program to encourage more money to go toward non-real estate businesses located in low-income communities.

Thomson Reuters has agreed to acquire Manatron, a provider of property tax automation and land registry global software for governments and municipalities and fold it into its Tax & Accounting unit.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has introduced bipartisan legislation that aims to bring parity and equal treatment under the Tax Code for health plan beneficiaries who are domestic partners and non-spouse dependents.

The House Ways and Means Committee heard from a panel of corporate finance executives during a hearing on how business tax reform can encourage job creation.

An agreement to raise the debt ceiling in Congress appears to be linked increasingly to a deal to cut both taxes and Medicare spending.

A coalition of Republican and Democratic lawmakers has introduced a trio of bills aimed at protecting access to medical marijuana under tax and banking laws, and changing the existing laws to reflect the medical efficacy of marijuana.

House Republicans introduced a 10-page document outlining their “Plan for America’s Job Creators Agenda,” including lowering the top tax rate for businesses and individuals from 35 to 25 percent and reforming the Tax Code to encourage U.S.-based businesses to repatriate their overseas profits.

A majority of banking executives believe they will have a difficult time addressing the tax implications of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Basel III accords, according to a new survey.

The American Institute of CPAs held its annual ritual this week of visiting lawmakers’ offices on Capitol Hill to press the case for tax simplification, a ban on tax patent strategies, changes in tax-filing due dates, and other legislative priorities.

The American Institute of CPAs kicked off its 2011 Spring Meeting of Council on Sunday with a discussion of the Institute’s legislative priorities.

A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators from Florida, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio, have introduced a bill that would simplify the tax-filing requirements of senior citizens.

Accounting and consulting firm BDO USA LLP has been named a Preferred Implementer by CCH of its Global Integrator international tax system.

Senate Democrats failed to muster enough votes to advance a bill that would have eliminated tax credits for the five largest oil and gas companies.

Accountants across the nation barely had time to recover from the 2011 tax season before being buried under a blizzard of new tax law changes approved by dozens of state legislatures from Harrisburg to Honolulu.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the current structure of international tax rules and how they might be hampering American employers in global markets.