- Jul 29, 2010 Research desk explains: What is the CLASS Act? (Washington Post) The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act is a provision of health care reform that sets up an insurance system for long-term care for the disabled and elderly. This can include home care, nursing home payments and so forth. The act is intended to be self-financing, with an... more...
- Jul 29, 2010 Ethics panel charges Democrat Rangel (CNN) Charles Rangel of 13 violations of House rules involving alleged financial wrongdoing and harming the credibility of Congress. Rangel "argues that errors on his personal taxes do not implicate discharge of his official responsibilities," committee investigators concluded in response to Rangel's... more...
- Jul 29, 2010 Ethics unveils 13 Rangel charges (Politico) Verizon gave $500,000. On June 4, 2007, Rangel met with Greenberg seeking money for the center, and 10 months later, Rangel met with an AIG lobbyist. Rangel first met Isenberg through Robert Morgenthau, for Manhattan district attorney. In Feb. 2007, Rangel met with Isenberg and Kenneth Kies, a... more...
- Jul 29, 2010 Bush tax cuts: Keep some, allow others to expire (Los Angeles Times) The economy may grow faster after a tax cut, but not enough to make up the lost revenue. A place to start would be the tax rate on capital gains and dividend interest, which the Bush cuts capped at 15 percent for all Americans. If Congress takes no action, the top capital gains tax rate will rise... more...
- Jul 29, 2010 Wonkbook: Arizona bill blocked; Fannie/Freddie reform coming; feds lose track of majority of Gulf oil (Washington Post) Raising taxes on the over-$250,000 crowd isn't going to cure it. Bush's middle-class tax cuts and stopping the alternative minimum tax from reaching down into the middle class is $2.5 trillion over 10 years, the Joint Tax Committee says. Orszag has promoted and carried out an effort by the White... more...
- Jul 29, 2010 Los Angeles Times George Skelton column (Los Angeles Times) Six pension rollback agreements already have been reached and more are being negotiated. Budget reform? Democrats could accept it. Tax reform? Wrap a bow around Steinberg's idea and call it reform. It would broaden the tax base by slightly flattening the income tax. more...
- Jul 29, 2010 KKR leaders get a tax deal most of us can only dream of (Washington Post) Does KKR distribute those savings to its owners equally? The payments to Kravis beget further deductions for KKR, begetting further payments to Kravis, and so on. You end up with about $206,000 in payments to Kravis. more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Republicans draw circles around Obama health plan (USA Today) No sooner did President Obama star in a government video about the fledgling health care system changes than Republicans came out with their own explanation. Brownback says: This updated chart illustrates the overwhelming expansion of government control over health choices and the bewildering... more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Pearlstein: On tax fight, Obama can't afford to lose (Washington Post) Steven Pearlstein: There is nothing wrong with a modestly progressive rate structure with three or four rates. Steven Pearlstein: if the farm is losing money, yes, you'd need to sell it to pay the taxes. Steven Pearlstein: It is possible stalemate will result in all the Bush tax cuts expiring. more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Santa Rosa puts sales tax hike on ballot (The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)) That's what democracy is all about," Sawyer said. But Gorin made a passionate plea that people understand the city's financial situation. If approved by the voters, Santa Rosa's sales tax would rise to 9.5 percent. The 1/4 -cent levy would expire after eight years. more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Plugging a Web tax loophole:: (Los Angeles Times) William Delahunt, D-Mass., would make it significantly harder for people to evade sales taxes online, requiring Web-based retailers to collect sales taxes from more out-of-state purchasers. It's not fair to collect such taxes on goods bought from some retailers but not others. That agreement has... more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Tainted gavel (Politico) Committee chairmen could no longer go their own way. After the demise of Mills, Democratic leaders stripped Ways and Means Democrats of their “committee on committee” authority to appoint Democrats to House committees. Dave Obey of Wisconsin annoyed Rostenkowski and his allies with House... more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Air leaks from WikiLeaks balloon (Washington Post) WikiLeaks only allegiance seems to be to the source of its leaks. Raising taxes on the middle class is unpopular. They can pass an extension of the middle-class Bush tax cuts through the House. more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Plummeting cigarette sales cut California tax revenues (The Sacramento Bee) In 2007, the state collected $2.2 million in tax revenue from Internet sales. more...
- Jul 28, 2010 EDITORIAL (Los Angeles Times) But government belt-tightening could also backfire, slowing the economy and promoting pessimism among consumers and business owners. The economy may grow faster after a tax cut, but not enough to make up the lost revenue. A place to start would be the tax rate on capital gains and dividend... more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Op-Ed Contributor: Jump-Starting Health Reform (New York Times) Public health insurance exchanges are not a new idea. In Massachusetts, the health insurance reform plan instituted in 2006 by Gov. Under the act, companies with fewer than 100 employees will be able to purchase coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program exchange. more...
- Jul 28, 2010 House OK's bill making insurers pay for autism services (The Boston Globe) ...autism mandate is approved by lawmakers, it would become the latest insurance requirement in a growing list. The mental health parity bill that went into effect last year already required expanded coverage for some autism care.A report by state regulators concluded that 12 cents of every... more...
- Jul 28, 2010 Amid 'Transformers 3' filming, tax incentives come under scrutiny (Chicago Tribune) These days, movie producers expect potential shooting locales to show them the money. And Illinois is among 45 jobs-hungry states tripping over each other to financially woo movies and television shows. There are the hard costs: Potential tax money that never makes it to strained state coffers. more...
- Jul 27, 2010 Push is on to publicize health insurance tax credit for businesses (The Sacramento Bee) California has 456,500 small businesses that could conceivably qualify. Nonetheless, Tim O'Leary, a Sacramento insurance agent, hasn't received many inquiries about the tax credit. more...
- Jul 27, 2010 Obama and Boehner Spar on Tax Cuts (New York Times) Obama vowed that Democrats would extend current income tax rates except for the wealthiest taxpayers. Bush from realizing his goal of making his tax cuts permanent.Mr. Boehner simply meant he was not a Republican Congressional leader during the first Bush term, so he was not a party to the tax... more...
