taxes

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Daschle Withdraws Cabinet Bid

Tax flub claims another Obama nominee

(Newser) - Tom Daschle withdrew today from consideration for secretary of health and human services over controversial unpaid taxes, the Boston Globe reports. Daschle had retained the support of the Obama administration despite the flub, but quit seeking the post so as not to be a distraction, he said. President Obama regretfully...

Obama Nominee Killefer Drops Out Over Taxes

Would-be performance chief didn't pay for household help

(Newser) - Nancy Killefer, who failed for a year and a half to pay employment taxes on household help, has withdrawn her candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government, an Obama administration official said today. Killefer is the second major Obama administration nominee to withdraw and the...

Daschle Plugged Sugar Daddy for White House Job

Mogul Hindery employed former senator at high pay; his limo service at root of tax flap

(Newser) - Health and Human Services nominee Tom Daschle advocated for an administration position for business patron Leo Hindery, Politico reports. Hindery gave Daschle a high-paying job (and the car service that led to tax questions), and Daschle suggested Hindery for a government role—maybe commerce secretary or trade representative. “It...

Daschle Faces Grilling on Charity Gifts, Apologizes on Taxes

Releases letter of apology to lawmakers for tax mistakes

(Newser) - Already beset with questions about his failure to pay taxes, Tom Daschle will likely also face questions today over whether he received improper gifts from charities, the Wall Street Journal reports. President Obama's nominee for health secretary is reported to have flown with an education charity to a Bahamas retreat...

Daschle Waited to Tell Obama About Tax Glitch

HHS nominee knew his taxes needed fixing; didn't know how much

(Newser) - Health secretary-designate Tom Daschle didn’t tell the Obama administration that he owed years of back taxes until a month after he’d been nominated, the Washington Post reports. He paid $140,000 in taxes January 2 and told government leaders about it two days later. He had known his...

Brothels to Nevada: Tax Us, Please

Brothel owners see taxes as insurance to keep them legal

(Newser) - Nevada's brothel owners are offering to fork over tax money to the state to help cover its debts—but legislators are reluctant to increase the state's involvement in the $50-million-a-year sex business, reports the New York Times. Nevada's 25 legal brothels pay hefty taxes to their home counties, but are...

'Sneaky' Loophole Boosts Execs' Pensions

Through lump-sum payments, executives net millions extra

(Newser) - A change in federal disclosure requirements has revealed that some companies are inflating the value of retirement plans for—guess who?—top executives. By converting pensions, which generally pay out in installments over a retired employee’s lifetime, to a lump-sum payment, CEOs can increase the value by 10% to...

Blagojevich: Arrest Was My Family's Pearl Harbor

Impeached governor plans to fight to the end, but won't appear at Senate trial

(Newser) - Say this for Rod Blagojevich: He doesn’t embarrass easily. In an interview yesterday with the AP, he compared his arrest to Pearl Harbor: “Dec. 9 to my family, to us, to me, is what Pearl Harbor Day was to the United States. It was a complete surprise, completely...

Geithner Confirmation Expected
 Geithner Confirmation Expected 
UPDATED
Jan 21, 2009 2:14 PM CST

Geithner Confirmation Expected

Committee grills Treasury nominee on taxes, but session lasts just four hours

(Newser) - Members of the Senate Finance Committee reprimanded Timothy Geithner today for not paying $40,000 in taxes, but appeared ready to recommend the full Senate confirm him as Treasury Secretary despite his financial infractions, Roll Call reports. “I apologize for putting you in the position where you had to...

Pelosi Open to Prosecuting Bushies
Pelosi Open to Prosecuting Bushies
Talk show ROUNDUP
Jan 18, 2009 11:50 AM CST

Pelosi Open to Prosecuting Bushies

Emanuel: Blago didn't imply anything shady in talks with me

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi would consider prosecuting some Bush White House officials, she told Fox News Sunday, even though Barack Obama has signaled that he doesn't favor such a move. "We cannot let the politicizing of, for example, the Justice Department to go unreviewed," says the speaker of the House....

Poll: Americans' Trust in Gov't Plummeted in '08

62% trust feds less than a year ago; 65% think US is on wrong track

(Newser) - 2008 wasn’t a great year for the federal government’s reputation, with a Politico poll finding that 62% of Americans say their confidence in Washington has decreased in the past year. The main worry is the economy: 45% say that economic stimulus should be the highest priority (no other...

Obama Team Scrambles to Save Geithner

PR blitz tackles nominee's tax, immigration issues

(Newser) - Barack Obama's transition team distributed talking points defending Timothy Geithner within minutes of emerging news on the Treasury nominee's tax and immigration issues, Politico reports. The PR push stressed that Geithner had paid off all his back taxes and that his former housekeeper's legal status did not lapse until the...

Illegal Hire, Tax Issues May Trouble Geithner

GOP's Grassley on Treasury nominee's case ahead of hearings

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner’s Treasury secretary nomination could be threatened by allegations he hired illegal help and didn’t pay Social Security and Medicare taxes while self-employed, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Senate Finance Committee members are meeting privately to discuss the issues, raised by GOP Sen. Charles Grassley. Aides...

IRS Notice Stuns Lawyer: 'You Owe Us a Penny'

(Newser) - Washington may be loaning billions to automakers, but a Detroit lawyer? He has to pay an IRS bill of 5 cents, the Detroit Free Press reports. James Howarth was busy tallying the cost of paying his debt—which is "several hundred percent over the nickel," he said—...

Oregon Mulls Mileage, Not Gas, Tax

State worries about tax shortfall as vehicles get more efficient

(Newser) - Worried that the rise of fuel-efficient and hybrid cars will wipe out revenue for road repair, Oregon is considering taxing drivers by the mile instead of by the gallon, reports the AP. Lawmakers—aware that hiking gas tax is a political kiss of death—believe a mileage tax is the...

Tax Soda: It's the New Tobacco
 Tax Soda: It's the New Tobacco 
OPINION
Dec 18, 2008 10:27 AM CST

Tax Soda: It's the New Tobacco

Less obese, less diabetic America just a couple of laws away

(Newser) - The cigarette tax "was the biggest health care breakthrough in the last 40 years in the United States," and its successor may be the 18% tax on non-diet soda New York Gov. David Patterson is pitching, writes Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. Not only do empty...

NY Guv Seeks 'Obesity Tax' on Soft Drinks

Tax on 'liquid candy' would raise $404M

(Newser) - New Yorkers with a hankering for the “Real Thing” may be paying 15% extra if lawmakers pass Gov. David Paterson's proposal to add an “obesity tax” on non-diet soda, reports the New York Daily News. The state’s doctors said the move—which could raise $404 million—would...

As US Cracks Swiss Secrets, UBS Clients Cop to IRS

Tax evaders taking agency's amnesty deal rather than risk being caught

(Newser) - The IRS is getting an unexpected boon from a Justice Department probe of Swiss bank UBS: Some of its wealthy US clients are owning up to offshore accounts to take advantage of the agency’s amnesty offer, the Wall Street Journal reports—a blow to the secrecy that has made...

Hike Booze Tax to Save Lives: Study

Alaskan fatalities from alcohol-related diseases plunged when levy was raised

(Newser) - Higher liquor taxes may reduce deaths related to alcohol consumption, the Chicago Tribune reports. A new study examined Alaska’s alcohol tax rates over a 30-year period in conjunction with deaths from alcohol-related diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver. When taxes were raised, such deaths decreased by as much...

Paulson Slipped Banks Quiet $140B Tax Break

Reversal of 20-year-old tax law allows banks to shelter profits

(Newser) - While Congress and the nation were busy debating the $700 billion bailout package in late September, Treasury issued a five-sentence notice that could reap banks up to $140 billion in tax breaks, the Washington Post reports. The provision reverses an obscure policy written into law more than 20 years ago...

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