The health care bill that passed a crucial test vote in the Senate on Saturday is proof that getting reform passed and getting it right are two very different things.
Regardless of the outcome of the health care reform effort, the difficult issue of cutting the federal budget deficit is likely to move front and center in 2010.
President Obama has been steadfast in his pledge that he won't raise taxes on those making less than $250,000. But that doesn't mean only high-income households will be subject to higher taxes.
Most people think they pay too much to Uncle Sam, but for some people it simply is not true.
More than nine out of 10 cities are slashing spending this year as the recession wreaks havoc on their sales and income tax revenue, a new study found.
The light at the end of the recession tunnel is distant and dim for the nation's cities, according to a survey by the National League of Cities.
You know that your home's value has tanked. So why doesn't the blasted tax man? Home prices fell 27% from the 2006 peak to the end of 2008, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, while the amount municipalities collected in property taxes rose 12% from 2006 to 2008.
The government promised $27.5 billion in stimulus funds to help fix the nation's crumbling roads and bridges as part of a broader effort to save jobs. The effort is working...sort of.
New estimates of the federal deficit leave many questions unanswered but underscore one cold fact of life in Washington right now: Boosting the economy without making an already bad deficit worse is really hard to do.
In just over a month, the federal government's fiscal year will draw to a close, leaving in its wake one of the biggest annual deficits in U.S. history -- and a forecast of more record debt to come.
The health care bill that passed a crucial test vote in the Senate on Saturday is proof that getting reform passed and getting it right are two very different things.
Regardless of the outcome of the health care reform effort, the difficult issue of cutting the federal budget deficit is likely to move front and center in 2010.
President Obama has been steadfast in his pledge that he won't raise taxes on those making less than $250,000. But that doesn't mean only high-income households will be subject to higher taxes.
Most people think they pay too much to Uncle Sam, but for some people it simply is not true.
More than nine out of 10 cities are slashing spending this year as the recession wreaks havoc on their sales and income tax revenue, a new study found.
The light at the end of the recession tunnel is distant and dim for the nation's cities, according to a survey by the National League of Cities.
You know that your home's value has tanked. So why doesn't the blasted tax man? Home prices fell 27% from the 2006 peak to the end of 2008, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, while the amount municipalities collected in property taxes rose 12% from 2006 to 2008.
The government promised $27.5 billion in stimulus funds to help fix the nation's crumbling roads and bridges as part of a broader effort to save jobs. The effort is working...sort of.
New estimates of the federal deficit leave many questions unanswered but underscore one cold fact of life in Washington right now: Boosting the economy without making an already bad deficit worse is really hard to do.
In just over a month, the federal government's fiscal year will draw to a close, leaving in its wake one of the biggest annual deficits in U.S. history -- and a forecast of more record debt to come.
For years a cardinal rule of retirement investing has been to put every penny you can into IRAs, 401(k)s, and other tax-deferred accounts. That advice rested on a commonsense assumption: that after you stopped working you'd move into a lower tax bracket. That was important because the money you take out of a tax-deferred account is subject to ordinary income taxes.
President Obama's fall agenda has grown larger as some of the biggest decisions -- and fights -- over health care reform have been punted to September ... at the earliest.
Treasury prices turned mixed Wednesday after the government announced plans to auction $75 billion in U.S. debt next week.
The nation's economy is starting to rebound, but the Obama administration's massive stimulus package had little to do with it.
The IRS is on the lookout for taxpayers and tax preparers skirting eligibility rules when claiming the $8,000 tax credit. Here's what you need to know.
There may be reasons to tax the rich more, as a lot of people in Washington are talking about doing.
Fiscally-stressed states are using their stimulus dollars to satisfy immediate needs rather than undertake longer-term reforms, according to a government report released Wednesday.
Sometimes what's politically irresistible is economically nonsensical, as we may soon be reminded. The Obama administration, desperate for revenue and spotting an easy target, is proposing three hefty tax increases on business. If the administration gets its way, the result will be bad news for all Americans.
President Obama urged Congress to adopt a "pay-as-you-go" approach to federal spending in order to restore fiscal discipline, but critics say the president's call lacks credibility.
The federal budget deficit surged in May, bringing the total shortfall for this fiscal year to nearly $1 trillion, government figures showed Wednesday.
States are poised to pass as much as $24 billion in tax and fee hikes in coming weeks, as they struggle to balance their budgets amid the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, a report released Thursday found.
If 84-year-old Bob Sievers of Pacific Palisades, Calif., had his way, Congress would scrap the estate tax altogether when it considers an Obama administration proposal on the future of the controversial tax. As co-owner of a lumber business for 40 years, Sievers built his wealth from scratch and paid taxes on his earnings every step of the way.
The downfall of the American auto industry is wreaking havoc on state and local budgets from coast to coast.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is set to meet with several high-ranking members of the Chinese leadership this week, marking the Obama administration's first major overture to the powerhouse nation.
Your home value has sunk like a stone, and you're so far underwater you'll have to hold your breath for years. Can you at least get a break on your property taxes?
The economy will start growing in the second half of 2009, but it will be several years before the positive effects of a turnaround will be felt, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.
Facing mounting budget deficits and seeing few areas left to cut spending, states increasingly are turning to the only option they have left: raising taxes.
With the stress tests behind them, banking regulators now face the potentially thornier issue of deciding which banks, if any, should be allowed to repay government funds.
In the context of a $3.5 trillion budget, a $1 million proposed cut might not seem like much. But for one small foundation, the impact could be shattering.
President Obama on Thursday offered a more detailed look at his 2010 budget proposal, which includes recommendations to cut funding for 121 federal programs and save $17 billion in 2010.
The White House on Thursday will detail a proposal to save $17 billion next year by eliminating or reducing 121 federal programs, according to a senior administration official.
Are you rich? If you make $250,000 a year, President Obama and Gov. David Paterson of New York think you are. The SEC disagrees. It tells financial firms that a high-net-worth individual is someone with at least $750,000 parked at a particular institution or someone the firm "reasonably believes" to have a net worth exceeding $1.5 million.
The Obama administration's crackdown on tax haven use by U.S. companies is expected to raise the effective corporate tax rate by 1.5 percentage points to something north of 20%. That still leaves it well below its 1994 level.
President Obama on Monday spelled out his proposals to close corporate tax loopholes on U.S. multinational corporations and crack down on overseas tax havens.
The White House will unveil reforms to the nation's international tax code on Monday intended to close loopholes for overseas tax havens and end incentives for creating jobs overseas.
The White House will unveil reforms to the nation's international tax code on Monday intended to close loopholes for overseas tax havens and end tax incentives for creating jobs overseas.
Congress approved a $3.4 trillion budget for the coming year Wednesday, approving most of President Obama's key spending priorities including increasing in health care, education and alternative energy spending.
House and Senate Democrats reached agreement late Monday on a budget resolution for 2010, which includes key spending priorities for the young Obama administration.
Rural America is about to get gold-plated broadband service, if the results of a recent survey of telecommunications companies are to be believed.
Make the tax code fairer? That's one of the things President Obama wants to do in the 2010 budget, which Congress resumes work on this week.
For most Americans, Wednesday is the day they have to make sure they're square with the tax man.
President Barack Obama on Wednesday touted his tax cut as an important component of his plan to right the U.S. economy and put working families on a more prosperous path.
The dreaded April 15 tax deadline is here, but many Americans still have plenty of questions about their 2008 taxes and late filing.
The government said Friday the federal budget deficit for the first half of fiscal 2009 jumped to $956.8 billion, more than $500 billion above the gap for all of the prior fiscal year.
"Who controls the past controls the future."
The Senate passed a $3.53 trillion version of the federal budget for fiscal year 2010 late Thursday night in a party-line vote, ending several weeks of acrimonious partisan debate.
Finding a tax haven is easy. Just flip to the back of the Economist. "New Accounts in 8 Minutes" brags one ad. Another promises that no one is "better positioned to deliver solutions that work" on offshore companies. And yet another offers more than 20 years of experience and the "best prices guaranteed."
It's not that easy to turn down federal funds.
A tightened version of President Obama's $3.6 trillion budget moved through a key Senate committee Thursday night.
House Republicans on Thursday said they have come up with an alternative proposal to the president's budget, following criticism from Democrats that they have become the "party of no."
President Obama huddled with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill Wednesday as the White House fought to save major domestic priorities in its record $3.6 trillion budget from the congressional budget ax.
Hours before President Obama was to hold a prime time news conference -- in part to boost his $3.6 trillion budget plan -- a key Democratic senator Tuesday unveiled a scaled-down budget proposal.
The U.S. budget deficit in 2009 is projected to spike to between $1.67 trillion and $1.85 trillion, according to estimates released Friday by the Congressional Budget Office.
Get ready. Washington is again debating how to fix the health care system. And the outcome might affect your wallet.
Foreign purchases of U.S. debt increased in the first month of 2009, according to a Treasury report released Monday, easing some concerns that overseas investors have lost their appetite for U.S. debt.
California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters maintains she did nothing wrong when she sought federal help last fall for a minority-owned bank in which her husband owns stock.
A growing number of people hungry for refund cash are filing their own taxes form home and ahead of schedule, according to a report released Friday.
President Obama on Wednesday called for a reform of the much-maligned federal earmarking process.
Last week, the federal government began sending out more than $100 billion in "tax rebates" to millions of Americans in an effort to stimulate the sluggish economy.
President Obama's "new era of responsibility" has already drawn criticism as a magician's math act: Add a trillion-dollar universal health care plan to a trillion-dollar (including interest) stimulus package to another quarter-trillion for bank bailouts to 7% average increases in domestic agency spending and -- voila! --the federal deficit drops by half in four years.
Two Senate Democrats urged President Obama Wednesday to veto a $410 billion spending bill and said they are going to vote against it, criticizing it for its cost and for including too many personal pet projects.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer declared Tuesday that Congress, not President Obama, will decide whether to put more limits on earmarks in upcoming spending bills.
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama tempered his pledge to substantially raise taxes for high earners with an important proviso: He'd simply restore rates to their levels during the Clinton Administration. The implication was that families in the upper brackets would see their total tax bite go back to the levels of the 1990s, but no higher.
President Obama on Thursday pulled back the curtain on his first detailed vision of the federal budget, revealing an ambitious plan to reform health care and shift tax burdens while vowing to slash the deficit over the long run.
Question: What does the new stimulus package do for people receiving Social Security benefits? --Bonnie, St. Petersburg, Florida
President Barack Obama pledged Monday to cut the nation's $1.3 trillion deficit in half by the end of his first term.
If you're looking for Peter Orszag, you might check between a rock and a hard place.
Roughly 97% of American households could see tax savings as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to a new analysis by a nonpartisan research group.
Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina took umbrage at my writing that his approach to the economic crisis is to do nothing. I'll deal with his "ideas" in a moment, but first let me make a modest proposal:
President Obama's newly revamped Office of Faith Based Initiatives is reigniting a contentious debate across the ideological spectrum over whether religious organizations that accept funds from the government should be allowed to discriminate when hiring.
Citigroup offered its first glimpse Tuesday into how it is spending the $45 billion in government bailout money that the ailing bank has received in recent months.
The House passed its $819 billion version of the economic stimulus package last week. Now it's the Senate's turn.
House Democrats on Friday introduced the tax portion of their proposed $825 billion economic recovery package.
When SunPower, one of the country's largest makers of solar panels, went looking to build a factory a few years back, several countries vied for their business.
House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank promised to move quickly on a bill that promises $50 billion of foreclosure relief and toughens terms on companies getting taxpayer money.
The Internal Revenue Service should take steps to ease the burden on taxpayers hit by the recession, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson.
President-elect Barack Obama is inheriting the worst economy in decades and says he'll need to "invest an extraordinary amount of money" to get it back on track.
In yet another move to prop up the crumbling U.S. auto industry, the government announced Monday that it will pump $6 billion into GMAC Financial Services, a financing company critical to the survival of General Motors.
Joe the Plumber must be pleased: President-elect Barack Obama has recently hinted he'll delay his plan to raise taxes on individuals earning more than $250,000 a year. But what will this reprieve really mean for small business owners - should they prepare for an eventual tax hike?
Unemployment rates rose in 37 states and the District of Columbia in November as the recession hammered nearly every job sector, according to a government report released Friday.
The plunging price of jet fuel has airline passengers wondering why fares haven't plunged accordingly.
A selloff on Wall Street accelerated in the last hour of a volatile session as traders square up positions for a handful of options that expire Friday, known as "quadruple witching."
Stocks retreated Tuesday, led by financial, retail and transportation shares as investors bailed out of a variety of stocks after the recent retreat.
The Treasury Department better order some new checkbooks.
In November, the U.S. economy shed jobs at the fastest rate in 34 years - and experts say December could be even worse.
In the midst of a recession, huge job losses are expected to continue for at least several more months. But what really worries economists is that the job market could be slow to recover even when the economy begins to improve.
More than four out of 10 Americans say the economy is in a serious recession, a belief that has grown stronger within the past few weeks, according to a poll released Thursday.
Well, now it's official: we're in a recession. And we know when it began: December 2007, according to the official arbiter of business cycles, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which made the announcement Monday. So now the question is: when will it end, and how deep will it get?
Remember all the talk during the presidential campaign about a middle-class tax cut? It could be showing up in your paycheck early next year.
Australia's economic growth slowed to 0.1 percent in the third quarter of 2008, its slowest rate in nearly a decade, according to government figures released Wednesday.
The first official review of the federal government's $700 billion financial rescue plan said Treasury has yet to address "critical" oversight issues to ensure the plan is working.
The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy .
The U.S. government is now willing to spend more than $7 trillion to help rescue the economy. That's about $23,000 for every American, and more than half of U.S. annual gross domestic product.
The U.S. auto industry weathered the Great Depression. But there are some fears that its current crisis could cause another one.
A standoff between congressional Democrats and President Bush continued to brew Wednesday, as lawmakers pressed a skeptical administration to help ailing U.S. automakers.
The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department on Tuesday unveiled a plan to pump $800 billion into the struggling U.S. economy in an attempt to jumpstart lending by banks to consumers and small businesses.
Now the clock is really ticking for Henry Paulson.
President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated Peter Orszag to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the president's chief number-crunching department, and said he sees "tough choices" ahead in determining programs to keep or cut.
Change -- probably the single word used more than any other by President-elect Barack Obama to enunciate his vision of a post-Bush America.
It may be too early to tell just how effective the government's rescue of Citigroup will be -- but for one day at least, regulators got high marks for their efforts from Wall Street.
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