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Category: Tax policy

Senators say Twitter could reap $154 million tax break

Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) fingered Twitter as the latest Silicon Valley poster child of corporate tax avoidance, in this case through stock options that are likely to be granted when the high-flying social media company makes its IPO debut Thursday. Levin, chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and McCain, […]

Obama climate plan ignites Washington

Environmentalists hailed President Obama’s plan to force existing power plants to reduce C02 emissions,as a long overdue, just-in-time action to stop global warming now expected to easily cross the 2 degree Celsius threshold that nations had agreed was dangerous. Obama is to speak on the issue at 1:30 EST at Georgetown University. Electric power plants  

Rand Paul jumps to Apple’s defense

Sen. Ran Paul, the Kentucky Republican and libertarian, Tuesday defended Apple’s tax machinations, saying he was “offended” that Apple CEO Tim Cook was being “dragged” before the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to explain how the company could attribute nearly two thirds of its income to Irish entities that have no employees, no physical residence,  

Battle lines forming on carbon tax

For a political non-starter, a carbon tax is generating an awful lot of activity on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, the conservative Republican Study Committee is holding a press conference to slam the idea, headlined by Texas Reps. Joe Barton and Jeb Hensarling and Louisiana chair Steve Scalise, with star billing to anti-tax activist Grover Norquist.  

Barbara Boxer pushes forward on “planetary emergency”

Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., formally introduced their fee-and-dividend climate bill Thursday,as you learned here Wednesday. The press conference featured several environmental activists who were arrested at the White House Wednesday, part of a push for a big climate rally in Washington Sunday. Also on Thursday the Government Accountability Office added climate  

Solar chief argues for natural gas exports

With a huge fight heating up over whether to allow exports of U.S. natural gas, California solar executive Arno Harris argued that allowing exports would help the solar industry and reduce global carbon emissions. The U.S. shale-gas boom (fracking) has up-ended global energy markets, lowering energy costs in the U.S. and promising to make the […]

Van Hollen: Boehner stringing out ‘fiscal cliff’ talks because of GOP politics

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said Speaker of the House John Boehner might have to bring a plan to the table that could pass without majority support from the Republican caucus, but he expressed concern as to whether Boehner would make such a move before the official vote for Speaker on Jan. 3

Obama takes to Twitter to talk (or tweet) fiscal cliff (VIDEO)

On Monday, President Obama took questions through Twitter on topics of fiscal cliff and his #my2K plan.

Dianne Feinstein willing to look at mortgage interest deduction

Even as we watch the spectacle of Republicans throwing anti-tax activist Grover Norquist under the bus (it started the day after the election with House Speaker John Boehner putting revenue on the table), some Democrats are eying other sacred cows. In a telephone interview before her re-election, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she would support scaling […]

Big buzz on carbon taxes

The Washington policy machine is all atwitter with the idea that the carbon tax’s time has come. It is an elegant three-run homer that would tackle climate change, tax reform and the budget deficit in one fell swoop. It would meet the conservatives’ quest for consumption taxes, the liberals’ quest for new revenues and the […]