Domestic Taxes

“It would be a bloodbath if Schumer tried to leapfrog Wyden,” said one Senate Democratic aide.

The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that the online sales tax measure the Senate is considering would not have an effect on federal revenue. 

CBO added that the bill, the Marketplace Fairness Act, would not impose any mandates on the private sector, nor any costs on state or local governments.

The Marketplace Fairness Act cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday with 75 votes, and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has vowed to finish off the bill this week. Lawmakers are not scheduled to be in Washington next week. 

The Senate took a second procedural step Wednesday on a a bill that would allow states to collect online sales tax.

In a 75-22 vote, the Senate proceeded to The Marketplace Fairness Act, S. 743, which would empower states to collect taxes on purchases made online by consumers in their states.

On Monday, the Senate voted 74-20 to end debate on the motion to proceed and last month the body passed a non-binding budget resolution supporting the Marketplace Fairness language on a 75-24 vote.

A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers revived legislation Wednesday that aims to spur renewable energy investment through a federal tax code tweak.

Lawmakers unveiled the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act — spearheaded in the Senate by Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and in the House by Reps. Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) — during a Wednesday news conference.

The bill would extend master limited partnerships to renewable energy projects ranging from wind power to energy efficiency. Currently, only oil-and-gas projects can use the financing mechanism.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that President Obama’s party is abandoning him by proposing to replace sequestration with war savings rather than tax increases.

“The majority leader is clearly ditching the president on this issue,” McConnell said of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) bill to offset sequester cuts with war savings, which Reid tried to pass on Tuesday. “As you may recall, the president has said he’d only consider replacing the sequester with a tax hike. And whatever you want to say about OCO [Overseas Contingency Operations], it’s not a tax hike — it’s borrowed money that’ll have to be repaid later."

The SEC could make corporations disclose political contributions.

Sherrod Brown, David Vitter make their "too big to fail" case.

Wealth inequality grew during early part of recovery.

Why Angela Merkel believes in deficit cutting.

Associated Press Twitter hoax briefly had $200 billion stock market impact.

Lobbyists and Republican senators are more optimistic now that retiring Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is eyeing it for his legacy.

The longtime chairman of the Senate Finance Committee faced a difficult reelection contest in Montana.

The Oregon Democrat could land the prestigious chairmanship if Democrats hold the Senate in 2014.

Legislation that would empower states to tax online purchases cleared a key hurdle in the Senate Monday.