International Taxes

The senator is holding up three international tax treaties over concerns that they give the government too much power.

The roughly $13 million in bonuses handed out to executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be under the microscope this week when Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), testifies on Capitol Hill.

On Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee will hear from DeMarco at a hearing devoted to oversight of the FHFA. The next day, he’ll venture to the House side of the Capitol, where he will defend the bonuses before skeptical members of the Oversight Committee. The chief executives from Fannie and Freddie will join him.

DeMarco admitted in a letter sent to lawmakers Thursday that executive pay at the troubled mortgage giants is a “vexing” issue but said he had to strike a balance between attracting and retaining quality talent and tightening the accounting books.

On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee will mark up legislation that would suspend pay packages for top executives at the mortgage giants and place their employees on the same pay scale as federal government employees.

The Senate approved legislation that could punish China with higher tariffs in a 63-35 vote. 

The market rallied yesterday, but investor fears persist.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke overrode high levels of dissent in his fight to boost the economy.

Banks are still struggling years after the bailout as housing problems continue taking a toll.

Switzerland is settling a tax-evasion fight with Germany.

Venture capitalists are driving hard bargains with startup tech companies these days.

President Obama tries to mend fences with Wall Street before 2012.

Lawrence Summers: Recovery needs a boost to keep chugging and avert a lost decade.

Sluggish hiring poses the largest threat to the economic recovery, according to economists.

Banks are ramping up pressure against the new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

Analysts are worried that a restructuring of Greek debt could set off a Lehman-style panic.

China's red-hot economy is cooling.

Lawmakers will increase their meetings with Vice President Biden this week in an attempt to hammer out a deficit deal.

The “Biden Commission” has three meetings scheduled with the first one on Tuesday. On tap for the talks will be how to handle discretionary spending, as well as ways to cap or otherwise restrain overall spending.

The White House hopes to reach an agreement to raise the debt limit by July 4, but a sticking point remains how to handle taxes. Republicans are adamant that no tax increases can be part of the ultimate agreement.

On Tuesday, the New America Foundation will host a major roundtable discussion on the debt limit. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver opening remarks. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council, will join the subsequent roundtable discussion, among others.

As Obama pushes for higher taxes on the rich, new data shows the tax bill for the wealthy is already growing.

And despite a high corporate tax rate, American businesses pay only slightly more than their foreign counterparts thanks to tax breaks and loopholes.

China is becoming increasingly concerned about the valuation of its currency.

General Motors, back from bankruptcy, is poised to reclaim its spot as the top auto manufacturer from Toyota.

The rate of television ownership in America has fallen for the first time in 20 years.

The fiscal attention of Congress this week will turn to the future, as the 2012 budget and a potential overhaul of the nation's tax system become popular topics of conversation.

A lot of attention this week will be on the House floor vote on the GOP’s budget proposal. Republicans want the full House to vote on the package, released Tuesday by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), sometime early in the week. That package has already been subject to fierce opposition from Democrats, largely concerning its call to transform Medicare into a type of voucher program. An exact time for that vote has not yet been set.

Federal regulators are considering relaxing rules on how private companies issue shares that could make it easier for startups to raise capital.

The continued fight to avert a government shutdown is being played out by top advisers to congressional leaders.

European regulators are rolling out a fresh round of bank stress tests, which could force weaker institutions to shape up or shut down.

The IRS is pushing bank HSBC for account data as it hunts for offshore tax evaders.

An accountant's tip has earned him $4.5 million as the IRS's first whistleblower.

South Korea’s ambassador on Friday said he’s confident Congress will approve a trade deal with his country.