Legislation for Home Energy Efficiency Rebates Introduced in Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Legislation that would establish a $6 billion homeowner energy efficiency rebate program advocated by President Obama was formally introduced in the Senate March 25.

Obama Unveils New Offshore Drilling Plan, Calls for Passage of Energy-Climate Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Obama announced plans March 31 to expand offshore oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic coast for the first time, to accelerate leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico closer to Florida, and to hold lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off northern Alaska after further study.

Court Rules Isolated, Purified Breast Cancer Genes Not Patentable Under Section 101 of Patent Act

Isolated and purified DNA lacking “markedly different characteristics” from native DNA is not a patentable composition under Section 101 of the Patent Act, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled March 29 ( Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, S.D.N.Y., No. 09 Civ. 4515, 3/29/10 ).

ANALYSIS: Foreign Account Tax Compliance: New U.S. Rules Requiring Reporting on Certain Foreign Accounts

This legislation is a direct result of the focus by the United States and other industrialized and developing countries on combating offshore tax evasion and recouping much needed tax revenues.

U.S. Tax Preparers Abroad Fret About Obtaining Preparer Tax Identification Numbers under IRS Proposed Rules

U.S. tax preparers in foreign countries are one of the groups that expressed concern in recent days about how the Internal Revenue Service’s proposal for registering and identifying tax preparers will affect them.

U.S., Switzerland Announce Treaty Protocol to Allow Transferring of UBS Names to IRS

GENEVA – The United States and Switzerland signed a protocol March 31 allowing for the provisional application of their Aug. 19 agreement requiring Swiss banking giant UBS to hand over details on 4,450 secret bank accounts held by U.S. taxpayers.