Washington State Extends, Expands Exemptions for Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Manufacturing

Washington state has enacted legislation (S.B. 6712) that extends the sunset date of the sales tax exemption for clean fuel vehicles and expands the exemption to include fleet vehicles modified for clean…

Senator Nelson Calls Offshore Drilling Plan ‘Dead on Arrival’; Senate Majority Leader Reid Says Spill Shows Need for Climate Bill

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has created another hurdle for Senate passage of an energy and climate change bill, with several coastal-state Democrats vowing May 4 to oppose offshore drilling provisions in the bill…

Bipartisan Concerns Raised on Impact of Proposed Bank Tax on Small Business Lending

Senate Finance Committee members on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns May 4 that the Obama administration’s proposal to impose a $90 billion tax on large banks would…

Senate Financial Reform Bill’s Derivatives Language Seen Having Unintended Tax Consequences

The substitute amendment (S. Amdt. 3739) to the financial regulatory reform bill (S. 3217) under consideration in the Senate contains language related to derivatives contracts that could have unintended…

IRS Seeking Targeted Information Regarding Uncertain Tax Positions, Sullivan & Cromwell Says

The Internal Revenue Service appears to be requiring taxpayers to provide significantly pinpointed information describing their uncertain tax positions under a proposal mandating disclosure of…

Goldman Sachs Discloses Host of Legal Problems Arising from SEC Charges, Abacus Deal

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) revealed, in a May 3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a host of legal problems arising from the synthetic collateralized debt obligation it structured in…

Key House Lawmakers Unveil Long-Awaited Proposal to Regulate Data Collection by U.S. Firms

Key House lawmakers May 4 unveiled a long-awaited draft proposal to protect the privacy of consumers’ personal data on the internet, as well as offline…