WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Highway funding and tax breaks for hiring workers figure prominently in a jobs-creation bill that Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate hope will attract rare joint support in an election year, lawmakers said on Tuesday.

The bill, likely to be less costly and more bipartisan than the one passed by the House of Representatives, also extends unemployment benefits and postpones a scheduled 20 percent cut in payments to doctors under the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly.

The Senate legislation, which has yet to be formally introduced, faces more than the usual procedural hurdles as a record snowstorm has paralyzed Washington and made it difficult for many lawmakers to get to work.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid initially hoped to finish the bill this week but his optimism on the timing waned over the day as another major snowstorm hit the Washington area and forced the Senate to cancel Wednesday’s session.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Highway funding and tax breaks for hiring workers figure prominently in a jobs-creation bill that Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate hope will attract rare joint support in an election year, lawmakers said on Tuesday.

The bill, likely to be less costly and more bipartisan than the one passed by the House of Representatives, also extends unemployment benefits and postpones a scheduled 20 percent cut in payments to doctors under the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly.

The Senate legislation, which has yet to be formally introduced, faces more than the usual procedural hurdles as a record snowstorm has paralyzed Washington and made it difficult for many lawmakers to get to work.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid initially hoped to finish the bill this week but his optimism on the timing waned over the day as another major snowstorm hit the Washington area and forced the Senate to cancel Wednesday’s session.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tax breaks for hiring workers and highway funding figure prominently in a jobs-creation bill that is on a possible Senate fast-track, according to lawmakers and a draft of the legislation obtained by Reuters.

The bill, likely to be less costly and more bipartisan than the one passed by the House of Representatives, also extends unemployment benefits and postpones a scheduled 20 percent cut in payments to doctors under the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly.

The Senate legislation, which has yet to be formally introduced, faces more than the usual procedural hurdles as a record snowstorm has paralyzed Washington and made it difficult for many lawmakers to get to work.

“We really need to finish the bill this week (and) I hope that we can,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the floor of the chamber after he and others met with President Barack Obama at the White House.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Tax breaks for hiring workers and highway funding figure prominently in a jobs-creation bill that is on a possible Senate fast-track, according to lawmakers and a draft of the legislation obtained by Reuters.

The bill, likely to be less costly and more bipartisan than the one passed by the House of Representatives, also extends unemployment benefits and postpones a scheduled 20 percent cut in payments to doctors under the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly.

The Senate legislation, which has yet to be formally introduced, faces more than the usual procedural hurdles as a record snowstorm has paralyzed Washington and made it difficult for many lawmakers to get to work.

“We really need to finish the bill this week (and) I hope that we can,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the floor of the chamber after he and others met with President Barack Obama at the White House.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Private equity firms are again being threatened with higher taxes, as a long-running debate over how to classify their profits again becomes a focus for governments desperate for cash.

But while high-profile buyout firms may seem an easy target, the question is a controversial one. Critics argue that raising the taxes paid by the private equity industry will also hit small partnerships and venture capital, and may not even raise as much revenue as governments hope.

Part of the argument against higher taxes is that they could hinder jobs growth at a time when major economies are struggling with high unemployment rates.

In the United States, there is skepticism that government plans to raise the tax paid on so-called “carried interest” — a major source of earnings for private equity executives — will become law anytime soon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Bipartisan efforts to tighten U.S. financial regulation ground to a halt in the Senate on Friday, leaving Democrats to proceed on their own and painting Republicans into an uncomfortable political corner.

After months of public debate and closed-door talks, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, chief negotiator for the Democrats, said he is at an impasse with his Republican counterpart, Senator Richard Shelby.

Dodd said in a statement he will begin drafting new legislation to be considered later this month.

“Last night, Senator Shelby assured me that he is still committed to finding a consensus on financial reform, but for now we have reached an impasse,” Dodd said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Florida man has pleaded guilty to hiding about $10 million in foreign bank accounts including at UBS AG, the latest in a string of cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Businessman Jack Barouh pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return by failing to report the offshore bank accounts and not reporting income he received from his UBS accounts, the department said on Thursday.

The case is the seventh guilty plea secured by the U.S. government after UBS last year settled a criminal probe for $780 million, admitting it coaxed Americans to hide money in offshore accounts. The government hopes to use the cases to deter future tax evasion.

“With tax day looming, today’s guilty plea is a reminder that those who violate the tax laws will be held accountable,” said Jeffrey Sloman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – A Florida man has pleaded guilty to hiding about $10 million in foreign bank accounts including at UBS AG <UBSN.VX>, the latest in a string of cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Businessman Jack Barouh pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return by failing to report the offshore bank accounts and not reporting income he received from his UBS accounts, the department said on Thursday.

The case is the seventh guilty plea secured by the U.S. government after UBS last year settled a criminal probe for $780 million, admitting it coaxed Americans to hide money in offshore accounts. The government hopes to use the cases to deter future tax evasion.

“With tax day looming, today’s guilty plea is a reminder that those who violate the tax laws will be held accountable,” said Jeffrey Sloman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has scaled back his ambitious plan to close loopholes global companies use when accounting for taxes on profit earned overseas, according to his 2011 budget blueprint released on Monday.

Obama, who has criticized corporations that keep profits overseas to avoid U.S. tax, proposed changes he said would raise $122 billion over a decade, down from loophole-closers that last year he said would raise $210 billion over 10 years.

He had mentioned the issue in his State of the Union address last week. “To encourage these (energy and manufacturing companies) and other businesses to stay within our borders, it’s time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs in the United States of America.”

His plan last year drew a lukewarm response from Congress, even from his fellow Democrats, many of whom said the changes should be part of a broader overhaul of the tax code.

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has scaled back his ambitious plan to close loopholes global companies use when accounting for taxes on profit earned overseas, according to his 2011 budget blueprint released on Monday.

Obama, who has criticized corporations that keep profits overseas to avoid U.S. tax, proposed changes he said would raise $122 billion over a decade, down from loophole-closers that last year he said would raise $210 billion over 10 years.

He had mentioned the issue in his State of the Union address last week. “To encourage these (energy and manufacturing companies) and other businesses to stay within our borders, it’s time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs in the United States of America.”

His plan last year drew a lukewarm response from Congress, even from his fellow Democrats, many of whom said the changes should be part of a broader overhaul of the tax code.