WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) – If a congressional hearing
o n T hursday is any indication, U.S. lawmakers will have a hard
time breaking the stand-off over where to trim the fat in the
federal tax code.

Nearly every lawmaker who testified at a panel on the
individual merits of $35 billion in tax breaks came out in favor
of making their pet provisions permanent.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Unless you are a tax lawyer, the granite building with bronze-tinted windows that looms over Washington’s I-395 freeway may be the most influential courthouse you’ve never heard of.

The U.S. Tax Court is a powerful but obscure institution that has been opening itself up to the public, but only very slowly, and it still lags behind other courts on access.

WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) – A litany of tax breaks -
including one for NASCAR racetracks and one for Puerto Rican rum
production – will be on display in a U.S. congressional
committee hearing on Thursday.

With slim to no chance that any of them will be repealed
soon, the $35 billion in tax breaks nonetheless are being
examined by lawmakers as they brace for a tidal wave of fiscal
decisions at the end of the year, which some pundits call
“Taxmageddon” or the “Fiscal Cliff.”

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) – The Republican-controlled
U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a tax break for
small businesses, giving voters a stark alternative to President
Barack Obama’s politically popular “Buffett Rule” surtax on the
wealthy.

In an escalating election-year war of words over taxes, the
Republican measure, like the Buffett Rule, is not expected to
become law. It is opposed by Democrats, who control the Senate,
where the bill was expected to die.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives was on track on Thursday to pass a tax break for small businesses, pushing back against President Barack Obama’s politically popular “Buffett Rule” that would put a new minimum tax on the very wealthy.

In an escalating election-year war of words over taxes, the Republican measure was not expected to become law. It is opposed by Democrats, who control the Senate, where the bill was expected to die.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Republicans on Monday blocked President Barack Obama’s “Buffett Rule” legislation, which would have put a 30-percent minimum tax on millionaires, in a debate that is likely to resonate through the November elections.

Democrats, as expected, failed to garner the 60 votes needed in the 100-member Senate to move forward to a full debate and vote on the bill aimed at squeezing more tax revenues out of the wealthy.

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and
congressional Republicans square off this week over tax hikes
for millionaires and tax cuts for businesses, with little
expected to be accomplished beyond the winning of political
points.

Although chances are slim to none that any measure will
become law ahead of the Nov. 6 general election, the skirmishes
will give voters a preview of debates they will hear over the
next seven months.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans square off this week over tax hikes for millionaires and tax cuts for businesses, with both sides seen as more interested in scoring political points than in fixing the tax code or shrinking the deficit.

Although there is little chance of any measure becoming law ahead of the November 6 general election, the skirmishes will give voters a preview of a debate they will hear over the next seven months.