Posts Tagged law

Obama confident his proposed bank fee will become law

Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Banks on January 18th, 2010

President Barack Obama said Saturday that he’s determined his proposal to require banks repay taxpayers for financial-crisis aid through a special 10-year fee will become law.

“We’re not going to let Wall Street take the money and run. We’re going to pass this fee into law. And I’m going to continue to work with Congress on common-sense financial reforms to protect people and the economy from the kind of costly and painful crisis we’ve just been through,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

The “Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee” proposed by Obama Thursday would total at least $90 billion over 10 years. The fee would be charged to financial institutions with more than $50 billion in assets. The assessment would remain in place for at least 10 years, or until all losses from the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP were repaid. Ten firms will pay 60% of the tax. Read more about the proposed fee.

“Those who oppose this fee say the banks can’t afford to pay back the American people without passing on the costs to their shareholders and customers. But that’s hard to believe when there are reports that Wall Street is going to hand out more money in bonuses and compensation just this year than the cost of this fee over the next ten years,” Obama said. Read the rest of this entry »

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Banks go for say-on-pay vote uniformity

Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Banks on October 27th, 2009

Canada’s nine largest financial services companies have reached an agreement to give shareholders a vote next year on the same resolution approving the firms’ compensation policies for top executives.

The rare show of co-operation among the largest banks and insurers comes as they are preparing to give shareholders their first vote on executive compensation, a practice known as “say on pay.”

“We thought it was best for all our shareholders if we had a common approach, so that everyone would be on a level playing field,” said Deborah Alexander, general counsel at Bank of Nova Scotia.

“And I think we achieved something in this country that hasn’t been achieved anywhere else, in terms of a common approach that everyone feels is appropriate.”

While U.S. lawmakers are expected to pass legislation this year making say on pay mandatory for U.S. firms, Canada’s largest companies are championing a voluntary approach to compensation reform and are working together to ensure a standardized process for the first votes next year. Read the rest of this entry »

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Done with taxes months ago? You could still be audited

Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Budget on July 23rd, 2009

With the federal deficit topping a record $1 trillion and rapidly on its way to nearly doubling by this fall, the government desperately needs to squeeze out every tax dollar it can find. That could translate into more audits or at least a letter from the IRS politely asking you to refigure your taxes.

“You’re not going to find a document that says this, but it’s very clear that in a budget deficit, increased tax collection is another source of revenue,” said Ohio State University professor Bill Raabe, a federal tax expert.

“It’s revenue that should be there that doesn’t come in.” The IRS estimates that it fails to collect about $345 billion in taxes each year.

The largest chunk of the uncollected portion comes from individual income taxes, which accounts for nearly $200 billion.

That explains why you now have a one in 99 chance of getting audited when just 10 years ago it was a one in 202. Read the rest of this entry »

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