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Daily Archives: September 11, 2008

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Issues Report on Major Banks Helping Non-U.S. Clients Dodge U.S. Dividend Taxes

News release: “At a Thursday hearing entitled, Dividend Tax Abuse: How Offshore Entities Dodge Taxes on U.S. Stock Dividends, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will examine how some financial institutions have designed, marketed, and implemented transactions to enable foreign taxpayers, including offshore hedge funds, to dodge millions of dollars of taxes on U.S. stock dividends each year. The hearing, which follows a year-long bipartisan investigation, is part of a series of Subcommittee hearings on offshore tax abuse, which costs the United States an estimated $100 billion in tax revenues every year. Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Ranking Minority Member Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) will release a 77-page joint staff report [PDF] detailing the findings of the investigation in conjunction with the hearing.”

Comments on Financial Regulation in a System Context, Beyond Leveraged Losses…

Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn – Comments on “Financial Regulation in a System Context,” “Beyond Leveraged Losses: The Balance Sheet Effects of the Home Price Downturn,” and “The Central Role of House Prices in the Financial Crisis: How Will the Market Clear?” At the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity, Washington, D.C. September… Continue Reading

SSA OIG: Dually Entitled Beneficiaries who are Subject to Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision

Dually Entitled Beneficiaries who are Subject to Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision, A-09-07-27010, September 10, 2008. “The Social Security Act includes two provisions that reduce Social Security monthly benefits paid to individuals who receive a pension based on Federal, State, or local government employment that was not covered by Social Security. The… Continue Reading

Staff Report on Commodity Swap Dealers & Index Traders with Commission Recommendations

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Staff Report on Commodity Swap Dealers & Index Traders with Commission Recommendations, September 2008 “Major changes in the composition of futures market participants have developed over the last 20 years. Specifically, there has been an influx of new traders into the market – commodity index traders (including pension and endowment funds)… Continue Reading

Federal Financial Institution Regulators Announce Availability of 2007 Data on Mortgage Lending

News release: “The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today announced the availability of 2007 data on mortgage lending transactions throughout the nation at 8,610 financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Covered institutions include, but are not limited to, banks, savings associations, credit unions, and independent mortgage companies. The HMDA data… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: NASA Workforce, Upcoming Transition, >Veterans Health Administration, PBGC, Next Gen Air Transport System

NASA Workforce: Briefing on National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Use of Term Appointments, GAO-08-920R, September 10, 2008 The Upcoming Transition: GAO’s Efforts to Assist the 111th Congress and the Next Administration, GAO-08-1153T, September 10, 2008 Veterans Health Administration: Improvements Needed in Design of Controls over Miscellaneous Obligations, GAO-08-976, September 11, 2008 Health Resources and Services… Continue Reading