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Accounting News Roundup: H&R Block Chair Stepping Down; Deloitte Miami Names New OMP; Texas Weighs Soda Tax | 03.18.11

Libya Ceasefire Announced After U.N. Approves Intervention [Reuters]
Libya declared a ceasefire in the country to protect civilians and comply with a United Nations resolution passed overnight, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa said on Friday. “We decided on an immediate ceasefire and on an immediate stop to all military operations,” he told reporters. “(Libya) takes great interest in protecting civilians,” he said, adding that the country would also protect all foreigners and foreign assets in Libya.

Frantic Repairs Go On at Plant as Japan Raises Severity of Crisis [NYT]
Japanese engineers battled on Friday to cool spent fuel rods and restore electric power to pumps at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station as new challenges seemed to accumulate by the hour, with steam billowing from one reactor and damage at another apparently making it difficult to lower temperatures.

H&R Block Chairman Breeden Stepping Down to Focus on Hedge Fund [Bloomberg]
H&R Block Inc. (HRB), the biggest U.S. tax preparer, said Richard C. Breeden will step down as chairman more than three years after the hedge-fund manager and former securities regulator seized control in a proxy fight. Breeden, 61, plans to leave at the end of the tax season on April 18, the Kansas City, Missouri-based company said yesterday in a statement. He intends to devote more time to his hedge fund, Breeden Capital Management, H&R Block said.

April 1 Deadline Fast Approaching for Illinois CPA Society Scholarships [PR Newswire]
IL accounting wannabes pursuing an accounting degree with plans to become a CPA can apply for four different scholarships funded by the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois.

Deloitte Fired For Kabul Bank But PwC Missed Fraud [Forbes]
Plenty of blame to go around!


Deloitte taps Miami native to head its Florida offices [SFBJ]
Peter T. Pruitt, Jr. is the new chief.

Tax-Writer Camp’s Push for Lower Rates Forces Deduction Choice [Bloomberg]
Representative Dave Camp’s call to lower U.S. corporate and individual tax rates to 25 percent would require Congress to make the type of difficult choices that have doomed tax overhaul plans for a quarter century. Camp, a Michigan Republican who heads the House Ways and Means Committee, this week said he wants to lower the top individual and corporate rates by 10 percentage points. His aim would be to collect revenue totaling 18 percent to 19 percent of gross domestic product, which is near the recent average.

Charlie Sheen’s Oprah Tax Problem [TaxProf Blog]
Of course it has to do with WINNING.

Texas Legislature Looks to Soda Tax to Fill Budget Gap [Tax Foundation]
Supposedly this will raise $2 billion for Texas, narrowing its budget deficit to $25 billion. Progress!

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