IRS: Top Official First Told of Targeting in 2012 [AP]
I.R.S. Focus on Conservatives Gives G.O.P. an Issue to Seize On [NYT]
Europe Eases Corporate Tax Dodge as Worker Burdens Rise [Bloomberg]
CAQ Advises PCAOB on Audit Quality Indicators [AT]
Sales Tax Talk and Reality [Economix/NYT]
Germany Arrests Alleged Somali Pirate Accountant German police arrested a man who allegedly acted as an accountant for Somali pirates blamed for the hijacking of an oil tanker in 2010, authorities said Monday. The man, who was identified only by the initial 'M', was arrested Wednesday at a center for asylum seekers in the central city of Giessen, Lower Saxony state police said in a statement. "According to initial investigations he was responsible for the seized ship's food supply as well as the bookkeeping, which formed the basis for distributing the ransom money to the pirates involved," police said, adding that the man had made a partial confession. [AP]
Beyonce's Dad has some tax troubles. [TMZ]
Bloomberg's Jonathan Weil debates Ken Langone on Corporate Board governance. [Bloomberg]
U.S. banks push back on change in loan loss accounting Donna Fisher, a senior vice president at the American Bankers Association, said banks are trying to get standard-setters to agree on a middle ground. "The FASB model will result in significantly larger, more volatile and less reliable (loan loss) allowances," Fisher said. FASB's proposal would require businesses to look at both past experience and reasonable estimates of future losses, and reserve for those losses the day a loan is originated. The IASB's proposal would only make banks consider losses expected over the next 12 months, unless a loan's credit has deteriorated significantly. If that is the case, reserves would have to be made for the full expected loss.Friday's letter said banks had concerns with both models. It suggested losses be estimated over 12 months, or the period that could yield reliable estimates, whichever is greater. [Reuters]
The IRS Was Wrong to Single Out Tea Parties, But Many Political Groups Should Not be Tax-Exempt [TaxVox/TPC]
