Debt Talk Mired, Leader for G.O.P. Proposes Option [NYT]
From the White House and Congress to financial centers, pessimism spread on Tuesday about the prospects of a debt-limit deal between President Obama and Republicans, prompting the Senate Republican leader to propose a “last-choice option” that piqued the administration’s interest but angered conservatives in his own party. The leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said a bipartisan budget-cutting deal is probably out of reach, making it unlikely that Republicans would approve an increase in the government’s debt limit by Aug. 2. To prevent default, he proposed that Congress in effect empowe the government’s borrowing limit without its prior approval of offsetting cuts in spending.

News Corp pays 20% tax in US [FT]
News Corp’s political influence, which has ruptured dramatically in the UK in the past week, has not come as a result of its contributions to government coffers. Its latest 10-K statement showed that although the corporate tax rate in the US is 35 per cent, News Corp’s effective tax rate last year was 20 per cent. The company earned $2.5bn in profits and still managed to receive a tax benefit.

Senate Bill Seeks to Raise Revenue by Closing Tax Havens [NYT]
A bill introduced by Carl Levin of Michigan and Kent Conrad of North Dakota would tighten rules that allow hedge funds and corporations in the United States to skirt federal taxes by opening shell companies overseas. The measure would also change the I.R.S. regulations that allow traders of credit-default swaps to avoid paying federal taxes on many transactions that begin in the United States. And to help tax collectors track down hidden assets overseas, the proposal would empower the Treasury Department to ban any foreign bank that refused to cooperate with the I.R.S. By closing the loopholes, the plan could bring the Treasury as much as $100 billion a year, according to various estimates cited by Mr. Levin.

CFOs Having Second Thoughts on Capital Investments [CFOJ]
More than 40% of the 78 CFOs polled in the last two weeks of May said they would rather keep their cash and stay liquid than invest it. Respondents projected that capital spending would increase by 10.7% over the next year, less than the 11.8% forecast they gave in the previous quarter.

China frauds: In (partial) defense of the auditors [Bronte Capital]
I’m guessing audit firms will gladly take a partial defense from someone who isn’t a law firm that represents them.

PwC Will Answer For Centro But Judge Slams Directors First [Forbes]
PwC’s latest problems are down under.

FASB Tackling Private Company Accounting [CFOJ]
The Financial Accounting Standards Board took a step forward in developing modified GAAP for private companies on Monday, a move a main advocate of the standards found encouraging. The accounting standard setter announced that it had completed an initial assessment of the differences in the way private company financial statements are used by lenders, investors and others. In its announcement, FASB said that it would continue working towards creating a framework for private-company GAAP, and is seeking additional input on the issue.

Watchdog Proposes Dodd-Frank Standards for Broker-Dealer Audits [Bloomberg]
Accounting firms would have to consider how much risk their clients take when auditing brokerage firms under rules proposed by the industry’s new watchdog. The proposal from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board comes a month after the nonprofit corporation established an inspection program for auditors of broker-dealers under terms of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform act. “It would require auditors to use judgment to identify and focus on matters that are most important to the customer- protection objectives,” said PCAOB Chairman James R. Doty, in a statement.

Rush to Defend Tax Rule on Inventory and Profits [NYT]
One of the biggest revenue-raisers proposed by President Obama in negotiations with Congress is what he describes as an arcane change in the tax treatment of business inventories — things like steel, groceries and oil. But however complex the details, the effect of the change would be substantial, and in pushing for it Mr. Obama has kicked a hornet’s nest. Lobbyists from companies of all sizes are swarming around Congress to kill the proposal, which would prohibit the use of an accounting technique known as last in, first out, or LIFO. The technique is used to determine the cost of goods sold, and therefore the income earned, by a company.

Obama Seeks Grand Bargain on Deficit [Bloomberg]
“Now is the time to deal with these issues,” Obama said at a White House news conference yesterday before resuming talks with congressional leaders on reducing deficits and raising the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt ceiling before the government exhausts its borrowing authority on Aug. 2. “If not now, when?”

Amazon Backs End to Online Sales Tax in California [NYT]
Amazon said Monday that it would back a California ballot initiative that would rolaw that forces more online retailers to collect sales tax. Amazon’s decision to support the proposed referendum pits the world’s biggest online retailer against the state government, which is looking for ways to raise additional revenue to cover budget shortfalls.

High-Speed Tax Rewrite Falters as Lawmakers Bicker Over Basics [Bloomberg]
Republican congressional leaders and President Barack Obama discussed a rewrite of the tax code over the past week and couldn’t resolve even the basic outline of what it should look like. They disagreed on revenue targets, the progressivity of the code, international taxation issues and the treatment of large businesses that aren’t currently taxed as corporations, according to two Republicans familiar with the talks.

Alleged Ponzi Scheme Accountant Settles SEC Complaint [Dow Jones]
In 2009, Philadelphia-area investment-fund manager Joseph S. Forte pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, all linked to a Ponzi scheme he admitted to the year before. He is serving a 15-year prison sentence. Monday, the SEC said it has filed and settled a civil action against accountant John N. Irwin and his consulting firm, Jacklin Associates Inc. Both agreed to settle the Commission’s charges, without admitting or denying allegations. The complaint claimed Irwin and the firm participated in Forte’s scheme by recruiting investors for it.

Millennials frustrated with weak economy, scarcity of jobs [AW]
Dennis Nally can’t hire everyone now, can he?

KPMG Names Marc Moyers to Head U.S. Private Equity Group [KPMG]
Moyers takes over for Shawn Hessing.

PwC Sends Partners, Staff and Interns to Belize to Boost Financial Literacy Among Students and Teachers [PwC]
Don’t get jealous. It’s probably not too nice down there.

Cantor outlines $353B in Medicare, Medicaid savings [The Hill]
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Monday proposed changes to Medicare and Medicaid he said would save $353 billion over the next decade. Cantor made the proposal in talks at the White House. His plan was immediately criticized by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said it would lead to benefit cuts.