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.

Debt reduction talks in limbo as clock ticks toward Aug. 2 deadline [WaPo]
The White House meeting adjourned after roughly 75 minutes without agreement over how far the parties should go in cutting the deficit over the next decade or whether tax cuts and entitlement reductions should be a part of any deal. Congressional leaders will return to the White House on Monday to continue talks, administration officials announced, and Obama will hold a morning news conference before they do.

Bachmann’s Tax Attorney Job Was Collector for the IRS [WSJ]
Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann touts one job as her primary professional experience before entering politics. On the campaign trail, she describes it as being a “federal tax litigation attorney.” Others might call it tax collector.

SEC IFRS Roundtable Debrief: March of the Zombies [Accounting Onion]
Tom Selling opines on the thoughts of the undead from last week’s roundtable.

Auditors and Audit Reports: Is The Firm’s “John Hancock” Enough? [Forbes]
What’s in a name? Maybe a lot.

Tax implications of Derek Jeter’s historic 3,000th MLB hit [DMWT]
Just when you thought taxes couldn’t invade a good show of sportsmanship.

Taxes Upon Taxes Upon . . . [WSJ]
So the fondest Washington hopes for a grand debt-limit deal have broken down over taxes. House Speaker John Boehner said late Saturday that he couldn’t move ahead with a $4 trillion deal because President Obama was insisting on a $1 trillion tax increase, and the White House quickly denounced House Republicans for scuttling debt reduction and preventing “the very wealthiest and special interests from paying their fair share.” How dare Republicans not agree to break their campaign promises and raise taxes when the jobless rate is 9.2% and President Obama’s economic recovery is in jeopardy?

KPMG Achieves 22 Percent Carbon Reduction Through “Living Green” Initiative [KPMG]
You miss the bottled water, don’t you?

Groupon Financial Assumptions Upended [CFOJ]
Customer acquisition and retention — already one of its highest costs, and arguably the most important – is becoming more expensive by the day and getting a lower return. According to its S-1 filing, Groupon spent some $179.9 million in the first quarter to acquire new customers, up from $3.9 million in the first quarter of 2010. Those costs were the main reason the company lost $117.1 million in the first three months of the year.