Ernst & Young must face class action over Broadcom’s option backdating [LAT]
A lower-court judge had dismissed the case against Ernst & Young after concluding the plaintiffs hadn’t shown that the auditors knew that the value of Broadcom’s stock was probably inflated by the company’s manipulation of its financial statements. Thursday’s ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reversed that dismissal and scolded Ernst & Young for not acting to stop the $2.2-billion backdating scheme.
Obama $1 Trillion Tax Proposal Slams Into Republican Wall [Bloomberg]
President Barack Obama’s call for raising taxes by focusing on spending in the tax code was immediately rejected by top Republicans, signaling that any effort to increase the government’s take from the economy would be difficult to move through Congress.
IRS Watchdog Seeks Overhaul Of Corporate, Individual Tax Code [Dow Jones]
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson Wednesday told lawmakers the U.S. tax code is “a mess,” and in dire need of simplification, but any overhaul should rework rules for corporate and individual taxes at the same time. “I believe that fundamental tax reform must be made a priority,” Olson said in her written testimony to the House Small Business Committee. “However, in order to be effective and far-reaching, such fundamental tax reform should include both corporate tax reform and individual tax reform.”
BofA Q1 profit lower than expected; names new CFO [Reuters]
Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) posted an unexpectedly sharp decline in first-quarter profit, plagued by losses in the mortgage business, and the bank named a new chief financial officer.
PwC Says “It Gets Better” in Support of GLBT youth [PwC]
As far as work-life balance…well, that’s another question entirely.
Chinese Man Arrested in LA For Creating a Fake Army [JDA]
Wait, that’s a crime?
Zale says SEC not to recommend action against co [Reuters]
Zale Corp said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not intend to recommend action against the company following a probe into the accounting errors that prompted the jewelry retailer to restate results. Zale had restated results for 2008 and some quarters in 2009 due to accounting errors related to prepaid advertising and loss carryforwards. Loss carryforwards are used to cut tax liability by offsetting losses in a certain year against future profits. These carryforwards can be used in one of the seven years following a loss.
IRS Chief Lays Out Vision For Agency’s Future [NPR]
The Commish wants to fosters a more pleasant tax compliance experience.
Today, I was pleased to take another step to relieve unnecessary burdens on small businesses by signing H.R. 4 into law. Small business owners are the engine of our economy and because Democrats and Republicans worked together, we can ensure they spend their time and resources creating jobs and growing their business, not filling out more paperwork. I look forward to continuing to work with Congress to improve the tax credit policy in this legislation and I am eager to work with anyone with ideas about how we can make health care better or more affordable. [
Rule makers concluded this week that “we all could benefit from a few more months to develop these standards, some of which really go to the core issues of many companies,” said Leslie Seidman, chairman of FASB, in a podcast issued Thursday. Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the IASB, said rule makers still intend to finish their convergence work by year’s end. The delay, he said in the podcast, will “enable us to check whether our conclusions will last the test of time. … We would never release a standard before it is ready and ultimately it must be a high-quality standard or you just can’t issue it.” [
It sounds like the 
After yesterday’s news that 
Mr. Ryan sat in a front-row seat in the George Washington University auditorium Wednesday while Mr. Obama unveiled his plan to constrain growing levels of federal debt. Mr. Ryan grew visibly annoyed during the speech, shaking his head in disgust. He feverishly took notes, and when Mr. Obama finished he stood up and bolted from the auditorium. The only person apparently running faster towards the exit tugged on Mr. Ryan’s sleeve near the doorway and reached out to shake his hand. “Hi, Mr. Chairman, Gene Sperling,” Mr. Obama’s director of the National Economic Council said to Mr. Ryan in what appeared to be a conciliatory gesture. “Oh, I thought you were a reporter,” Mr. Ryan said, explaining why he didn’t immediately turn around when his name was called. [
Five short days until the end of tax season. Can you feel it? Yeah, me neither. Although if you were to win something better than average – say, an iPad – you might end up feeling something. Excitement perhaps. Shock could be another one. You might trade hate for love as it relates to a certain smug, rimless spectacled, mock-turtleneck-wearing CEO. Whatever. At least you won’t be devoid of emotion for a change.