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.