Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Should Congress Set Rules of Tax Preparers? (Unit 4)


A push towards cleaning up the preparation business of taxes was advocated by the Obama administration. In the past few years, tax preparers have drained the U.S. Treasury and taxpayers and the Obama administration has asked Congress to pass a law that will permit the Internal Revenue Service to regulate preparers. In a successful court case, the U.S. Court Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that Congress did not give the IRS the power to require continued education and test taking on tax-return preparers. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives, a Republican who takes part in the Ways and Means Committee stated it is not in their interest to form such a law. Committee Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camps-R, said the IRS’s request is under appraisal. 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-03-17/news/sns-rt-us-usa-tax-preparers-20140317_1_preparers-jeff-trinca-irs

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Hillary in Race for Kentucky? (Unit 3)


FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2013, file photo, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks in New York. Clinton hasn't announced whether she will run for president in 2016, but her supporters in early voting Iowa started organizing Saturday anyway. Top Iowa Democrats gathered in Des Moines Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, for an event aimed at generating support for a potential Clinton campaign.(AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)
(Jason DeCrow/AP)


Kentucky has been not been known to be a competitive state for presidential candidates to fight over, but recently has been an issue for hopeful presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a most favored delegate for the Democratic Party to run in 2016. Kentucky has eight electoral votes and has recently voted for republicans in elections, turning it recently into a red state. Although Kentuckians did not vote for Obama in the 2008 presidential primary, Kentuckians did vote in favor for Hillary Clinton.  Her husband, Bill Clinton won Kentucky in both his presidential, 1992 and reelection, 1996 elections with margins decreasing. There are more democrats registered in Kentucky than republicans, but that does not guarantee that a democrat will win the state of Kentucky in 2016. Although Obama did not win Kentucky in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, this should not dictate the results for Hillary Clinton if she does become the democratic nominee in the 2016 election. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/25/can-hillary-clinton-win-kentucky-in-2016/