11/07/09 - House Passes Landmark Health Care Reform Bill
On Saturday, November 7, the House of Representatives by a vote of 220-215 approved H.R.3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Only one Republican, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) voted for passage of the bill. The House bill faces tough opposition in the Senate, which is considering its own version of health care reform.

8/19/09 - PERSONAL INCOME TAX — Lottery winnings
The Division of Taxation has issued Lottery Questions and Answers concerning the personal income tax treatment of lottery winnings as a result of L. 2009, A4102, (c. 69).

7/9/09 - SALES AND USE TAX—Consideration received under federal Cash for Clunkers program.
The Division of Taxation has issued a release concerning the sales tax treatment of consideration received under the federal Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009.

7/7/09 - New York — Franchise Tax — Receipts from website advertising allocated to state where viewed.
The taxpayer, which is a service company located in New York, sponsors a website for physician advertising and offers a risk participation program whereby it arranges for the provision of medical services to be performed by a third party physician.

5/4/2009 - Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Deduction's Purchase-Price Limit Applies Per Vehicle, Says IRS Spokesperson
In response to a recent inquiry by CCH, an IRS spokesperson has stated that the $49,500 purchase-price limitation contained in the new motor vehicle sales tax deduction is imposed on a per-vehicle basis.

4/6/2009 - New Jersey --Personal Income Tax: Division Revises Ponzi Scheme Notice
The New Jersey Division of Taxation has revised a previously reported notice (TAXDAY, 2009/2/24, S.19) clarifying how taxpayers should report losses from the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme for purposes of the gross (personal) income tax.

4/1/2009 - IRS Announces Special Tax Break for New Car Purchases in 2009 (IR-2009-30)
The IRS has announced that taxpayers who buy a new passenger vehicle in 2009 may be entitled to deduct state and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase on their 2009 tax returns.

3/30/2009 - First $2,400 of Unemployment Benefits Tax Free for 2009
WASHINGTON — All or part of unemployment benefits received in 2009 will be tax free for many unemployed workers, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

3/25/2009 - What are your chances for being audited? IRS's 2008 data book provides some clues
IRS has issued its annual data book, which provides statistical data on its fiscal year (FY) 2008 activities. As this article explains, the data book provides valuable information about how many tax returns IRS examines (audits), and what categories of returns IRS is focusing its resources on, as well as data on other enforcement activities, such as collections.

3/5/2009 - Permanent AMT Patch Part of Obama's Proposed FY 2010 Budget
President Obama's proposed fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget would extend and index for inflation the 2009 alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter R. Orszag told the House Ways and Means Committee on March 4. Orszag reiterated the administration's promise to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans and to partially fund health care reform with tax increases on higher income individuals. Orszag also predicted that the economy would recover from the current recession by 2011.

2/25/2009 - President Obama Declares U.S. Will Recover from Economic Crisis
President Obama, in his first address to a joint session of Congress, spoke in stark terms about the deepening economic recession, but assured Americans that they will prevail. "We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before," the president declared.

2/18/2009 - President Obama Signs Economic Recovery Bill
President Obama on February 17 signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1). The president said the $789-billion economic recovery package is "the first step to get our economy on the road to recovery and pave the way to long-term growth." Obama signed the legislation in Denver, Colorado, where he highlighted the number of green jobs that will be created by the stimulus package.

2/10/2009 - President Urges Congress to Act Swiftly on Stimulus Plan to Avert Deeper Recession
President Obama on February 9 urged Congress to pass an economic recovery package by the end of the week and warned that failure to act swiftly will deepen the economic crisis. "Our immediate job is to stop the downward spiral and that means putting money into consumers' pockets, it means loosening up credit, it means putting forward investments that not only employ people immediately but also lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth," Obama asserted at his first White House press conference.