Tax filing delay looms if no fix for minimum tax: IRS

The top U.S. tax collector warned on Thursday of a delayed start to 2013's tax season if Congress fails to reset the alternative minimum tax (AMT) on high-income taxpayers so that it does not sweep in millions of middle-income people.Without another adjustment by lawmakers soon to the AMT, "many of us will see a delayed filing season," said Steven Miller, named just last month as Internal Revenue...

Read More..

Oregon governor says Nike plans to hire thousands

Sporting goods giant Nike plans to expand its operations in Oregon and hire as many as 12,000 new workers by 2020 but wants the government to promise it won't change the state tax code, prompting a special session of the Legislature.Gov. John Kitzhaber said he'll call lawmakers together Friday in Salem to create a new law authorizing him to grant Nike's wish.The governor did not release information...

Read More..

Oregon governor says Nike plans expansion

 Nike wants to expand its Oregon operations and hire hundreds of workers but is asking the government to promise it won't change the state tax code.Gov. John Kitzhaber (KIHTS'-hah-bur) says he'll call the Legislature into session Friday to create a law to give Nike its wish.The company has not specified its expansion plans except to say it would create at least 500 jobs and $150 million in capital...

Read More..

Report: Most Pakistani lawmakers do not file taxes

The majority of Pakistani lawmakers do not file tax returns despite a legal requirement to do, a report said Wednesday, reinforcing concerns about the low level of tax revenue in the country.Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP rates in the world because payment is not well enforced, and major areas of the economy, such as the agriculture sector, are either taxed at very low rates or not at all.Around...

Read More..

Pennies over patriotism? Stars move to tax havens

 France's Socialist government is introducing a 75-percent income tax on those earning over €1 million ($1.3 million), leading some of the country's rich and famous to set up residency in less fiscally demanding countries.Here's a look at some big names in France and elsewhere whose changes of address over the years have meant lighter taxes.DEPARTING DEPARDIEUThe French prime minister has accused...

Read More..

AP IMPACT: Steroids loom in major-college football

With steroids easy to buy, testing weak and punishments inconsistent, college football players are packing on significant weight — 30 pounds or more in a single year, sometimes — without drawing much attention from their schools or the NCAA in a sport that earns tens of billions of dollars for teams.Rules vary so widely that, on any given game day, a team with a strict no-steroid policy can face a...

Read More..

Cleared Minnesota college coach fights suspension

A Minnesota college football coach who was cleared of child porn charges is fighting a suspension, his union said Thursday, although neither it nor the university would say what prompted the punishment or shed light on his prospects for reinstatement.Coach Todd Hoffner received a written notice from Minnesota State University, Mankato late Tuesday afternoon about a 20-day unpaid suspension that begins...

Read More..

College basketball's best _ so far

Kentucky's Anthony Davis was pretty much everyone's choice as the national player of the year last season.This season, at least as it nears the midpoint, the player of the year honor appears to be up for grabs.Though there are a few players who might be considered front-runners, there are roughly two dozen, maybe more, who could be considered the best in the country.Here's a few, sort of a sampler...

Read More..

NCAA considering proposals to change recruiting

The NCAA released a package of proposals Friday that would change the recruiting calendar, lift restrictions on how and how often coaches can contact recruits, and allow athletes to accept more money for participating in non-scholastic events.All the proposals are expected to be voted on Jan. 19 at the NCAA's annual convention near Dallas. If approved, they could take effect Aug. 1.This is the first...

Read More..

NCAA suspends Texas Longhorns guard Myck Kabongo of Toronto 23 games

The NCAA has suspended Texas basketball player Myck Kabongo of Toronto for 23 games for accepting impermissible benefits and providing false statements during an investigation into the infractions.The Division I committee on student-athlete reinstatement announced the suspension Friday.Kabongo also must repay $475 to a charity of his choice. The suspension includes the 10 games he has already missed.The...

Read More..

Dakar mosque lit up for Christmas in Senegal

After prayers at the mosque, Ibrahim Lo is off to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. Soon he is eyeing the rows of dolls wrapped in plastic bags on a wooden table as he searches for gifts for his four children.A bouquet of inflatable Santa toys tied to a nearby tree bobs in the air at this outdoor market in the seaside capital as he makes his picks.It looks a lot like Christmas in Senegal, where...

Read More..

4 foreign sailors kidnapped off Nigeria coast

Gunmen attacked a supply tug boat off the coast of Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta, kidnapping foreign sailors, including Italians, in the latest attack in the West African region that is increasingly dangerous for shippers and oil companies, officials said Monday. The attack happened 40 nautical miles off the coast of Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta on Sunday night, as the gunmen stormed the moving...

Read More..

Zimbabweans brace for bleak holidays

 Zimbabweans are facing bleak holidays this year amid rising poverty, food and cash shortages and political uncertainty, with some describing it as the worst since the formation of the coalition government in the southern African nation.President Robert Mugabe, in a four-year-old coalition with former opposition leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, announced an extra public holiday Monday...

Read More..

South Africa: Mandela in hospital over Christmas

 South Africa's presidency says former leader Nelson Mandela will spend Christmas Day in hospital.The presidency says in a statement that Mandela's doctors confirmed the news on Monday. The anti-apartheid figure was admitted Dec. 8 to a hospital in Pretoria, the South African capital. He was diagnosed with a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones; officials have said Mandela...

Read More..

South Africa: World watches Mandela's struggle

A chipped street mural in South Africa's Soweto township depicts stations in the life of Nelson Mandela, each matched by a portrait of the global icon as he advanced from robust youth to old age. Now this infirm giant of history faces a struggle with mortality, its duration unknown but its outcome certain.There may be no living figure so revered around the world as a symbol of sacrifice and reconciliation,...

Read More..

Bringing Sunlight to Light an Underground Garden

Imagine an inviting green park with tall, shady trees and wide swaths of grassy lawn where you can hear live music or see theater or simply sit quietly soaking up the noonday sun.Now, imagine that all underground in an old disused parking garage … but still with trees and grass in the bright sunlight - a little less bright, of course, on cloudy days.This paradoxical vision is already halfway to becoming...

Read More..

Cancer Immunotherapy Where Are We Going?

The compelling concept of utilizing the patient's own immune system for a stronger and more effective way to attack cancer cells is not a new one. William Coley observed in 1891 that infections produced in patients with inoperable cancer following an injection of streptococcal organisms (Gram-positive bacteria) led to tumor shrinkage especially when the patients developed fever and other signs of...

Read More..

Viral Video Recap: Funniest Memes of the Week

A cat stuck in a box. A dramatic reading of Fifty Shades of Grey from George Takei. And another "Gangnam Style" remix. These are just three examples of the top videos that the web world watched this week.We rounded up the most viral videos from this past week for your holiday weekend viewing pleasure. After all, what's better than explaining the significance of a philosophic cat to your mother at...

Read More..

Top 5 Apps for Kids This Week

1. I Spy With Lola HDAges 3-8 Overall rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars Why we like it: This app effectively takes the common hunt-and-find play pattern down a notch by way of a series of carefully leveled challenges, clear labels and a playful theme. Need to know: Don't confuse this with the Scholastic I SPY titles. This is a different kettle of fish. And get the paid version. It is well worth the $2 --...

Read More..

Telepresence robots let employees 'beam' into work

Engineer Dallas Goecker attends meetings, jokes with colleagues and roams the office building just like other employees at his company in Silicon Valley.But Goecker isn't in California. He's more than 2,300 miles away, working at home in Seymour, Indiana.It's all made possible by the Beam — a mobile video-conferencing machine that he can drive around the Palo Alto offices and workshops of Suitable...

Read More..

Exclusive: Pakistan's army chief makes Afghan peace "top priority"

WANA, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's powerful army chief has made reconciling warring factions in Afghanistan a top priority, military officials and Western diplomats say, the newest and clearest sign yet that Islamabad means business in promoting peace with the Taliban.General Ashfaq Kayani is backing dialogue partly due to fears that the end of the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan in...

Read More..

Ind. taxpayers to see $111 credit from surplus

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana taxpayers will receive a $111 credit on their state income tax returns next year as the state distributes part of its budget surplus.Gov. Mitch Daniels on Wednesday announced the credit that will be $222 for couples filing joint returns. The credit represents the automatic taxpayer refund plan that Daniels pushed through the state Legislature last year.That refund kicked...

Read More..

Lawmakers urged to resolve property tax inequities

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — County and real estate officials urged the Legislature on Wednesday to deal with a thorny problem of property tax inequities among New Mexico homeowners, also known as "tax lightning," when taxes skyrocket on some residential property.At issue are widely varying valuations of residential property for tax purposes and continuing fallout from a more than decade-old law intended...

Read More..

Exclusive: India's fiscal deficit could reach 5.5-5.6 percent of GDP in 2012/13 - source

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's fiscal deficit could reach 5.5-5.6 percent of GDP in the current fiscal year that ends in March, forcing the government to borrow up to 400 billion rupees ($7.2 billion) extra from the market, a senior government official told Reuters on ThursdayJust last month, subdued tax revenue and higher spending on subsidies forced the government to revise its fiscal deficit target...

Read More..

Italy's lower house approves Monti's budget plans

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's lower house of parliament on Thursday approved a package of budget measures including a sales tax hike and a cut in some payroll taxes, aimed at helping the government reach its deficit-cutting targets.Approval was expected after Prime Minister Mario Monti's government won three confidence votes on Wednesday that it had called to speed up passage of the budget.The measures...

Read More..

Connecticut Job Shops and Contract Manufacturers Join the MFG.com Manufacturing Marketplace

Connecticut manufacturers prove to be uniquely qualified for entrance into the largest global manufacturing ecosystem.Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) December 18, 2012MFG.com, the world’s largest online manufacturing marketplace for made-to-order parts, announced that prominent Connecticut-based manufacturers have joined the MFG.com marketplace.A few of the recent additions include:Perfection Screw & Rivet...

Read More..

Vint Cerf, Award-Winning Computer Scientist and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, Joins TruthMarket™ Board of Advisors

Dr. Vint Cerf, one of the true “Fathers of the Internet,” an international authority on digital communications and outspoken advocate for a free and open Internet adds global perspective to TruthMarket’s Platform for Crowd-funding Public Challenges to False Political, Commercial and Science Claims.Atherton, California (PRWEB) December 18, 2012Today Truth Seal Corp. announced that Vinton G. Cerf,...

Read More..

Alibaba Becomes Largest e-Commerce Company - Impact for Retail Brands

Simon Jackson, chief commercial officer at brand protection company NetNames, comments on the news that Alibaba has become the largest ecommerce company in the world.(PRWEB UK) 18 December 2012“The news that Chinese online marketplace Alibaba has become the largest ecommerce company in the world has important implications for brand owners in the retail and consumer goods industries. The fact that...

Read More..