Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

After a dramatic day of unexpected twists and turns, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Senate compromise bill to avert massive tax increases and severe cuts to government spending known as the fiscal cliff.

The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan agreement to spare most Americans from steep tax hikes and delay across-the-board federal spending cuts imposed by the so-called “fiscal cliff”.

The drama over the U.S. government’s so-called “fiscal cliff” enters its final day before the deadline on Monday, with no agreement between Democrats and Republicans. Americans will face tax increases and deep government cuts on Tuesday if no agreement is passed and signed before then.

U.S. Senate leaders have given themselves a deadline of Sunday afternoon to reach a deal that could lead to avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff, possibly plunging the country into another recession.

A Nevada federal court has permanently barred Benyam Tewolde from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Tewolde and his wife, Yordanos Kidanits, are the alleged co-owners of an Instant Tax Service franchise that operates at multiple locations in the Las Vegas area. Instant Tax Service is a nationally franchised tax preparation company based in Dayton, Ohio.

France's highest court has overturned the Socialist government's 75 percent income tax rate for the wealthy.

U.S. President Barack Obama has called on Congress to meet the January 1 deadline to avert a looming set of tax hikes and spending cuts - the so-called fiscal cliff - that threaten to plunge the U.S. economy back into recession.

Four days before Americans face massive automatic tax increases and deep federal spending cuts, Washington is showing no signs of forging a deficit reduction agreement to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Many lawmakers are absent from Washington altogether, and the rest are pointing fingers and casting blame.

“The authorities and the mission held very constructive discussions about the road ahead and how to overcome the challenges Jordan faces. The authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to continue their program of reforms to keep the fiscal and external balances on a sustainable path.

Less than a week remains before a still-recovering U.S. economy confronts a draconian austerity regime of automatic, across-the-board tax increases and deep cuts to federal spending. Hopes of averting the so-called “fiscal cliff” by January 1 are dimming with each passing day.