Welcome to the Weekly News Round Up from the SC&H Group blog. Each week, we showcase audit, tax, and consulting news to keep you informed about the current stories and events impacting the accounting and business landscape – and ultimately your financial obligations.
This week, we highlight how the IRS is scaling back some of its activities due to budget cuts, and a new study shows that healthcare spending will outpace overall U.S. economic growth. In addition, there has been a rise in hostile takeovers in the M&A arena.
IRS Scales Back to Absorb Funding Cuts
The Internal Revenue Service has been scaling back its activities and using some of its budgeting flexibility to absorb funding cuts, according to a new government report.
Healthcare Spending to Rise 6 Percent Annually
Healthcare spending will easily outpace the nation’s overall economic growth in the next decade, according to a new government report.
Sales Tax Rates Fluctuating This Year
In the first two quarters of 2015, there were 207 sales and use tax rate changes, up from 159 in the first six months of 2014, according to a new report.
Congressmen Propose ‘Innovation Box’ to Lower Taxes on Intellectual Property
House Ways and Means Committee members Charles Boustany, R-La., and Richard Neal, D-Mass., released a bipartisan proposal to create a so-called “innovation box,” a lower tax rate on income derived from intellectual property to encourage more multinational companies to keep intangible assets in the U.S.
Homeownership Rates Lowest in Nearly 40 Years
Homeownership rates are at their lowest in nearly forty years, as more people choose to rent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
A Hostile Environment: The M&A Landscape in 2015
As of mid-June, the number of hostile takeovers launched by U.S. companies doubled from the same period last year, reaching 40 bids since the start of 2015.
Most Professionals Don’t Feel Prepared For Post-College Work
According to a new study, 56 percent of accounting and finance professionals said they felt only “somewhat prepared” for their first job after graduation.