Treasury removes sanctions following Latvian government action to strip ownership or control from Global Magnitsky-designated oligarch Aivars Lembergs Washington – Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed sanctions imposed on the Ventspils Freeport Authority, which was designated on December 9 for being owned or controlled by Latvian oligarch Aivars […]
Monthly Archives: December 2019
Readout from a Treasury Spokesperson on Secretary Mnuchin’s meeting with Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau
Washington – U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin met with Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Secretary Mnuchin and Minister Morneau reaffirmed the strong economic and trade relationship between the United States and Canada and discussed continued efforts to reach a multilateral agreement on issues associated with international taxation. Other topics discussed include the 2020 United […]
IRS: Make a tax payment now, avoid a tax-time surprise
IR-2019-211, December 18, 2019 WASHINGTON —Taxpayers who paid too little tax during 2019 can still avoid a tax-time surprise by making a quarterly estimated tax payment now, directly to the Internal Revenue Service. The deadline for making a payment for the fourth quarter of 2019 is Wednesday, January 15, 2020. Income taxes are pay-as-you-go. This […]
FTC, State of Maine File Contempt Action against Dietary Supplement Marketers
The Federal Trade Commission and the State of Maine are seeking a civil contempt order against two companies that market dietary supplements, alleging they have continued to promote their products using unproven claims that they can treat and cure diseases, in violation of a 2018 FTC settlement order. The agencies’ contempt motion states that Health Research […]
FTC Grants Final Approval to Settlement with Former Cambridge Analytica CEO, App Developer over Allegations they Deceived Consumers over Collection of Facebook Data
The Federal Trade Commission has granted final approval to a settlement with the former CEO of Cambridge Analytica, LLC and an app developer who worked with the company to resolve allegations they used deceptive tactics to collect personal information from tens of millions of Facebook users for voter profiling and targeting. In its complaint, the […]
FTC Chairman Simons Announces Senior Appointments in Bureau of Competition
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons has made two appointments to the Bureau of Competition’s senior leadership team. Simons announced that, with the approval of the Federal Trade Commission, Ian Conner will assume the position of Bureau Director effective December 20, 2019. Simons also announced that Daniel Francis will be appointed Deputy Director and will […]
IRS seeks applications for the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee for 2020
IR-2019-210, December 18, 2019 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is seeking qualified applicants for nomination to the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC). The ETAAC is an organized public forum for discussion of electronic tax administration issues, such as prevention of identity theft and refund fraud in support of the overriding goal that paperless […]
Amazon, Apple, Google, Zigbee Alliance and board members form working group to develop open standard for smart home devices
Seattle and Cupertino, Mountain View and Davis, California — Amazon, Apple, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance today announced a new working group that plans to develop and promote the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products, with security as a fundamental design tenet. Zigbee Alliance board member companies […]
Letter to Secretary Mnuchin from Chairmen and Ranking Members Regarding Effective Dates in the Taxpayer First Act
Steven Terner Mnuchin was sworn in as the 77th Secretary of the Treasury on February 13, 2017. As Secretary, Mr. Mnuchin is responsible for the U.S. Treasury, whose mission is to maintain a strong economy, foster economic growth, and create job opportunities by promoting the conditions that enable prosperity at home and abroad. Read More […]
New downloadable assistant helps small businesses withhold the right amount of income tax
IR-2019-209, December 17, 2019 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has launched a new online assistant designed to help employers, especially small businesses, easily determine the right amount of federal income tax to withhold from their workers’ pay. Known as the Income Tax Withholding Assistant for Employers, this new spreadsheet-based tool is designed to help […]