Taxes

Life may be about to get easier for people with rich parents.

A top U.S. Senate Republican voiced optimism that congressional negotiators will reach a deal on a sweeping tax overhaul ahead of a Dec. 22 deadline, as senators voted on Wednesday to begin talks with the House to bridge differences between their rival bills.

Sounding a discordant note among the positive talk on the tax bill, a number of Republicans are delivering a blunt assessment, casting the bill as a boost to big corporations and the wealthy instead of the middle class.

The Latest on Republican tax overhaul legislation (all times local): 1:18 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he favors expanding a deduction for state and local taxes to enable people to deduct local income taxes as well as property taxes.

U.S. stock indexes held steady in Tuesday morning trading as some of the year's biggest winners picked themselves back up following recent stumbles.

Municipal governments worry the tax overhaul in Washington, D.C. could chill the construction of affordable housing as homelessness reaches a crisis point on the West Coast.

Rep. Kevin Brady said House Republicans want tax legislation to eliminate the corporate and individual alternative minimum taxes.

The Latest on Congress and the budget (all times local): 10:08 a.m.

U.S. CEOs expect 2018 to kick off a “pro-growth” period for the United States.

Former UBS Chairman Joe Grano weighs in on the GOP tax reform plan.

They don't do tax reform like they used to.

President Donald Trump has touted his tax overhaul as a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Stocks rallied to records Monday on expectations that lower taxes will lead to even bigger profits for companies.

The tax bill approved by the U.S. Senate will open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, something Alaska's lawmakers have tried to do for decades.

The head of Nissan Motor Co.'s operations in North America said Monday that the company is undaunted by congressional efforts to do away with a federal tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles.

Significant differences separate the massive tax packages passed by the House and Senate on estate taxes, health care and a prized deduction for home mortgage interest, though Republican leaders are confident none is insurmountable.

The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local): 9:35 a.m.

A top Republican senator is defending GOP efforts to reduce the hit to the wealthy from the federal estate tax because it helps those who invest rather than people who spend their money on "booze or women or movies."

Business economists expect a tax overhaul to provide a modest boost to the U.S. economy but are increasingly worried that a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement will take a toll on growth.

President Donald Trump's recent rally in Missouri was a set-piece of distortion about taxes and the economy.