Tucked into legislation aimed at extending unemployment insurance benefits is an amendment that could bring significant tax relief for businesses that have endured net operating losses (NOLs) in the recession. The proposal would let companies of all sizes carry back those losses for a refund of taxes paid in the five previous years, instead of the two years generally allowed under current law. The tax break looks a lot like one that was slated for the stimulus package earlier this year but was drastically scaled back at the last minute to apply only to businesses with revenue of $15 million a year or less (see my blog here.) more

As if retooling the one-sixth of the nation’s economy represented by health care isn’t enough to grapple with, Congress will come to grips this week with legislation aimed at drastically reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The climate bill, designed to make good on President Obama’s election campaign promise to chop carbon emissions back to 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, is scheduled for hearings in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works this week.

If you need to get up-to-speed fast on the tax implications of the proposed legislation — and let’s face it, there’s going to be some serious complexity here, if Congress decides to move ahead — a new brief from Deloitte offers a useful overview of the issues, including the vexed question of why exactly we need all the paraphernalia of a cap-and-trade system when a straight carbon tax could achieve the same thing (or could it?). There’s also an informative discussion of a recent report from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) that looks at some areas of uncertainty that taxpayers would have to muddle through under a greenhouse gas program. Here are just a few of the murky spots: more

Taxpayers are baring all in Norway. The country’s internal revenue authority has released details of most individuals’ tax records that reveal not just their annual income but even — gasp! — their overall wealth. Some are calling it “tax porno.” (No, not “porno tax” … though, come to think of it, that might not be such a bad idea.) more

Corporate board members may be up to their ears in a zillion pressing business issues competing for their limited time and attention, but that’s no excuse for taking their eyes off the tax-risk ball, according to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. In remarks to the National Association of Corporate Directors on Monday, Shulman pointed out what few finance execs will need reminding of — that tax strategies are a significant source of financial and restatement risk, not to mention reputational exposure. “In today’s business climate, the general public has little tolerance for overly aggressive tax planning that can be viewed as corporations playing tax games,” he added. more

Transfer pricing, which always ranks among the most pressing concerns for multinationals’ tax departments, has become even more critical this year. As cash-famished tax authorities worldwide step up their enforcement efforts, many businesses are reviewing their intercompany pricing policies to make sure they’re up to snuff.

While they’re at it, companies should take a good look at new OECD proposals for revisions to its basic transfer pricing guidelines, which may start to impact U.S.-based multinationals as early as next year. more