Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) surprised Capitol Hill and the state of Nevada last Friday when he announced that he would retire at the end of the 114th Congress. Mr. Reid quickly expressed support for former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto as his successor. This, even before Ms. Cortez Masto issued a statement of candidacy.

The AGC Financial Issues Committee (FIC) Summer Meeting will be held June 8-9, 2015, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. Early-bird registration ends Monday, April 13.

Under the backdrop of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced his intention to seek the nation’s highest office. He is the first person to officially declare his national candidacy in either party. The earliness of his move suggests he is preparing for an involved constitutional legal battle since questions surround his eligibility to run for president.

The AGC Financial Issues Committee (FIC) Summer Meeting will be held June 8-9, 2015 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. The link to the meeting’s registration page is here. The meeting is geared toward member company AGC member company CFOs, Treasurers, Finance Directors, Controllers, Tax Directors and other senior accounting professionals. Members have an opportunity to learn as well as formulate positions on tax and accounting matters that directly affect the bottom line and operations of AGC member companies of all sizes and specialties. Current FIF projects include helping construction companies to prepare for the new Revenue Recognition Accounting Standard Update that goes into effect in 2017.

The AGC Financial Issues Committee (FIC) Summer Meeting will be held June 8-9, 2015 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. The link to the meeting’s registration page is here. The meeting is geared toward member company AGC member company CFOs, Treasurers, Finance Directors, Controllers, Tax Directors and other senior accounting professionals. Members have an opportunity to learn as well as formulate positions on tax and accounting matters that directly affect the bottom line and operations of AGC member companies of all sizes and specialties. Current FIF projects include helping construction companies to prepare for the new Revenue Recognition Accounting Standard Update that goes into effect in 2017.

On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 1105, the Death Tax Repeal Act, which was the first vote of its kind in a decade, to repeal the estate tax for small businesses and farms.

The AGC Financial Issues Committee (FIC) Summer Meeting will be held June 8-9, 2015, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. The link to the meeting’s registration page is here. The meeting is geared toward member company AGC member company CFOs, Treasurers, Finance Directors, Controllers, Tax Directors and other senior accounting professionals. Members have an opportunity to learn as well as formulate positions on tax and accounting matters that directly affect the bottom line and operations of AGC member companies of all sizes and specialties. Current FIF projects include helping construction companies to prepare for the new Revenue Recognition Accounting Standard Update that goes into effect in 2017.

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a fourth in a series of recent tax reform hearings on international taxation with four witnesses on the panel including: Pam Olson, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Anthony Smith, Vice President of Tax & Treasurer, Thermo Fisher Scientific; Dr. Rosanne Altshule, Professor, Rutgers University; Stephen Shay, Professor, Harvard Law School. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), a co-chairman of the Business Tax Working Group, did not think that a broad-based tax code overhaul and revamp of the international tax system were mutually exclusive, but left the door open. Senator Thune noted that the working groups for both corporate businesses and international tax issues would have to come to a consensus before the May deadline for work to be completed and delivered to the chairman and ranking member.

H-2B Visa Program Shuts Down After Court Ruling

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee conducted a tax reform hearing on compliance and administration of the tax code. Witnesses included Carol Markman of EP Caine & Associates, Mihir Desai of Harvard University, Bruce Bartlett, former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy, and T. Keith Fogg of Villanova University School of Law.