Obama plans more tax on overseas income to cut record deficit

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US federal budget deficit tripled to about $1.4 trillion for fiscal year 2009 in the midst of the worst economic decline since the Great Depression, the office that keeps track of spending for Congress said Wednesday. The figure represented about 9.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest percentage since 1945, the Congressional Budget Office said in a statement.

October 7th, 2009 CBO: Budget deficit hit record $1.4B in 2009WASHINGTON — Congressional analysts say the federal budget deficit tripled to a record $1.4 trillion for the 2009 fiscal year that ended last week. The unprecedented flood of red ink flows from several factors, including a big drop in tax revenues due to the recession, $245 billion in emergency spending on the Wall Street bailout and the takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

October 1st, 2009 House votes against releasing detainee abuse picsWASHINGTON — The House is backing the Obama administration's refusal to release new photos showing U.S. personnel abusing detainees held overseas.

September 9th, 2009 Geithner pushes changes to college savings plansWASHINGTON — The Obama administration wants states to make changes to college savings plans that it hopes will expand their use by middle class families. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the Section 529 savings plans can help Americans to save for college because of the tax savings they offer.

August 21st, 2009 AP source: $2 trillion higher deficit projectedWASHINGTON — A White House budget official says the Obama administration expects the federal deficit over the next decade to be $2 trillion bigger than previously estimated. The projection now is for a deficit of $9 trillion.

July 23rd, 2009 Obama acknowledges unease over gov't spendingWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is acknowledging that Americans are "understandably queasy" about the rising federal deficit and the government spending trillions of dollars. Yet he says revamping health care is crucial to helping the economy.

June 10th, 2009 Budget deficit hits record for May of $189.7BWASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit soared to a record for May of $189.7 billion, pushing the tide of red ink close to $1 trillion with four months left in the budget year. The rising deficit reflects increased government spending due to the recession, and billions of dollars spent on bailouts for banks and other troubled companies.

May 12th, 2009 Gov't runs April deficit for first time since '83WASHINGTON — The federal government ran a deficit in the month of April for the first time in 26 years, pushing the red ink so far this budget year to a record $802.3 billion. The Treasury Department said Tuesday the deficit for April was $20.9 billion, a sharp contrast from the surplus of $159.3 billion in the same month last year.

May 11th, 2009 White House: Budget deficit to top $1.8 trillionWASHINGTON — With the economy performing worse than hoped, revised White House figures point to deepening budget deficits, with the government borrowing 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year. The deficit for the current budget year will rise by $89 billion to above $1.8 trillion — about four times the record set just last year.

May 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Contending that the current US tax system gives US-based multinationals shipping jobs to places like India an unfair advantage over domestic rivals, President Barack Obama has announced plans to reduce tax breaks for them. 'It's a tax code that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, NewYork,' Obama said Monday spelling out his proposals to close corporate tax loopholes and crack down on overseas tax havens.

April 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle reported income of more than $2.6 million in 2008, documents released by the White House showed Wednesday. The vast majority of the $2,656,902 million reported by the Obama's came from proceeds from the president's book sales, the White House said.

March 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama Tuesday defended his ambitious budget proposals, which have been strongly resisted by conservatives, telling skeptics that his plans were in line with the enormity of the problems faced by the country's economy. 'The challenges we face are too large to ignore,' Obama said after a meeting with members of the congressional budget committees.

February 25th, 2009 TOKYO - Japan logged the largest trade deficit on record in January as the global recession slowed exports, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The nation's trade deficit totalled 952.6 billion yen ($9.97 billion) in January.

January 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US president-elect Barack Obama is expected to call for drastic measures to revive the ailing US economy Thursday, even if that means tipping the US deficit over $1 trillion. In prepared comments for a speech scheduled for 1600 GMT, Obama said the economic situation could deteriorate further and a recession last for years without government intervention.

January 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama has warned Americans about the unparalleled prospect of 'trillion-dollar deficits for years to come', saying the exploding budget gap underscores the need for long-term reform of US finances. 'We're already looking at a $1 trillion budget deficit or close to a $1 trillion budget deficit, and potentially we've got $1 trillion deficits for years to come,' Obama told reporters Tuesday after a meeting with his economic and budget team.